Extremism in
Abrahamic Faiths; Its Causes and Cure
Dr.
Mohiuddin Waseem
Prophet
Mohammad once told his companions that Muslims will follow the foot steps of Jews
and Christians (their religious cousins) span by span and cubit by cubit, so
much so that if they have entered a hole of a mastigure Muslims too will follow
them there (Sahih Bukhari). One may appreciate the genius of the Prophet’s
statement as well as the prophecy hidden in his saying by identifying many
similarities in the religious and political history of Judeo-Christianity and
Islam. Because Islam is the youngest of the three Abrahamic faiths
identification of certain traits in its predecessor religions might help us
better understand our modern day problems and their solutions.
You’ll agree
that Islam as a religion is far closer to the Judeo-Christian traditions than
to any other religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism or Confucianism. Both Judaism
and Islam share a belief in divine law which regulates all aspects of human
activity from the cradle to the grave. All three religions have their own
period of triumph in history; their belief that they alone are the chosen
people of God and therefore the fortunate recipient and custodian of God’s
final message to humanity which makes it their duty to bring this message to
the rest of the world. This doctrine of election did not so much proclaim a
privileged status (as the more easy-going often liked to think, a phenomenon
common to all Abrahamic faiths) as a glorious destiny and an ineluctable fate
but a responsibility towards fellow human beings (Holy Bible, Amos 3;2).
Unfortunately corrupted “privileged” mentality and “chosen of God” ideologies
are big reasons which prevent rational thought process in its adherents and
thus lead to early resort to intolerance and violence.
It is true
that all three religions had a tolerant and a humble beginning where the act of
war was either deferred or refused as was done by early Muslims of Mekkah and
the ancient Israelites of Sinai desert respectively. Christianity too grew and
developed as a religion of the downtrodden with frequent references of Jesus
Christ’s preaching “render unto Caesar the things which belong to Caesar’s; and
unto God the things which are God’s (Holy Bible, Mark 12; 17).
But once
weak all three became triumphant in due course of history with Jews citing King
David’s monarchy, Christians conversion of Emperor Constantine and
Christianization of the Roman Empire and Muslims establishment of Islamic
statehood by Prophet Mohammad and the first four rightly guided Caliphs as the
golden era and zenith of their respective faiths. Like all great civilizations
these faith-based civilizations too suffered losses and defeats but to the
adherents of their respective faiths the consolation rested in striving to
achieve that golden era once again and therefore inspires both the revivalists
as well as the extremists.
The most
important period of Jewish history which defined the fate of Jewish people for
the last two millennia started after the arrival of Alexander the Great in 330
BC and lasted up to 135 AD when Roman Emperor Hadrian banished Jews from
Palestine and scattered them throughout the Roman Empire as a final solution
for their constant rebellion and unrest. Being the “chosen people” of God it
was difficult for Jews to comprehend that God will allow heathen Greco-Romans
to enslave them and occupy their lands. As a result, many violent revolutionary
groups which emerged in those perilous times included Maccabees, Zealots,
Scarii and others. Among them Maccabees were the only lucky ones able to defeat
the Greeks and establish their own rule till the arrival of Romans who
successfully eradicated each and every one of them. The rallying cry of these
groups was “no lord but God”, therefore refuting man-made Greco-Roman laws and
a reason for condemning to death their own fellow Jews who cooperated with the
Romans and did not follow their brand of ideology. Other than the violent
groups there were also apocalyptic visionaries who called their followers in a
divine war against
Clearly many
parallel in Muslim history can be drawn from the above mentioned Jewish
account. In the last two centuries Muslims too have lost two of their great
empires, Ottoman and Mogul to European colonialists. Because they too believe
in the “chosen” status many violent revolutionary groups can be cited
in the last 2-3 centuries especially armed with the concept of “Mehdi” a
redeemer, who like the Jewish Messiah is expected to appear before the end of
time and fight on their behalf. The most recent such group was the Taliban who
in trying to fulfill the prophecy of Prophet Mohammad that “Mehdi’s army will
come out of Khurrasan (
Clearly like
Judaism before, Islam is in a state of both religious and political crisis,
especially within itself. Many of its sects, because of divergent religious
ideologies, consider each other apostate and therefore condemnable to death.
The situation becomes more evident with the disappearance of law and order
situation as for example in
In
conclusion, to make our world a safer place to live both the Muslims as well as
the Western world have to work positively keeping the larger good of humanity
in mind. To this end Muslim clerics and political leaders should focus ‘inward’
and try to resolve the theological differences in the Islamic world which will
reduce the need for an ‘outward’ enemy and the appeal to violent groups. As for
the Western powers resolving the long awaited political conflicts in Kashmir,
Chechnya and Palestine is all that is required as has been pleaded many times
by President Pervez Musharraf.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published at PakistanLink.com under the title “Muslims & the Western World Have to Work Positively”. You can access the article at
http://www.pakistanlink.com/Opinion/2006/Sep06/01/04.HTM
