Extremism and its Effects on our Society

Intrduction
In today’s society extremism has emerged as challenge in Pakistan and especially from last few
decades. It has adverse effect on our society and effected our lives in different aspects in life. Its
major reason is the presence of radical minds and bigots in our society. These groups have
adopted violent ways to impose their own narratives. In today’s world, the role and
responsibilities of an individual, family, community, and nation are mixed up. Also, right and
wrong are blended and it is difficult to differentiate them. The religion and purpose of life are
misunderstood. Every corner of the world is burning with the flames of injustice, economic
inequality, and racial disparities, persecution of religion, and ethnicity to name some of the
issues afflicting the Muslim world.  No one is taking care of the problems Muslims are facing as
everyone is busy with dealing its own problem. 

Everyone is trying to write the prescription. This is like someone prescribing medicine that he or
she never learned or heard of. In other words, everyone is giving fatwa (religious edict) without
enough knowledge. In a country like the U.S., one cannot open a clinic or give prescription
unless he or she is certified from an accredited institution. Unfortunately, Muslims do not have
an oversight agency due to lack of central authority. Extremists have benefited from the chaotic
state of affairs in the Muslim world. Extremists who are committing violent acts in the name of
our religion abuse Islam. Articles and videos from Islamic Workplace show that terrorists kill
more Muslims than non-Muslims. 85% of people killed by Al-Qaida between 2004 and 2008
have been Muslims. People with hardliner views are everywhere. 

Islam is not the idea of a person and these preceding examples are enough for us. Whoever does
not agree or follow the Prophet (pbuh) and rightly guided caliphate is basically misrepresenting
Islam. The Prophet never sent troops unless he admonished them to not kill priests, women,
children, and farmers or destroy places of warship, general public places such as hospitals,
schools, etc. Islam is very clear and we all know the examples and behaviors of the Prophet
(pbuh) towards people of other faiths. The outlaw group who called Muslims of Minnesota and
their scholars murtads (apostates) surely have other agendas. This is because Minnesota Muslims
clearly stood against extremism and terrorism of Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabab views.  This outlaw
group is simply not happy about the unity of Muslims and their actions to stop anti-Islam, anti-
Muslim and anti-humanity threats. If going to church to talk and interact with non-Muslims
makes someone non- Muslim is unheard.
Extremism is described as actions or ideologies of individuals or groups outside the perceived
political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards. In other
words, it is excessive actions or opinions of fanatical method of behavior. This dangerous idea is
not new to Muslims - it existed since the Prophet’s time.  They accused the Prophet of not acting
justly. When Omar bin Al-Khattab asked the Prophet a permission to take action after they
accused the Prophet for not acting justly, the Prophet said just leave them, “He has friends whose
worshipping exceeds yours, and whose fasting is better than yours and they recite the Qur’an but
it does not go beyond their collar bones.” Deviations are as a result of weak, twisted, and
impotent understanding. The Prophet (pbuh) judged some people to be misguided and that they
were the worst of creatures even though they did many acts of worship such as prayers, fasting,
and reciting the Qur’an. Some of their characteristics include: declaring people to be unbelievers
including Muslim authorities/leaders, fighting against Muslims or anyone that has different
views from theirs.

 The ideology that promotes hate and violence is not part of Islam, no more than excessive and
deviation from the path of majority of Muslims. Unfortunately, these days many people are using
the name of the religion to fulfill their political agenda and to promote their hate message to the
community. And if the Muslims do not stand shoulder to shoulder to stop this virus idea, it will
create more problems. This corrupted ideology is connected to the (khawarij sect) in early days
of Islam. They killed the Islamic leader, Ali bin Abi Talib (r’a). This type of extremism puts
much emphasis on minor issues based on their narrow understanding.  They make anyone who
does not fit their profile out of the religion. That attitude is unwise in an interdependent world.
Proper understanding leads to correct action, proper application and avoiding pitfalls. ‘Omar Ibn
Abdul-Aziz said, “If a person does something without understanding, he causes more harm than
good.” They are missing the whole value and principles of Islam, which are moderation,
tolerance, cooperation, justice, equality, and peace. The main objectives of Islam are protection
of religion, life, property, intellect and dignity. They are missing authority and order of Islam
such as who is gives fatwa (religious rulings) within Islamic guidelines. Giving fatwa is not an
easy task. One has to take into consideration the place, the time, the people and the situation;
therefore, only a trained mufti can give fatwa. 

Extremism originally means to go beyond the proper limits, or to exceed them, or to overstep all
bounds. Accordingly, extremism in the religion is defined as the act of exceeding the proper
bounds or limits in the religion and showing harshness in its practices. It is this meaning that the
holy Qur'an pointed to when Allah the Almighty says: "O people of the scripture (Christians)!
Do not exceed the limits in your religion, nor say of Allah aught but the truth" (Qur'an: 4, Verse:
171).” As the prophet of mercy Muhammad (May Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon Him)
also emphasized the same meaning in His tradition which states: "Beware of extremism in the
religion" (An- Nasai and Ibn Majah). “And fight in the way of Allah those who fight with you,
and do not exceed the limits, surely Allah does not love those who exceed the limits”. (Qur’an 2,
Verse: 190) In analyzing our societies today, we can no longer ignore the impact and influence
of the drastically changing religious picture on the geo-political situation of countries and
regions. Ecology, demography, rights, economy, personal life, international relations, all these
elements are in one way or another marked by the upheavals that have come about in the
religious sphere.

Effects
The rise of religious extremism in many of our societies is one phenomenon which not only
poses a strong danger and threat to people’s lives and security and to the consolidation of a more
democratic and pluralistic political life but has also reached such an amplitude where terror
reigns and solutions have become even more difficult to achieve. Extremism has many
dimensions which makes society vulnerable. It persists at all levels of society in many forms.
Such as extremism related to the Creed, which means over stepping the bounds of the correct and
proper beliefs in a particular religion. Extremism is also related to deeds, it is any kind of
extremist act that falls within the range of the five legal rulings, namely: obligatory,
recommended, prohibited, disapproved, permissible. Therefore, whoever makes a recommended
issue obligatory, or a disapproved issue prohibited, or a permitted issue disapproved has held to
extremism in his deeds. Similarly, if a person makes the night prayer (tahjud) obligatory for
himself, he has become an extremist based on this action, because he placed a recommended
matter in place of obligatory one and he has exceeded the bounds of Sunnah in this aspect.

The main objectives of Islam are protection of religion, life, property, intellect and dignity. They
are missing authority and order of Islam such as who is gives fatwa (religious rulings) within
Islamic guidelines. Giving fatwa is not an easy task. One has to take into consideration the place,
the time, the people and the situation; therefore, only a trained mufti can give fatwa. The
renowned scholar, Dr. Yusuf Al-Qardawi said, “The method that I’ve employed over the course
of my entire life is: That I seek to build and I don’t destroy, I unify and I don’t divide; I leave
[other scholars] to make their own choices, and I will not force my opinions and legal
conclusions on them, nor will I let them force me to follow their opinions... and legal verdicts."
Therefore, the rush to judgment and labeling innocent people unbeliever is a very serious crime
in Islam. Those who act this way continue to cause irreparable harm to Islam and Muslims and
they must stopped before they cause more harm.

Solutions
Pakistan needs possible solutions to prevent this plague from further spreading. Media and civil
society should join hands together and launch a vigorous campaign against violence and also
publish human interest stories about the victims of indiscriminate terrorist violence. There is vital
need for a grand strategy for covering terrorism and extremism based on inculcating justice in
society. Unfortunately, we don’t have an independent state, which is under debt of International
Monitoring Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Real problem is not terrorism, it is extremism and
unfortunately, we are full of religion, but devoid of culture. There is monopoly of violence.
Monopoly of violence does not mean that the state should have the power to do anything with
the masses but it states that this power should be legitimized through specific rules and laws.
Common strand among diverse religious extremists in Pakistan is that they all have supra-state
mindset they want to subvert and override the state. A strategy of dislocation that isolates the
terrorists from the context that strengthens them is needed.
There is need for creating a legacy that would inspire youth and engage them with one another in
meaningful ways. Where there is justice, radicalism and extremism will cease to exist. It is the
state’s basic responsibility to provide justice. Government should implement a strict law for all
the organizations and religious institutes. Any organizations which will be found involved in
promoting or blurring the wrong Islamic concepts should be dealt severely. The vigorous
enforcement of laws is desired in every respect. Most of the children getting education in
madrassas are from the rural areas of Pakistan. Rural areas of Pakistan are the hub of feudalism.
Feudals mostly believe in violence and consider it a best ‘Retention Policy’. The government
must act against such families who have been busy in curbing other individually through
violence. The spread of education is another aspect which can create awareness among the
people. The religious organizations usually target those people who are illiterate so the technique
of brainwashing can be applied on them simply. Therefore education is an impotent tool which
the government can use to ward off any presence of evil mindedness from the society.

Different peace projects should be started between the people of different sects to reduce
sectarian differences. If a peace project like “Aman ki Asha” could be started between the two
rival states to reduce the differences. Why cannot we start peace projects between different sects
and religions living in our society? In this way confusions and delusions regarding different
concepts of Islam and other religions can be reduced. Other possible solutions can be following:
Civil society organisations (CSOs) should continue to fight for peace, security, human rights,
social justice, equality and poverty alleviation. The State should provide enabling environment
and institutions to ensure equal access to the resources of life and freedom of expression. 
Religion-based approach of political and social engagement should transcend differences and
focus more on common human-centered values. Religion should not be hijacked by religious
leaders with personal agendas.

Special emphasis should be put on the role of education in the fight against religious extremism.
Special emphasis should also be put on the inter-and-intra convictional dialogues at local,
national, regional as well as international levels When using dialogue as a mean of reaching
better understanding and living together, one should address all the dimensions of the person,
and not only the religious dimension.