Model or a militant: Who is better?

Day before yesterday, a ramp model-turned-militant was presented by a Dhaka court to be taken on a four-day remand in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorist Act. Earlier, a little over a year ago we came to know how a rock singer-turned-militant had ruthlessly took part in murdering a group of foreigners at a Gulshan café.  
So what actually drive these youngsters to get quick motivated by militant beliefs? They may be poles apart from religion or spirituality, but their sudden radical shifting from one pole to another and that too being inspired by misleading religious coaching conveys a dangerous message of our today's society.  It's a message of remaining ignorant about religion on purpose.
The point, however, walking on the ramp is far wiser than sacrificing your modelling talents to become a militant. At least people know and you make a career out of it. Moreover, if ignorant about religion -- the opportunity to explore it and understand it correctly is there.
In the past as well as now, this writer had personally came in close contact with a number of painters , singers , artists and even models -- some of them have been overtly vocal and controversial about being atheists while some keeps nurturing their religious beliefs in silence.
All seems happy except the ones who are the most confused and easily falls prey to dangerously misplaced beliefs. This piece is aimed at those confused ones, who become victims of extreme polarization and self-inflicted ignorance on religious issues.
In recent times, it is Facebook, YouTube or other forms of social media which plays the key role in shaping the psyche of a youngster, and no matter how much we blame the ISIS or a handful of clerics and religious bigots surrounding us, the truth is -- the logical and tolerant religious viewpoint is fading fast from the scene around us.  Given the quick rise of extremist and militant credence here and there, it seems like bigger cracks are appearing between reasonable believers and extreme believers.
Take for instance, the case of the suspected ramp model -- turned-terrorist or the terrorists killed in the café attack last year. In the place of gun downing the foreigners they could have well become sincere, devoted practicing Muslims. Therefore, lead their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Quran and Hadith.

***Other than strict monitoring the companies of our children and youngsters, it is more important we ourselves become more clear and convinced about the ultimate purpose of our religion -- what it permits and what it forbids.***

Had these derailed youths only attempted to understand and practice religion by their own terms -- they would have become entirely different people. Horrifyingly in the name of safeguarding their wrongly taught creed, they became indulged in an orgy of merciless killing.
The question is, however -- why many of our youngsters have become victims of blind followers of extreme violent beliefs? Why many of our English medium students and members of art and culture are taking a sharp u-turn while emerging as frontrunners for promoting religion based violence?
Irrespective of all scholarly debates, data and statistics, one of the main reasons for this to happen is our own shallow understanding of religion. Most of us -- particularly the seniors, we neither clearly understand the importance of following a religion nor can we convey the core message of it to our minors correctly.
It can be any of the one among Islam, Christianity or Judaism. Many times we don't depend on our free and logical thinking faculties when it comes to lead our lives according to religious beliefs, on the contrary we rush to knock the doors of the local Imam or Maulana Sahib for a quick divine solution.
He does our thinking and imposes his terms and conditions on us. In most cases it is a particular supplication ten times of this or twenty times of that coupled with a hefty amount donation to be given to him or to his orphanage. That said-many of us today aren't following our personal convictions of a respective religion and thus, have become submissive by handing over our consciousness in to the hands of so-called scholars and Imams. They are the middle-men for brokering our spiritual and material needs to the god almighty.
Believe it or not -- it is right through the open gates of our religious ignorance militant elements enter under the banner of various questionable "interpretation".
Many of the interpreters and clerics are there because many of you and people like this writer are not connected to god. The reason is because we don't take the simplest of efforts to do so -- read our religious texts, think, freely discuss, research and come to our own conclusions about our creator and his divine message.
Thus, it is the sinister group of misguided interpreters and clerics who take full advantage of our religious and spiritual ignorance. We follow their version of Islam, the way they want us to believe and follow.
The spreading of radicalism or militancy is nothing too different from this. Be it the Neo-JMB or Jammate Mujahedeen, however you brand it whenever an alleged militant is caught -- the first question is -- which YouTube lecture, Facebook sharing or a Mufti's sermon motivated him to embrace militancy?
Other than strict monitoring the companies of our children and youngsters, it is more important we ourselves become more clear and convinced about the ultimate purpose of our religion -- what it permits and what it forbids.
Whatever, the bottom-line is when people of the showbiz or fashion and entertainment takes a radical shift by deploring fame and glamour and cuddle the neo-JMB, it is not because of the contrasts and conflicts between his religion and line of work -- it is because he fails to grasp the core message of religion because of his own ignorance. He keeps acting in line with the violent creed of another -- what he thinks to be his own.      
It's all clearly written out in the books -- all we have to do is read, think and decide by ourselves whether militancy will make me a better human than a neo-JMB member.  

The writer is Assistant Editor of
the Daily Observer