Global Extremism: Causes & Remedy

By:

Dr. Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak

Dr. Maziah Bte. Mustapha (Usul al-Din & Comparative Religion)

Department of Inter-Disciplinary Studies Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences

International Islamic University Malaysia

(maarji@iium.edu.my)

Presented to:

Academic Centre for Education, Culture & Research

Tehran, Iran

March, 2017

© ACECR & maarji

Abstract

Global Extremism: Causes & Remedy This presentation examines on extremism and act of terror committed

at the global level. Since extremism is an age-old phenomenon that

existed all throughout in the history of mankind, the presentation will

focus on the many forms of extremism that happen during this

modern age of globalization and telecommunication. The crux of the

presentation will focus on the root causes of extremism and how to

remedy the ever increasing rate of terror attacks that happens all over

the world. The researchers have also highlighted that it is unfair to

associate extremism carried out by people to their religions. This sort

of an unfair judgment has been done in the case of a Muslim to Islam,

while the non-Muslim is associated to mental illness. Last but not

least, the researchers call for a concerted effort from all, regardless

race and religion to join force to eradicate extremism and make this

world a safe place for all to live.

My Research Works 1. Konsepsi Pendidikan Akhlaq Menurut Muhammad Iqbal,

1992, Banda Aceh, Indonesia

2. Human Nature: A Comparative Analysis between Western and Islamic Psychology, 1997, IIUM

3. Contribution of Iqbal’s Dynamic Personality Theory to Islamic Psychology: A Contrastive Analysis with Freud and Selected Mainstream Western Psychology, 2011, IIUM 4

My Book on Iqbal:

Iqbal’s Theory of Personality: A Contrastive Analysis with Freud, Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany, 2013.

5

Extremism is a Global Phenomenon

• Extremism has been there in the human history

• Extremism has many manifestation; action, words, belief, political ideology, etc.

• There are regimes in the world which practice extremism, brutality, oppression, suppression, etc.

• Extreme people believe in “My way or no way or you take the highway”

Religious Extremism

• We have religious extremists in all faith groups

• It is unfair to implicate the shortcomings of the Muslims to Islam. Likewise sexual perversion in the West to Christianity

• Religious extremists don’t represent the true teachings of their religions

• The reality is always very from the ideal. This is true in all religions

Terrorists are Extreme People

• Terrorism is age-old problem. It has been there in the history of mankind

• Terrorists are found in many communities of the world

• It is unfair to blame the Muslims and Islam only

• Ever since 9/11 every Muslim is seen as a potential terrorist in the West. This is wrong

• Good Muslims living in the West and USA experience abuse and insult hurled against them by non-Muslims, white supremacists, etc.

What is Extremism

• It is the furthest point from the center

• It can be to the point of being extreme or a state of laxity

• It can be an action

• A psychological state of mind

• A character or behaviour

• Idea and Ideologies

What is Moderation

• the quality of doing something within reasonable limits (Cambridge Dictionary)

• the avoidance of excessiveness or extremes, especially in one's behavior, actions, or political views

• Ideas promoted by the Malaysian government. Under the Wasatiyyah concept, a balance is maintained in all human actions & reactions

Causes of Extremism

• Feeling superior above all others; it can be an individual, race, ideology, regime, religious denomination, cult, etc.

• Oppression can lead to violence, instability of the mind

• Misinterpretation of religious texts

• Reading religious scriptures out of context

• Bigotry

• fanaticism

• Racism, etc.

Media Propaganda

• The world media is not owned by Muslims

• It is wrong on the part of yhe media to associate the act of violence conducted by a Muslim to Islam

• When it is done by others, their religion is not linked. At many times their act of violence is attributed to mental illness

• In spite of the negative media reports, Islam is one of the fastest grow religions of the world

Remedy

• Don’t Play God Almighty on Earth

• Don’t go to the domain of God

• Though one could be a godly person, but he or she is not God

• Don’t be judgmental and impose punishment on others

• A religion should be judged by its teachings and not through the actions of its followers

• There should be a concerted effort from all countries and religious groups to fight extremism

Follow the Role-Model

• Emulate the moderate way from the Malay world, esp. Malaysia

• “Unity within Diversity”. People of diverse ethnicity, religion, language & culture live together

• Every group has its right to practice its own religion, participate in politics, etc.

• Election, dialogue, interfaith discussion can help to reduce racial & religious tensions

In Malaysia • The economic pie is shared by all races living in the

country

• No racial discrimination is tolerated

• Oppressive regimes in the world can learn good lessons from Malaysia. Palestinians and Rohingya problems can be easily resolved by following Malaysia’s formula in dealing with race related issues

• The ‘Open-House’ concept practiced in Malaysia brings people of different race and religion together. In a way, this prevents racial polarization

Follow Prophet Muhammad’s Way •The best role-model for the whole of mankind •The way he dealt with the non-Muslims (Jews & Christians) •The way he dealt with the prisoners of war •The mercy and kindness shown towards the Mushrikeen during the Victory of Mecca •He advised his followers from going into extreme in the practice of their religion •In a war situation, he advised his followers not to kill women, children, the priestly, not to destroy food and water resources. Non-combatants lives should be spared • Advised the Muslims to fight war when it has been

imposed on the Muslims. Otherwise dialogue is the best

War in the Muslim world should stop

• Stop all the uncalled wars and sectarian violence. Learn from those nations that were into war in the past. After two World Wars Europeans started to respect human lives. The Japanese too stopped going into war. At the moment, all these countries are into science and technology and their countries are developing at a rapid pace

• Eradication of poverty, fight against illiteracy, equal rights for women, pursuing higher education, research and scientific investigation should all be seen as a form of Jihad(striving for excellence)

New Approach • Politics in the Muslim world should not be

confrontational but should be an engaging one. Open to discussion and diplomacy

• The West should stop its interference in the domestic politics in the Muslim countries

• Minority Muslims living in non-Muslim countries should be treated fairly and given their rights as citizens

• The west can be good in science & technology, but can learn from the Muslims & eastern culture on spirituality

Started with the fall of Baghdad in 1258

One after another the empires started to fall

Muslim scholars were caught in their own polemics in the areas of Islamic jurisprudence

Over politicking, tribalism, dispute over trivial issues in their school of thought brought disunity in the Ummah

Muslim scholars did not contribute during the European Industrial Revolution during the 18th century

European colonization also caused the knowledge and technological gap in Muslim countries

Colonization has created dependency on the West

Politics dominates the hearts and minds of people

Muslim countries are lagging behind others when it comes to technology

Critical & creative thinking, innovative and progressive thinking are all missing in the Muslim world

Muslims have become one of the largest consumer society in this planet. All branded items in science & technology are produced by non-Muslim countries

Development in the Muslim countries are held back due to over politicking

Left behind compared to the rest of the world due to war, sectarian violence, illiteracy, tribal culture, etc.

War has caused humanitarian crisis in many parts of the Muslim world

The conflict among different sects in Islam is a never ending one. No permanent solution has been found to put a stop to this age old problem

Brain drain phenomenon. Muslim countries lose talented scientists and scholars to the West

Refugee and asylum seekers going to the West

Muslim countries and organizations have passed on the Muslims problems to the West to deal with

Disunity among Muslim countries is a major issue

Some try to change the world into Islamic by violent means

Expecting others to solve dispute among Muslim countries (U.S., UN, EU, Nato, etc)

Wealth generated from oil and gas is not put into productive means to improve the pathetic conditions of the Muslim Ummah

Muhammad Iqbal, Jamaluddin Al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh believe that the Muslim Ummah can be productive if they can make a marriage between the Zikr(spirituality) and Fikr (knowledge & scientific investigation) mentioned in the Qur’an

All Muslim countries must allocate large amount of their national budget for education, scientific research, sustainable development and at the same time reduce the percentage spent on the purchase of armaments

Prevent ‘brain drain’ by introducing ‘brain gain’ and ‘brain retention’

After electing a new government, Muslim countries must go on with their agenda on nation building and stop over politicking, slander campaign, character assassination, etc

All conspiracies to overthrow a legitimately elected government, undemocratic means of grabbing power, coup d'état , should be avoided

Invest and produce new technology of their own

Muslims must be prepared to learn and co-exist with others

Following the path of moderation preached in the Qur’an and Sunnah

Promulgate Islam with beautiful preaching and good character

Muslims must be prepared to learn the good and useful things that come from others

What makes the rainbow beautiful and interesting are the different shades of

colours.What makes humanity interesting is the

variation of our race, colour,language, culture, etc. So, why fight and kill

one another

(Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak)IIUM

Humanity

Clash of civilizations brings disharmony. Co-existence of

civilizations inspires us to see beauty and acceptance of one

another

(Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak)IIUM

Civilization

Moteshakeram

Syukran Jazilan

Terima Kasih

Thank You