Spirit of Islam, Aug 2017

Extremist tendencies begin to appear as harmless ideas, but after some time they assume dangerous proportions. This is why in Islam extremism that leads to violence is considered extremely abhorrent. THE KHAWARIJ Extremist Mindset A QUESTION often asked with respect to the Khawarij is: “If one thinks of sensitivity for right and wrong and discipline in adhering to God’s commands, the case of the Khawarij comes to mind. Then why were they removed from the mainstream of Islam? Was it because while being strictly observant of God’s commands themselves, they also believed in stringently making others follow religious injunctions? What is the correct interpretation of the matter?” The Kharijiyat sect emerged in the first century of the Hijri calendar, which was the period of the caliphate of Ali (656-661 AD). Initially, these people had sided with Caliph Ali, but later they developed differences with him and parted ways. This is why they are called Khawarij, meaning “those who walked out”, or “those who left”. People who belong to this sect call themselves al-Sharah, which means those who sell themselves for the sake of God’s religion. Members of this sect identify themselves with a group of people referred to in the Quran as Aʿrab (49: 14). These were illiterate people whose way of life was marked by extremism. Today such people will be defined as radicalized Muslims. They were contemporaries of the Prophet who had entered Muslim society by reciting the Islamic creed, however, they had not undergone proper training in religion. This is why they still possessed the pre-Islamic extremist mindset. They would excommunicate people for minor differences. Any person who expressed dissent from their extremist beliefs was held worthy of being killed. For example, the Khawarij had declared that Caliph Ali be executed because in the matter of resolving his differences with Muawiyah he had chosen to accept an arbitrator, while the Khawarij believed that he should have instead consulted the Quran, the Book of God for decision. It would not be right to say that the Khawarij were sensitive in matters of religion. Being sensitive is proper if it keeps one peaceful, but if one’s sensitivity leads one to assume that one’s opponent is worthy of being killed then such sensitivity would be appropriately described