Uniting Against Radicalism
March 30th, 2005 by sfuqua
While most pundits blame Islamic fundamentalism (or Jewish, or
Christian, etc.) for violence in the name of religion, Turkish author Harun
Yahya believes it is rather radicalism that drives the
supposedly-religious to violence. To achieve a mutual peace will require
sustained efforts at educating all believers about the truths in other
religions and downplaying radical ideologies.
By Harun Yahya
Radical tendencies, irrespective of their origin, are one of the most
dangerous threats to world peace and security. Radicalism means to advocate
fundamental and sudden changes by means of uncompromising and hard-line
policies. In an environment where mutual acceptance and understanding have
ceased to exist, people begin to feel animosity toward different ideologies
or races without knowing what the other party really represents or
believes.
In our own time, radicalism has emerged among Muslims, Christians, and
Jews. This situation is abused and taken advantage of by proponents of Samuel
Huntington's proposed clash of civilizations theory. The scale of
radicalism's threat to world peace has become apparent in the 9/11
attacks on the United States and its consequences. The fact that these
attacks are widely believed to have been carried out in the name of Islam
resulted in a great deal of prejudice against Muslims and misunderstanding of
Islam. Given the fact that Islam prohibits all acts of violence and
aggression, most of the Islamic world condemned these terrorist attacks.
Muslims prayed alongside Christians for the innocent lives lost, and American
Muslims rushed to the aid of the victims. Despite this, prejudice against
Muslims in the United States and some European countries has vastly
increased, and incidences of violence have been reported. In order to
eradicate radicalism and its damaging consequences, cultural and educational
campaigns designed to reach all sections of society must be organized. We can
list the topics and the responsibilities of various sections of society to be
covered by this program, as follows:
An awareness that radicalism, an extremist tendency that is incompatible
with true religious morality, must be defeated ideologically so that its
claim to be acting in the name of religion can be exposed as false. People of
all three divinely revealed religions must be told that they have a
responsibility to be compassionate, patient, gentle, friendly, polite, and
respectful. They have to be made aware that God forbids violence, aggression,
and anything that harms innocent people. They must understand that it is
wrong to go down that path. These efforts will ensure that all radicals will
be recognized as misguided liars and thereby prevented from finding new
recruits.
A program must be designed to give full and accurate information about all
parties involved in the conflict, so that international dialogue becomes
possible. An important step toward mutually friendly relations is the
creation of an environment in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims can begin
to know each other's beliefs, traditions, and rituals better. This can be
done through cultural and educational programs. As people come to know each
other better, they will realize that they have many things in common. This,
in turn, will make reconciliation possible. Muslims, Christians, and Jews
should tell one another about their respective worldviews in line with
God's divine books of revelation, thereby preventing the mutual
misunderstanding and radicalism caused by a lack of accurate knowledge.
The media must support the cultural activities necessary to create an
environment conducive to international dialogue. They should refrain from
sensationalism, which incites violence and segregation, and focus on
broadcasts that encourage moderation and acceptance. Carefully prepared
broadcasts by the western media will play an important role in eradicating
the currently widespread anti-Muslim prejudice. Muslim media organizations,
for their part, must refrain from broadcasts and opinions that incite hatred
toward non-Muslims and concentrate instead on cultural and spiritual
education in the Islamic world.
Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious leaders and opinion makers must
identify people who are bent on portraying myths and false beliefs as part of
the religious code. They must teach people that God commands believers to be
balanced and gentle, and that all extremism is contrary to religious
morality. Political leaders must support this awareness campaign in order to
prevent extremism in society and to prepare the ground for moderation.
These and similar joint efforts will eradicate the conditions conducive to
radicalism. In Qur'an 2:113, God reveals that the Jews claimed that the
Christians "have nothing to stand on" and vice versa. In reality,
God knows best who is right, which is why genuine believers must seek to draw
closer to God instead of accusing one another. The following verse reveals
that people who act otherwise are wrong:
The Jews say: "The Christians have nothing to stand on," and the
Christians say: "The Jews have nothing to stand on," yet they both
recite the Book. Those who do not know say the same as they say. God will
judge between them on the Day of Resurrection regarding the things about
which they differ. (Qur'an, 2:113)
Eradicating the harm caused by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim radicals is
possible only if all moderate, peace-loving, civilized, and genuinely
religious people cooperate and form an alliance. Such an alliance will defeat
those who present war and conflict as the only option, and disprove the
assertions of those who advocate a show of force as the only way to achieve
security and prevent further bloodshed, tears, and material damage.
Qur'anic Morality Forbids Extremism
Islamic societies have been centers of mutual acceptance and goodwill
toward non-Muslims throughout history, particularly in our Prophet's (may
God bless him and grant him peace) time.
Radicalism is an ideological movement and political approach that is
foreign to Islam. When radical groups are examined, it gradually becomes
clear that they are, in reality, using a compilation of communist slogans and
methods or that they have adopted the "fanatical rage of the Time of
Ignorance" (Qur'an, 48:26). One of the common characteristics of
such ideologies is their emotional force, an underlying cause of radicalism
that is totally incompatible with God's commands. The Qur'an
describes Muslims as people who control their anger and who are reasonable,
moderate, and tolerant. Muslims must be polite and respectful when
interacting with people of different beliefs and ideologies.
All Muslims must refrain from a harsh, angry, and challenging approach,
for these are contrary to the Qur'an's method and essence. Instead,
Muslims must adopt the accepting, moderate, calm, and rational approach
described in the Qur'an. In other words, they must be role models for
humanity and earn people's admiration for the morality of Islam and
themselves. Muslims should also make great progress and produce superb works
of science, culture, art, and aesthetics, as well as live Islam in the best
way, and thus represent it to the world.
Profile on Harun Yahya: A leading Muslim intellectual from Turkey,
Harun Yahya is the author of many books concerning the world of Islam such as
the relationship of science and Islam, interfaith dialogue, and the
importance of unity among believers of all faiths.
