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. Harun Yahya
enjoys a wide readership from all nations, languages
and religions, and many of his books have been translated
into more than 40 languages. His works have also
been received with interest by Western scientific
circles, and some of his scientific texts have been
reviewed in various scientific journals as the most
important expositions of Islamic creationism. These
journals include The New Scientist, Science, NCSE
(National Center for Science Education) Reports,
and The Cladistics.
