Religious Extremism

RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM becomes for it a matter of inherited tradition. It becomes its national identity. The history of religion becomes a source of pride for it. Its institutions and activities—all of them—are established in the name of religion. Religion no longer remains religion alone; instead, it becomes the sole symbol of the community’s worldly status. When a community reaches this stage, a phenomenon known as religious extremism begins to spread within it. At such a time, this extremism does not appear in the spirit of religion but in its outward forms. Religion then comes to be expressed mainly in matters related to worldly or material concerns. The question we must ask is: how can reform take place? In a declining community, reform must begin with individuals, not with collective action. If a collective institution, a government, or an organization is established in such a community, every such effort will ultimately fail. This is because the members of any collective institution formed in a declining community will themselves be in decline. For this reason, although, such a collective institution may look like a genuine institution because of its buildings and outward show, but in reality, it will be nothing more than a splendid graveyard—nothing beyond that. (Al-Risala, November 2014)