"Uniting Against Radicalism" by Harun Yahya

[Derin Kutlu]

UNITING AGAINST RADICALISM
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. He had penned important works disclosing the imposture of 
evolutionists, their invalid claims, and the dark liaisons between Darwinism 
and such bloody ideologies as fascism and communism. 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.