THE CLERGY IS OBSESSED WITH INVIDIOUS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST OTHER RELIGIONS.

Over the last few weeks Kenyans have experienced a surreptitious interference of the constitution making process by a section of the political and religious leaders who have in an unceasing effort resorted to using very high profile propaganda to instill fear among Christians. They have opined that the draft constitution is fundamentally flawed on the count of the inclusion of the Kadhis courts.

Yet, even with their “extraordinary vision” these leaders have failed to see how the majority Christian religion and other minority religions are served with the current constitution. Suffice to say that a larger proportion of the laws in our current constitution are Christian friendly. The same can be said of our penal code as well as in the appointments in the judiciary. All these things are tilted in favour of Christians.

By not acceding to the equal potential of all religions Christians will be justifying their intolerance and dominance. Simply put; they will be projecting an attitude that sanctions and encourages prejudice against other religions. It is thus imprudent of them to be obsessed with an invidious discrimination that is in itself an engine of oppression and subjugation of other religions as a means of maintaining or enhancing their power as Christians. Positive discrimination is thus a matter of both empirical belief and moral faith.

It is instrumental to note that other religious faiths have not complained about Sunday, Easter holiday nor the Christmas holiday. They have not even complained about the judicial system whose laws gel with the Christian family laws. Neither have they complained about the standard practice involving the singing of Christian hymns, reading of the bible verses nor the saying of Christian prayers in public schools across the country. Besides, we must not forget the fact that Christian Religious Education is taught in public schools courtesy of the tax payers (including those who profess different religious faiths).

If other religious faiths demanded for the removal of all the faith based provisions in the current constitution as well as the draft constitution and the expunging of Christian family laws from our penal code, Christians will be treated to a rude awakening. If other religious institutions demanded an end to all discriminatory religious practices in all our public institutions and especially in our judiciary, I have no doubt whatsoever that Christians will become the biggest losers here.

It is for this reason that I believe that as Christians we can comfortably leave the Kadhi courts in the draft constitution without compromising our faith in any way. Kadhi courts are only a remedial religious-based preference whose existence in the constitution seeks to foster religious equity in our largely Christian dominated society.

From the foregoing, I hold it that last week`s ruling by the constitutional court was mischievous and was out to dismember the pillars that hold this nation together.

TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis