Religious Extremism

based religion—that is, a religion concerned mainly with outward forms rather than inner spirit. As a result, outward appearances begin to be treated as important in every religious matter. At such a time, all importance is given to the correct pronunciation of the Quran’s words, while reflecting on their meaning is neglected. In matters of worship, the performance of rituals is taken as everything instead of inner humility and reverence before God. In matters of religious commandments, the entire discussion becomes focused on their technical aspects. The meaning of Islamic life comes to be reduced to adopting an external identity. ‘Islamic Outreach’ is reinterpreted as a struggle to dismantle and seize political power. The meaning of Islamic rule comes to be understood as forcibly imposing legal punishments on people. The meaning of Islamic interest comes to be understood as declaring all nations enemies of Islam and stirring up hatred and violence against them, and so on. When a community enters a period of decline, its condition is like falling from a tall palm tree and getting stuck on a date palm below. At such a time, the community becomes like any ordinary nation, concerned mainly with material matters. However, because of its historical traditions, it is unable to completely break away from its religion. Religion