Sectarianism’s Disease Does Not Fade Away So Easily

If one is sectarian, then him leaving his sect does not necessarily entail that he has abandoned his sectarian ways. It may simply mean that he merely only changed the sect he is being loyal to.

Sectarianism is a disease of the heart, and the worst symptoms of this disease are displays of injustice and double standards. This is where one is willing to commit acts of injustice towards others to favor his group and out of enmity toward anyone who is not a member (formally or informally) of it. He is unwilling to consistently apply rules of morality and hold people accountable according to them consistently due to favoring his own sect. What makes it even worse is that he does not even view such behavior as “injustice,” for he believes it is right to treat others outside his sect with such bias.

If these traits remain with a person even after leaving a sect, his problems have not been resolved, far from it. One may very well be an adherent of a sect, yet not be sectarian. Mere adherence to a sect does not make you sectarian in the negative sense. Rather, it is these horrid characteristics that make it so.

This disease is not limited to just sects; it also extends to parties, groups, establishments, organizations, etc.