November 18, will mark 23 years since American self-styled Rev Jim Jones caused nearly 900 men, women and children to die in Guyana's jungle, where he had leased land to build an agricultural community for his organisation, the People's Temple, which he had imported here from the US, members and all.

Guyana is still remembered around the world for being home to Jonestown, the name given to Jones' community. And the massacre that occurred there was the closest Guyana had come to being affected by religious extremism, until now. Guyana has lost some 22 citizens in the terrorist attacks on the United States, masterminded by Osama bin Laden (the US and Britain say there is irrefutable evidence that he is responsible). And Guyanese living in the US, along with citizens of other countries have been affected by the ensuing fallout -- the monster that is religious intolerance rearing its ugly head in places that it had been felt to be dormant. In the US and many other countries, persons perceived as different -- who wear eastern dress, are of the same religion as, or resemble the perpetrators -- have been the targets of physical and verbal attacks.

Bin Laden, al Quaeda and their protectors -- the Taliban military government in Afghanistan -- are extreme fundamentalists, who inflict a form of intolerance on the Afghans. Charisma and religious extremists can be as volatile as a ticking time bomb.

Recent examples of this include the International Chivalric Order Solar Tradition called the Solar Temple and Heaven's Gate.

The Solar Temple members believed in a mix of Christianity, new-age Philosophy and homeopathic medicine. They were convinced that their leader was Christ, that his daughter was "the cosmic child," that death was an illusion and he would lead them to continued life on a planet, which revolved around the star Sirius. Between 1995 and 1997, believing that they were being persecuted by various governments, 74 members of the Solar Temple were murdered or committed suicide, in Quebec, France or Switzerland. The Solar Temple group continues to exist; it is believed to have some 500 surviving members worldwide.

Members of Heaven's Gate believe in a combination of elements of Christianity and UFO visitation. Their leader was supposed to have come to earth from the Kingdom of Heaven and been given the body of Jesus Christ. They supported themselves by designing web pages for a profit. They also used the Internet as a recruitment tool; they have a site called Heaven's Gate, which is still active. Between March 1997 and February 1998, 41 members, including the founder, voluntarily committed suicide believing that they would leave their bodies behind and their souls would eventually be grafted onto a representative of the "level above human" aboard a UFO space ship.

Today in Kenya, there exists a community called 'Heaven', whose founder calls himself 'God'. He has 25 wives and 70 children and has sent messages to Queen Elizabeth and the Pope, instructing them to gather world leaders and prepare for the end of their rule on earth.

Following the events of September ll, we need to remind ourselves, perhaps, that religious fanatics who commit outrages in the name of any of the great faiths, are not truly representative of those faiths. All the main religions of the world espouse a fundamentally peaceful message, which acknowledges the intrinsic humanity of others. We should not confuse the distortions of the message with the message itself.