THERE ARE SIX major religions in the world: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. There are many other religions with smaller numbers of followers, of course, and every religion has many sects, cults or subdivisions. Some sects, however, are non-religious groups.
Names often have religious identity. Any shortening or modification of names can be hurtful to a devoted religious person, even if he or she remains stoical. It may also have legal consequences.
For example, if the Muslim surname ‘Din’ were inadvertently written by a non-Muslim official as ‘Dean’, it may affect the matching with other records such as passport details or an internet or international police search. The brain tends to play innocent tricks, and may find a familiar word while ignoring the unfamiliar name. It is prudent and essential to write accurately the spellings of non-English names.
Patterns of murders and suicides may vary with religious rituals. Although there is no research evidence – and there may be many exceptions to the rules – the following possibilities may need to be considered in investigations and trials:
The use of guns is universal but more common among Europeans, with Christians in the majority;
The use of knives is worldwide but more common among Africans, especially Christians;
Death by fire is more common among Hindu populations;
Beheading is more common among Muslim populations;
Other people may have various other observations in this area.
Ethnic (racial) issues There are five races in the world: whites, blacks, Asian (south Asians), Chinese and mixed. A person’s race and colour of skin must be considered with equal respect as it has human, medical and legal consequences.
A bruise would look different in whites, blacks, Asians and others. This would matter in personal injury and child abuse cases:
- In white skin, a rash is pink or red (erythema) and a bruise is mauve or violet.
- In black skin a rash is mauve or violet and a bruise is dark purple. This can be mistaken as child abuse injuries.
- Among Asians and Chinese, the findings would be in between the above two categories.
Tropical boils could leave long-lasting scars in black or dark skin but not in white skin. To untutored eyes, these could be mistaken as child abuse or assault-induced bruises.
In tropical regions of Africa and Asia, there is a lot of sunshine, dust, flies (carrying bacteria) and mosquitoes. Children often play outdoors, and they may get many boils, particularly on the exposed parts of the skin, made worse by scratching. When these boils heal, they leave long-lasting dark purple or black marks which may vary in shape and size. It seems to be related to the melanin pigment in the black skin.
In 26 years of service as a school medical officer in London, I have never seen such marks in white skin.
Mosquitoes, fleas and other insect bites could cause similar marks in black and dark skins. Keloid scars are more distinct and more common in black skin. The treatment of warts (burning with carbon dioxide liquid) may leave more noticeable mark on black skin than in white skin. The actual list is long.
Finally, I urge the judiciary, legal and prosecution authorities to consider, with equal respect, every person’s cultural, religious, non-religious and ethnic (racial) characteristics in investigations and deliberations to deliver justice, because these matters matter.