'Pigeon holes' are for the Birds
Sireen Amatullah

Anyone who has worked in an office or organisation will be familiar with the concept of having a 'pigeon hole', a small compartment where all their letters and messages are gathered. Another use of the term 'pigeon hole', perhaps a colloquial one, is it's use as an  expression  for people, to put them into a particular group or category ie: to 'pigeon hole' them.
 
From the time we are born, society tries continuously to identify us as belonging to a particular group or genre ; these identifiers are many-fold; they include family-name/descent, gender, ethnic-origin, Nationality, occupation, social status etc. The list is endless, but each and every formation is to gather and bracket us together to differentiate one group from another.
 
One such commonly utilised category, is that of which religion we follow. Religious differences can be obvious or hidden, some identifiable by a particular form of appearance, but most without any outwardly demonstrable characteristics.Whilst it could be said that modern society is becoming increasingly secular and religious differences are less important in day to day life,  some people of faith still consider it  of vital importance to delineate and stress the identifying moral imperatives, laid out in the traditions of their own particular faith; in fact countless wars have been waged historically and are still raging worldwide in the name of religion.
 
If we were to peel back the layers of religious labels, division and subdivision, dissimilarities,  groupings, sects, factions, that this world ensnares and stiflingly-encloses us in, what would we find? We might be amazed to discover that running through most sacred scriptures is a central theme of universally accepted truths and moral values. A common set of principles, denoting the innate understanding of right and wrong, can be found to underpin and link together the three faiths which worship the One God i.e.: Islam, Judaism and Christianity; although whether Christianity can be deemed a true monotheistic faith when they accept the concept of Trinity is another theological  debate. The most cursory of glances at other religions, which advocate belief in many Gods, eg. Hinduism, reveal this recurrent pattern; without a prescriptive dogma, they too advocate a common understanding of morality around these same concepts. Indeed a similar, albeit basic, moral code can be found within the rhetoric of particular atheistic and agnostic groups. Having no belief in, or a total rejection of, a supernatural/Creator God, and who  vehemently seek to attack and destroy  traditional sacred, religious beliefs, even they maintain a scientific/evidence-based ethically humanitarian  stance in their world view.
 
In an attempt to quantify these globally accepted, essential moral elements, let us take as a  spiritual and theistic yardstick a homogenised view of the familiar Western understanding of the 'Ten Commandments'; which are acknowledged to be within the creed of Judaism (detailed in the Torah), Christianity (mentioned in the Old  and New Testaments) and Islam (accepting of all God's  previously revealed scriptures, albeit deemed to have become corrupted over time). We take them in a general sense because of the differing historical records detailing as to when they were revealed, to whom, although the consensus is that they were given to the Prophet Moses (either once or twice) and whether there were ten or up to fifteen in number (with the case of the Holy Qur'an,  the sacred book of Islam, they are not specifically enumerated at all but integral throughout the text) and the specifics of the principles involved. We can use them because they are, as near as possible, all-encompassing of  the spiritual regulation needed to equate to all the basic,  inherent standards/code of behaviour by which the vast majority of people  globally would wish to harmoniously live; they are  detailed below as follows:
 
- The declaration that there is One God, alone, without progeny, to whom all worship should be directed
- No idols or representations of God should be made or venerated
- That the name of God should never be used casually or inappropriately
- A holy day should be observed, once a week
- Honour  and absolute respect should be shown to Mother and Father
- Must not murder/kill unlawfully
- Must not commit adultery
- Must not steal
- Must not lie, but deal truthfully at all times
- Not be envious, or desirous, of anything that belongs to another person.
 
An adherent to the above Divinely revealed laws can be deemed to be leading a pious and righteous life, whether they be a Muslim, Jew or Christian. They are global ethics, forming the bedrock of  the three monotheistic faiths (with some variances in interpretation and practise). They exemplify a complete  moral code comprising: Worshipping the One God with all love, humility, hope, reverence and gratitude; living with our fellow man in a spirit of brotherly love, seeking peaceful co-existence, mutual respect, faithfulness and fidelity, trust and honesty, whilst observing at all times the sanctity of life and full validation of the rights of others'. Islam wonderfully summarises all these spiritual directives in  two ways, firstly by asking us to worship God as if  we see Him, because even if we can't see Him, He sees us every moment, and secondly telling us that we do not possess  real faith until we love for our brother what we love for ourselves.

 
In conclusion, it can be said that while life/society seeks to set us apart from one another by 'pigeon holing' us into certain, distinct groups and highlights disparities and distinguishing features between those groups; we should realise there is a common thread of our generic humanity which runs through, and thereby binds us all together, no matter how diverse our outer form. Irrespective of  the religious doctrine we follow, when we are cut, we bleed. As human beings we share the same aspirations, trials and tribulations of this world; princes and paupers all have human concerns of seeking truth, purpose, love and fulfilment in this passing world. Identically, we are born, grow to maturity, degenerate and die, no-one escapes; the sands of time are slipping through our fingers continuously until finally they run out and death, the greatest leveller of all, takes us. One may have specific beliefs enshrined within a particular named faith and creed, but should never lose sight of the common foundations of universal humanity on which all these differing faith groups firmly rest.