Is God to Blame for War?

The world is awash in conflict founded on religious belief.  The Hindus and the Muslims are at war in India and Pakistan; the Jews and the Muslims are at war in the Middle East.   Christians have burned heretics of all types throughout history, and within the larger groups are subgroups that war with each other. If you really think about it, you might be hard-pressed to find a war that didn’t have some element of religious conflict at its root. While it may be that wars are really fought for political and economic reasons, and religion is just used to motivate people to fight, religion is, nevertheless, in there somewhere.

Author, M. Ram Krishn, has taken this understanding and run with it in his new novel, The Book of Walla, a fascinating account of what happens when religion is made to explain its starring role in human misery. Dr. Shoorab gets involved in a riot outside a Hindu temple, and his world is ripped violently apart. Convinced that religious dogma is liable for his loss, he decides to sue God, naming the various religious councils as joint defendants. The litigation forces bishop, mufti, and swami to temporarily put aside their differences and pull together in defense of their respective faiths - and God. Amidst global unrest calling for the dismissal of the lawsuit, the trial judge finds himself in a peculiar dilemma as events unfold in the courtroom, conscious that his decision could change the world forever.

Raised in Georgetown, Penang, M. Ram Krishn was exposed to a number of world religions. Fascinated by the mystery of faith, he traveled across continents to cities steeped in religious history and culture. As a traveler and an attorney, he explored the many faces of the human character. Having lived in racially polarized Malaysia and in class-conscious England, he currently resides in the laid-back Caribbean with his wife, daughter, and son. This is his first novel.

Available from Llumina Press, Ingram, and Baker & Taylor.