NO EXTREMISM

PEACE IN ISLAM ~ 149 ~ demonstrate that violence as a principle is quite alien to the scheme of things in Islam. Islam claims to be an eternal religion and, as such, it cannot afford to have a principle in its scheme which at any time could be found unsustainable. Any attempt to bracket violence with Islam amounts to casting doubt upon the everlastingness of the Islamic religion. A phrase like ‘Islamic violence’ is the same kind of contradiction in terms as ‘pacifistic terrorism’. The truth is that all the teachings of Islam are based, directly or indirectly, on the principle of peace. While all Islamic objectives may be achieved in a peaceful atmosphere, there are no Islamic objectives which may be achieved in a violent atmosphere.