By BABAR R. CHAUDHRY

Founder ‘Arrahman-Arraheem.com'

Extremism has many facets but most commonly, it is linked with terrorism or violence. I shall illustrate this point through an example. If a person becomes angry over a petty matter he is moving towards extremism and is no longer moderate. Similarly, a greedy and jealous person is also at an extreme. To be at the extreme of anything makes one “An Extremist”. You can make a person an extremist within minutes - just say something that annoys him or something that is not according to his liking and he becomes angry and reacts at an extreme. Conversely, Quran teaches the traits of Sabar (determination, patience and perseverance), Qanaat (to be happy and content with whatever one has), Darguzar and Ehsaan (to forgive and to forget).

By adopting these traits in his character, a person gradually becomes balanced and moderate and avoids becoming an extremist. These traits are extremely essential attributes to possess in these modern and frantic times.

Here I would also like to point out the causes of Extremism. I want to highlight an important issue, especially for the people of North America and Europe who must know why this is happening. Extremism occurs within people when their psyche is unbalanced; when there is no one to guide them; when they lose control over their emotions, intelligence and weaknesses. Whatever they think, they consider it to be right without any proof or confirmation; and they do not follow any commandments of Allah in their lives.

Another reason for Extremism is ‘lack of knowledge' . To explain this further I will give you my example. When I used to live in the United States and people asked me about the Quran and what Allah says in it, I could not answer their questions because I had no knowledge. I had no references to quote from the Quran and Ahadith, yet I used to think that I am right and others are wrong. When people asked me , ‘Do you believe in the Bible?' My reply was an emphatic ‘No!'. The next question then used to be ‘Have you ever read the Bible?' My answer again was ‘No'. Then I was asked ‘Have you ever read the Geeta?' Again, my reply was in the negative. I was finally asked, ‘You have not read the Bible nor the Geeta nor the Quran with understanding, then how come you are so sure that you are right and others are wrong?' This was the million-dollar question, which always stumped me , as I never had its answer.

So , I was one of those people who used to think that I was right without having any knowledge or references of the Quran and Ahadith! To me this is one type of extremism, where one thinks he or she is right and the others are wrong without any proof or evidence! Without making any comparison or having an intellectual discussion! Without knowing that what my Deen–e-Islam offers to the world is better than what others have! I considered myself as a most educated and intellectual person but I had no idea on how to market my Deen !