Extremism  Extremism literal means:  being situated at the farthest possible point from the centre;  going to great or exaggerated lengths;  exceeding the ordinary, usual, or expected.  Figuratively, it indicates a similar remoteness in religion, politics and ethnicity. 1

Extremism is referred to in the Holy Qur'an as follows 1. Ghuluww: The Qur’an addresses the people of the Book: " قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَا تَغْلُوا فِي دِينِكُمْ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا أَهْوَاءَ قَوْمٍ قَدْ ضَلُّوا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَأَضَلُّوا كَثِيرًا وَضَلُّوا عَنْ سَوَاءِ السَّبِيلِ ” ( المائدة : 77) “Say: O People of the Book! Exceed not in your religion the bounds [of what is proper]” (5:77) " لا تغلوا في دينكم " ( النساء : 171 ) “Commit no excesses in your religion” 2

 2. I'tida': " وقاتلوا في سبيل الله الذين يقاتلونكم ولا تعتدوا إن الله لا يحبّ المعتدين " البقرة ): 190 ( “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors.” 3

 3. Israf:  It also disapproves of and rejects the tendency to prohibit tayyibat (goodness) and zinah (beautification), which Allah has provided for His servants: " يَا بَنِي آَدَمَ خُذُوا زِينَتَكُمْ عِنْدَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِين " ( لأعراف :31) “O Children of Adam! wear your adornment at every time and place of prayer:; and eat and drink and be not extravagant; surely He does not love the extravagant.” (7:31) 4

 Islam condemns extremism in all its forms and recommends moderation. The Prophet says: “Beware of excessiveness in religion. [People] before you have perished as a result of [such] excessiveness.” He also said: “ يسروا ولا تعسروا وبشروا ولا تنفروا “ ( رواه البخاري ومسلم ) “ إن الدين يسر ولن يشاد الدين أحد إلا غلبه، فسددوا، وقاربوا، وأبشروا، واستعينوا، بالغدوة والروحة، وشيء من الدلجة “ ( رواه البخاري ) 5

Historical Background of Extremism  Extremism is not a new phenomenon, it can be found in all religions.  With regard to Islamic community, its root can be found in the early history of Islam. There have been many extremist schools and sects, which have impact on other extremist groups.  In this respect, Al-Khawaarij and Al- Murji’ah are the best known of early extremist groups. 6

Al-Khawaarij  They are the ones who set out to kill Ali bin Abee Taalib due to his rulership. Their methodology consists of freeing themselves from ‘Uthmaan and ‘Ali.  They believe that the person who commits a major sin will remain in the Hellfire forever.  They have branded all who oppose them as unbelievers [kaffaru man khalafahum]. They dare to heap curses on the Companions [Ashab] of the Prophet and on his Helpers [Ansar].  They do not believe in the torment of the tomb ['adhab al-qabr], nor in the Basin [Hawd], nor in the right of intercession [shafa'a] 7

Al-Murji’ah  They believe that actions are deferred from Iman (Al-Irjaa). Thus actions, according to them, are not part of it. Iman is simply the complying of the heart. Thus the sinner, according to them, is a believer with complete Iman, even if he does what he does from the disobedient acts or he abandons what he abandons from the obedient acts.  And if we ruled that someone that abandoned one of the commandments of the Religion is a disbeliever, then that would be due to the absence of the complying in his heart not due to his abandonment of that deed. And this view, along in comparison with the views of the Khawaarij, are the two opposite extremities. 8

Manifestation of Extremism 1.Bigotry and intolerance 2.Commitment to excessiveness and attempt to force others to do the same; 3.Obsolete religious excessiveness and overburdening of others; 4.Harshness in the treatment of people and crudeness in calling people to Islam 9

 It is unfair to accuse a person of “religious extreme” simply because he has adopted a ‘hard-line’ juristic opinion of certain fuqaha’. People naturally differ on this matter, even among the Prophet’s companions. For example, Ibn ‘Abbas facilitated religious matters, while Ibn ‘Umar was strict. 10

 A person whose knowledge of and commitment to Islam is little, or who has been brought up in an environment that neglects shari‘ah, will certainly consider even the minimal adherence to Islam as a kind of extremism. 11

The contemporary extremist activities could be classified to be mainly due to ignorance and flawed method of thoughts. Ignorance includes the following:  Lack of knowledge about the Qur´an,  Lacking in knowledge of the Sunnah,  Lacking in knowledge of the objectives of Shariah  Lack of knowledge of proofs and tools in concluding thoughts,  Lack of knowledge of the statements of the scholars and their legacies, 12

 Lack of knowledge of Arabic language and its rhetoric,  Lack of historical knowledge,  Ignorance of the reality and environment,  Ignorance of the different levels of people and the difference in approach. 13

And the flawed method of thoughts is evident in:  Taking a very literal approach of the Qur’an and Hadith,  Failure to understand comprehensively  Reinterpreting the texts,  Taking directly from the texts, without proper background  Following the equivocal evidences  Failure to reconcile seemingly contradictory evidences,  Lack of objectivity  Making ijtihad while not being qualified to do so. 14

Remedy for extremism 1.Duties of Society 2.Duties of Yong Muslims 3.Knowledge, values and actions 4.Sympathetic understanding of abilities, limitations and circumstances of others 5.Knowledge and insight into the sunan of Allah’s creation 6.A dialogue on the Sunan of Allah and conditions of victory 15