In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
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Religious Extremism:
Phenomenon & Root
causes
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Phenomenon

Religious extremism is a recurring historical
phenomenon. It is marked by intolerance towards
dissenting and varying beliefs and is often manifested
in bloody conflicts within and between Religions

Extremism is essentially a reactionary attitude
resulting from socio-economic, political and religious
causes

Religious extremism is distinct from orthodoxy or
‘fundamentalism’ because of its propensity to use
violence
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Phenomenon

Islam in its essence combines religion and politics

Western secularism, in contrast, believes in
separation of church and state

When Muslims indulge in extremism, Islamic
teachings are erroneously blamed. Secularism is
prescribed as an remedy
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Extremism and world religions

In Judaism, exclusiveness and racial focus generated
extremist behaviors within and towards Jews

In Christianity, intolerant Church, Inquisitions,
Catholic-Protestant conflict, and missionary
activities have been responsible for extremism

In Hinduism, deep social inequality through the
caste system and the concept of Bharat mata have
fostered aggressive Hindu nationalism
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Extremism and world religions

As for Islam, its real message is inherently
tolerant -- within and towards other faiths.
However,
misinterpretations,
intellectual
stagnation engender extremist attitudes
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Root Causes
The general causes of religious extremism include:

Differing and at times contrasting value systems

Racial discrimination

Collusion of the clergy and the monarch to
promote their vested interests

Aversion to scientific discoveries
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Root Causes of Extremism
in the Muslim World

Internal divides: differing sects and schools of
thought

Closing the door on rational thinking and Ijethad
after the fall of Baghdad

Western Colonialism and occupation of Muslim
lands

Revivalist movements and militant tendencies

Unresolved political disputes involving Muslims
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
Creation of Israel and historic injustice towards the
Palestinian people

Western support for dictatorial regimes in the
Muslim world and resultant suppression of public
sentiment

Imposition by elites of selected Western values and
culture, creating class divides

Quest for Islamic identity

Afghan Jihad against Soviet occupation and
patronage and promotion of Jihadi culture by the
West
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
Failure of Muslim governments to provide good
governance, economic advancement, rule of law,
and respect of human rights

Failure of UN to address Muslim grievances in
Palestine, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kosovo and Kashmir

Adversarial perceptions of Islam in the West in
the post-cold war era

New generation of Muslims in Europe and
America in search of cultural and religious
identity

War on Terror: focus on Islam and Muslims;
resulting in atrocities and Muslim reaction
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Western role and perceptions:
past and present
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Western role and perceptions

The current debate about religious extremism
and terrorism is heavily burdened by the weight
of the history between Islam and the West

Western role and perceptions have played a
major part in shaping contemporary Muslim
political attitudes and reactions to the challenges
faced by the Islamic world

This interaction has not always been adversarial,
but marked by episodes of cooperation as well
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
While Europe went through its ‘dark ages’ the
Muslims ushered in an age of enlightenment and
knowledge in Spain

Commercial and intellectual links developed
between the two sides as they fought each other in
the Crusades

Arab/Islamic civilization also greatly influenced the
Renaissance, but suffered a steady intellectual
decline as the West entered the Age of Reason and
Enlightenment

Muslims steadily lost sovereignty over their lands
with growing European ascendancy during the age
of Colonialism
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
When they withdrew from Muslim lands, the
Western powers ensured the retention of
dependency relationships with their ex-colonies

During the Cold War, a majority of Muslim countries
sided with the West against Soviet communism

The West consciously cultivated the Muslim right and
nurtured Muslim militancy to help wage its war
against the God-less enemy

As the Cold War ended, a triumphant West began to
shift its focus towards the Muslim world – influenced
by the Nixonian notion of the ‘real enemy’

Huntington fortified this shift with his theory of the
‘Clash of Civilizations’
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9/11 and its impact

Muslim involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks
marks a watershed

Polarization has been growing between the Islamic
and Western worlds in the wake of the war on terror

Muslims deeply resent Western tendency to equate
Islam with terrorism

The Western media persists with its machinations in
demonizing Islam and widening the gulf

Indo-Israeli collusion continues in smearing Islam and
the Muslims and projecting themselves as the
defenders of Western values
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Positive trends

Yet, there are positive trends as well:

Muslim governments have not adopted the path
confrontation in the war on terror

Certain influential members of the intelligentsia and
civil society in the West are seeking to take a more
balanced view of Islam and Muslims

Various initiatives for dialogue of civilizations have
been initiated, e.g. Alliance of Civilizations
(Spain/Turkey), Enlightened Moderation
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Challenges and issues facing the
Muslim world and Pakistan
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Key challenges



The Muslim world currently faces a wide array of
challenges – including socio-economic underdevelopment, lack of stable political institutions,
bad governance and corruption, and scientific and
technological backwardness
These factors directly or indirectly contribute to a
sense of deprivation and alienation amongst
marginalized groups and make them susceptible to
religious extremism and terrorism
Manifestations of these challenges are also
prevalent in Pakistan, with an additional accent on
sectarianism and Jihadi culture
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Socio-economic underdevelopment


Poverty,
population
explosion,
illiteracy,
unemployment and inequitable distribution of
resources generally characterize the Muslim world
In most Afro-Asian Muslim countries, about half of
the population lives below the poverty line

Of 57 OIC member states, more than one-third (22)
are ‘least developed countries’ (LDCs)

The collective GDP of the Muslim world is just about
5% of the world GDP
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Socio-economic underdevelopment

More than half of Muslim countries have less
than 50% literacy rate

The expenditure on science and technology is
abysmally low
Of the 146 countries surveyed by
Transparency International (TI) on Corruption
Index, 35 Muslim countries appear among the
top 70

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Political challenges

Most Muslim countries are under autocratic/ dictatorial
rule

There is general lack of democracy, political participation
and representative institutions

Fundamental rights and freedoms are denied and there
is hardly any recourse to independent judicial systems

Internal repression occurs through state apparatus

There is growth
consequence
of
radicalism/militancy
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Extremist Movements

There has been a steady growth of extremist
movements/militant outfits across the Muslim
world

Some are internally-directed against their
rulers; others target the West. Some do both

In Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood and Jamaa al
Islamia seek Islamic rule and resort to violence
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Extremist Movements



The Taliban established their ‘model’ of rigid
Islamic rule and turned Afghanistan into a
haven for Arab/ Islamic extremists affecting
neighboring countries
Al-Qaeda has emerged as the focal terrorist
network targeting Western interests and proWestern countries
Cumulatively, the Afghan Jihad, Taliban rule
and support for the Kashmiri struggle has led
to the growth of Jehadi culture in Pakistan
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Sectarianism

The growth of sectarianism in Pakistan,
particularly the Shia-Sunni violence, is the
single most important cause and manifestation of
extremism

The factors that have fuelled it include:
Islamization drive, Iranian revolution, and Iranian
and Gulf countries’ proxy war in Pakistan

It was accentuated by the creation of TNFJ and
SSP and their terrorist outfits with funding and
support from local and foreign patrons

Collusion of SSP/LJ with Taliban and Al-Qaeda
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Role of Madrassahs




The madrassahs have historically been seats of
learning and noted symbol of Islamic heritage
They continue to perform a useful social function
of providing free education with boarding and
lodging to hundreds of thousands of poor
students
There were 245 madrassahs in 1947; 10,000 in
April 2002; and 11887 reported in 2005
Madaris mushroomed during the Afghan Jihad,
with Western powers extending support and
patronizing emphasis on jihad in syllabus
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Role of Madrassahs




Majority of madaris are imparting religious
education according to their fiqah and are not
involved in militancy
However, the madrassahs generally lack modern
education and instead focus on indoctrination
Some have been found to be actively involved in
sectarianism and militancy
The government’s efforts for Madrassah reform
continue to face resistance due to a strong
perception that it is Western-induced
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Misinterpretation of Islamic
Injunctions



Misinterpretation of selective Quranic verses
and Hadith by obscurantists, without reference
to
the
context,
promotes
religious
hatred/extremism against non-Muslims and rival
Muslim sects
There is emphasis on militant/extremist
interpretation of Jihad and justification for use
of terrorism against civilian targets in its name
Quranic verses and Hadith preaching religious
tolerance, peaceful coexistence with other
religions or promoting the cause of humanity
are ignored
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Other issues





Mis-treatment of ethnic and religious minorities
Lacunae in and misuse of the Blasphemy and Hudood
laws
Denial of the rightful status to women as enshrined in
Quran and Sunnah
Closing the door on Ijtehad
A forum like Council of Islamic Ideology could offer true
interpretation and guidance in these matters
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Efforts through OIC





The OIC has been mobilized to promote Enlightened
Moderation and also to undertake reform to do this
The President introduced the initiative at the 10th OIC
Summit in Putrajaya, Malaysia in 2003
The OIC later endorsed the concept and constituted a
Commission of Eminent Persons (CEP) to make
recommendations
These recommendations have been adopted at the
Makkah Summit, December 2005
Makkah Declaration and Ten-year Programme of Action
incorporate the major themes of Enlightened Moderation
-- including internal reform, education, poverty
alleviation, socio-economic development and the true
image of Islam
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Broad Conclusions
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 Extremism is common to all religions and not associated
exclusively with any one religion
 Internally, poverty, illiteracy, lack of rule of law, democracy
deficit, ethnic strife, imposition of selected Western values, and
departure from true Islamic teachings are feeding extremism in
the Muslim world
 The US-led war on terror is generally perceived by the Muslims
as a war on Islam
 Unilateral use of force against Muslim countries in the war on
terror (e.g. Iraq, Afghanistan, etc), threats of preemptive attacks
(e.g. Iran, Syria, etc), massive loss of innocent civilian lives,
violation of human rights, and negative portrayal of Islam are
fueling extremism
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 In Pakistan, sectarian strife — Shia-Sunni,
Deobandi-Braelvi — provides the basic
impetus for extremism and sectarian terrorism
and needs firm and uncompromising handling
 Madrassah reform is pivotal, as is the reform
of the public education system.
 The intellectual stagnation in Islam requires a
new dynamism for reconstruction of Islamic
thought and Ijtehad
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 The unresolved Kashmir issue and mistreatment of
Muslims in India generate a backlash in Pakistan
• Government has initiated various measures to
tackle extremism and terrorism, but a mechanism
to coordinate intelligence and enforcement has
been lacking. Weak implementation, especially
against proscribed outfits, remains a major
problem
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• The extremist threat has the potential to
destroy the very core of our society as well as
shatter world peace
• Failure is, therefore, not an option
• President Musharraf’s concept of Enlightened
Moderation offers a credible alternative to
religious extremism but needs vigorous
promotion
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THANK YOU
Muhammad Ali Khan
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