I often find myself staggered by posts and comments on various forums that point to mistrust, dislike and outright bigotry driven by religion. Is it my upbringing that makes me incapable of what to me are very negative feelings with the potential to cause so much harm and incalculable hurt?

I was raised in a family that bows towards Mecca but had no problems with me attending a Methodist school. My sister attended a Catholic school and that was never an issue either. The Sierra Leonean way was to only consider the quality of the education we got. Some of supposedly the same faith as my parents from other countries would have had a problem with education at the hands of infidels. My parents simply thought of them as good schools.

I often wonder how Sierra Leone, with nearly 70% of the population being Muslim, has only ever had one Muslim head of state – and he had a Christian wife! While embedded with Sierra Leone’s 5th Infantry Brigade in the Southern Province, I asked the Imam whose side he was on when I found him fundraising for the new church. His response: “Sir, we Muslims already have the mosque; a decent place to pray to and praise God. Now we must make sure our Christian brothers and sisters have the same too”. Sometimes, we serve ourselves best if we try to establish how we arrived at a situation. The problem, as with other forms of bigotry, is I can’t see how people get to dislike so much a neighbour or compatriot simply because he chooses to worship differently. Maybe openly challenging and rejecting those who take people down the slippery routes to nowhere should be the first step.

I have observed the tribulations of countries that have allowed religions imported from faraway places to become hugely destructive and persistently destabilising forces. For example, it is especially sad to see the huge potential of Nigeria getting part asphyxiated at the altar of bigotry. Personally, I don’t bow to Mecca or kiss a Bishop’s hand. I see myself as only truly affirming my acceptance of God by showing respect for the others of my kind he saw fit in his wisdom to put me in the same space with.

And what are my thoughts on religious extremists and “haters”? I see them as being in the gutter and know that if I try to play their game, I will have to get into that gutter too. History has also taught me that, like the devil, religious zealots come in various guises – Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Hindu…