Let religious freedom reign

One must agree with Rabiya Cassim's letter concerning Boko Haram's dastardly deeds in Nigeria.

One cannot blame all followers of Islam for these and other horrific acts of terror being perpetrated throughout the world. One must remember it wasn't long ago that Christians in Ireland were subjecting each other to exactly the same thing.

One must ask what is the root cause of these acts of terror, which Cassim refers to as "Jahiliyyah".

I can only answer this by example, and that is the harmony we South Africans experience on a daily basis.

Since 1994, our constitution protects the rights of the individual to: uphold their language and culture; practice the religion of their choice; freedom of association; freedom of movement.

These rights do not apply in many countries, especially the freedom to practice the religion of one's choice. This creates the myth that "other people's religion" is not the "true religion". Whatever religion is ostracised doesn't bode well for harmonious living.