Mustafa Al Zarooni :
Radical thought and extremist actions have plunged some nations and people into the abyss and are an impediment to their progress. This has led to massacres, bloodletting, regressive thinking and control by suppression, followed by the quelling of dissent.
The trend doesn’t confine itself to religion. This ‘thoughtful backwardness’ is repugnant and makes society stuck where it is. It rejects the views of others, something that the West too has suffered and has tried to eliminate so it can live in peace. Western society continues its tireless efforts to nip this evil in the bud, and uproot any approach that takes this nasty course.
History takes us back to the authoritarian control of the Church on all aspects of life in Europe: waging wars and killing the innocent in the name of religion. This caused European nations to grope in the darkness of backwardness. Eventually, the suppressed people revolted against the domination of the Church and shunned it.
Hitler’ racist ideas also sparked worldwide revulsion; alliances were forged to unseat him and eradicate his Nazi regime during the Second World War, after which the new world map as it appears now was drawn.
The current Muslim World is in the same boat of that of the Europe of yore. It also suffers in its efforts to convey tolerance that enshrines Islam, which is now being viewed as a religion that glorifies war, killing and extremism. Muslims, who constitute 23 per cent of the world population, are perceived in negative light, their backwardness showcased and their achievements not getting pride of place in societies.
In the midst of all this turmoil, how can an average Muslim sense tranquility and peace of mind as hardliners are thick on the ground and the presence of extremism is being strongly felt across continents?
This takes me back to Antonio Gala, the author of Granada de los Nazaries, who spoke widely of the Andalusian cultural heritage and its literary outcome during the Middle Ages.
The Spanish writer said the Andalusians were profound and much more intellectual than those in the Arab states of the time. The then State of Al Mouhideen with its Arab heritage and rulers had prevented students from writing on paper so as not to erase the verses of the Holy Quran. They said it was to respect and sanctity of what had been written and handed to them by their ancestors.
This much impacted Arabian art and literature. That prohibition was not the end of the road, but the drive went on to ban the use of printing presses in the Islamic world for fear of writing and distorting the Holy Quran for almost 50 years. So, just imagine how much of culture was missed by that generation, and the next generations. Developments in science were ignored and a society stagnated.
Recently, didn’t hardliners prohibit the use of TV antennas and term them as vehicles of sedition and filth? Their medieval notions are also applied to the Internet and cellular phones.
They have moved on and turned the clock hand back to the dark ages of history. When they failed to bar knowledge and technology, they broke through and exploited hi-tech facilities to spew their venom and radical thought on impressionable minds.
Extremist groups have lured and dragged many youth into their cobweb of narrow thinking. They have captured their emotions and diverted their attention from cultures and views that make them thrive. Taboos and bigotry are the norm. Their science and knowledge is only what they write and preach.
Despite their despicable actions, religion and doctrine should remain solid-rock in our hearts. We should live by the complete code of life and shun repression and violence, which they use in their train of thought.
Francis Bacon said: “The stupidity of a person is another person’s wealth”.
Power can be usurped from the naïveté of a few using religion as a garb. Faith in religion is infinite; it preaches and calls for tolerance, love and ethics.
The new Arab revolution of hearts and minds will be against all forms of extremism preached and practised by the likes of ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood. Peace will get its chance; it will prevail.
(Mustafa Al Zarooni is City Editor of Khaleej Times)
