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UNITING AGAINST RADICALISM
HARUN YAHYA

Radical tendencies, irrespective of their origin, are one of the most
dangerous threats to world peace and security. Radicalism means to advocate
fundamental and sudden changes by means of uncompromising and hard-line
policies. In an environment where mutual acceptance and understanding have
ceased to exist, people begin to feel animosity toward different ideologies or
races without knowing what the other party really represents or believes.

In our own time, radicalism has emerged among Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
This situation is abused and taken advantage of by proponents of Samuel
Huntington's proposed clash of civilizations theory. The scale of radicalism's
threat to world peace has become apparent in the 9/11 attacks on the United
States and its consequences. The fact that these attacks are widely believed
to have been carried out in the name of Islam resulted in a great deal of
prejudice against Muslims and misunderstanding of Islam. Given the fact that
Islam prohibits all acts of violence and aggression, most of the Islamic world
condemned these terrorist attacks. Muslims prayed alongside Christians for the
innocent lives lost, and American Muslims rushed to the aid of the victims.
Despite this, prejudice against Muslims in the United States and some European
countries has vastly increased, and incidences of violence have been reported.
In order to eradicate radicalism and its damaging consequences, cultural and
educational campaigns designed to reach all sections of society must be
organized. We can list the topics and the responsibilities of various sections
of society to be covered by this program, as follows:

An awareness that radicalism, an extremist tendency that is incompatible with
true religious morality, must be defeated ideologically so that its claim to
be acting in the name of religion can be exposed as false. People of all three
divinely revealed religions must be told that they have a responsibility to be
compassionate, patient, gentle, friendly, polite, and respectful. They have to
be made aware that God forbids violence, aggression, and anything that harms
innocent people. They must understand that it is wrong to go down that path.
These efforts will ensure that all radicals will be recognized as misguided
liars and thereby prevented from finding new recruits.

A program must be designed to give full and accurate information about all
parties involved in the conflict, so that international dialogue becomes
possible. An important step toward mutually friendly relations is the creation
of an environment in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims can begin to know
each other's beliefs, traditions, and rituals better. This can be done through
cultural and educational programs. As people come to know each other better,
they will realize that they have many things in common. This, in turn, will
make reconciliation possible. Muslims, Christians, and Jews should tell one
another about their respective worldviews in line with God's divine books of
revelation, thereby preventing the mutual misunderstanding and radicalism
caused by a lack of accurate knowledge.

The media must support the cultural activities necessary to create an
environment conducive to international dialogue. They should refrain from
sensationalism, which incites violence and segregation, and focus on
broadcasts that encourage moderation and acceptance. Carefully prepared
broadcasts by the western media will play an important role in eradicating the
currently widespread anti-Muslim prejudice. Muslim media organizations, for
their part, must refrain from broadcasts and opinions that incite hatred
toward non-Muslims and concentrate instead on cultural and spiritual education
in the Islamic world.

Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious leaders and opinion makers must
identify people who are bent on portraying myths and false beliefs as part of
the religious code. They must teach people that God commands believers to be
balanced and gentle, and that all extremism is contrary to religious morality.
Political leaders must support this awareness campaign in order to prevent
extremism in society and to prepare the ground for moderation.

These and similar joint efforts will eradicate the conditions conducive to
radicalism. In Qur'an 2:113, God reveals that the Jews claimed that the
Christians "have nothing to stand on" and vice versa. In reality, God knows
best who is right, which is why genuine believers must seek to draw closer to
God instead of accusing one another. The following verse reveals that people
who act otherwise are wrong:

The Jews say: "The Christians have nothing to stand on," and the Christians
say: "The Jews have nothing to stand on," yet they both recite the Book. Those
who do not know say the same as they say. God will judge between them on the
Day of Resurrection regarding the things about which they differ. (Qur'an,
2:113)

Eradicating the harm caused by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim radicals is
possible only if all moderate, peace-loving, civilized, and genuinely
religious people cooperate and form an alliance. Such an alliance will defeat
those who present war and conflict as the only option, and disprove the
assertions of those who advocate a show of force as the only way to achieve
security and prevent further bloodshed, tears, and material damage.

Qur'anic Morality Forbids Extremism

Islamic societies have been centers of mutual acceptance and goodwill toward
non-Muslims throughout history, particularly in our Prophet's (may God bless
him and grant him peace) time.

Radicalism is an ideological movement and political approach that is foreign
to Islam. When radical groups are examined, it gradually becomes clear that
they are, in reality, using a compilation of communist slogans and methods or
that they have adopted the "fanatical rage of the Time of Ignorance" (Qur'an,
48:26). One of the common characteristics of such ideologies is their
emotional force, an underlying cause of radicalism that is totally
incompatible with God's commands. The Qur'an describes Muslims as people who
control their anger and who are reasonable, moderate, and tolerant. Muslims
must be polite and respectful when interacting with people of different
beliefs and ideologies.

All Muslims must refrain from a harsh, angry, and challenging approach, for
these are contrary to the Qur'an's method and essence. Instead, Muslims must
adopt the accepting, moderate, calm, and rational approach described in the
Qur'an. In other words, they must be role models for humanity and earn
people's admiration for the morality of Islam and themselves. Muslims should
also make great progress and produce superb works of science, culture, art,
and aesthetics, as well as live Islam in the best way, and thus represent it
to the world.

Profile on Harun Yahya:
A leading Muslim intellectual from Turkey, Harun Yahya is the author of many
books concerning the world of Islam such as the relationship of science and
Islam, interfaith dialogue, and the importance of unity among believers of all
faiths. He had penned important works disclosing the imposture of
evolutionists, their invalid claims, and the dark liaisons between Darwinism
and such bloody ideologies as fascism and communism. Harun Yahya enjoys a wide
readership from all nations, languages and religions, and many of his books
have been translated into more than 40 languages. His works have also been
received with interest by Western scientific circles, and some of his
scientific texts have been reviewed in various scientific journals as the most
important expositions of Islamic creationism. These journals include The New
Scientist, Science, NCSE (National Center for Science Education) Reports, and
The Cladistics.