Religious extremism in our country…

Religious extremism is a term that is much debated across various spheres around the world. Thus it becomes imperative to give a meaningful definition to this term before proceeding. I believe it is very clear that one could be regarded as an extremist in general if he/she steps outside any set boundaries. Thus in this regard one can be referred to as a religious extremist if the person steps out of boundaries set by that particular religion.

As such it is becoming increasingly evident that in today’s Maldivian community we are increasingly facing with the problem of religious extremism. The consequences of this problem is severely detrimental to the country in whatever way we think about it; be it socially, economically, politically, or religious-wise. The problem has also been officially recognised by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, in its recently released Annual Report.

Hence we should be giving this real issue a more serious attention and look into the matter in terms of its historical background, in terms of how extremism began in the Islamic history and what could and should be done to ‘move back’ into the boundaries of Islam.

In this regard we know from historical literature that Islam’s third Khalifa Othman bin Affan was killed during a great turmoil by a group of youth and young aged Muslims who unfortunately dared to kill him.

History makes it clear that indeed this group (which was called the Khawarij) consisted of rushed and inexperienced youth. They were the kind of people who were taken in by delusions, who did not investigate before judging and did not learn the knowledge of what is permissible and what is impermissible.

It can be deduced that those people and whoever is similar to them in the present time (such as some we find in our country) share common features such as:

1- Weak knowledge of the truth of religion. Lacking understanding of its rulings and purposes. Some of them might think that they are scholars but they do not have the right knowledge.

2- Some of them care much about appearances and neglect true meanings. Such people know the words of the texts but they are unaware of the contents and purposes of that text. They do not hesitate in discussing the most difficult of matters and end up rushing the rulings and indulging their tongues in deciding what is permissible and what is not.

3- People like this excessively and extremely insist on their opinions without recognising the opinion of others or admitting the truth with their opponents. They are so narrow in their thinking and so limited in their sight yet they claim to acquire the truth and accuse their opponents of rebellion and debauchery or following their desires!

4- They usually choose the extreme position without regard for whether this was appropriate to the time, person or place. Their approach of the religion is always extreme and they close all doors of ease and concession for Muslims.

5- Being always extreme leads them to be harsh in their dealings with others, rough in the way they approach people and cruel in the way they call to Islam.

6- This kind of person always has a negative assumption of others. They only see the shortcomings of the others and treat them whilst assuming the worst. They do not try to find excuses for others and they do not start with the right intention and the good assumption.

7- The only thing left after that is issuing a judgment upon anyone that does not agree with them that they are disobedient or disbelievers. They make the blood and properties lawful for themselves and they don’t care about the sanctity of anything.

This was the trap that the group known as the Khawarij fell into at the early time of Islam. They were the most adherent to acts of worship (praying, fasting and reciting Quran) but they were tested by the corruption of their own minds and judgments. This kind of people killed Othman and fought Ali.

They fit the description of those whom their deeds has been made attractive so they considers them good - they are those whose effort is lost in worldly life - while they think that they are doing well in work. They were described by the Prophet when he said to his companions: “If you compare your prayers with their prayers and your fasting with theirs, you will look down upon your prayers and fasting, in comparison to theirs.” Despite that, he (pbuh) continued to say: “Yet they will go out of the religion as an arrow darts through the game's body”.

It is a duty for every Muslim to seek the right knowledge. This knowledge should be taken from trusted scholars who exert effort to acquire knowledge and to be god-fearing and just.

The practice of the Prophet and his companions was to bring ease and prevent hardship. He (pbuh) said: “Beware of being extreme and exceeding the limits in the religion, for that which destroyed the people before you was none other than extremism in the religion” and in another hadith: “Destroyed are those who are extreme, he said it three times”.

May we strive, as one united body, towards the common cause of eradicating religious extremism from our country!