Moderation in Islam Muslims, who appear to be moderates, can be classified into two groups. The first group are those Muslims, who are extremists by nature but wear a mask of moderation that is acceptable to their future victims. In effect, they practice the Islamic principle of deceit, called taqiyya, as a means to achieve their goals. They are the extremists in disguise; and as described above, they are politically active and influential in their communities as they run various Islamic councils in the west. The second group are those Muslims, who believe in Islam, but find it hard to keep up with its commands. They enjoy the pleasures of modern life and constantly seek ‘easy fatwas’ to justify their poor piousness. They rationalize their attitude in every possible way and try hard to convince their minds that there is nothing in Islam that is against modernity. They live in a state of denial, which may not last for long. Those Muslims are vulnerable to falling into the grip of extremism once their sins reach an alarming level to rouse their ‘Islamic conscience’. These groups of moderate Muslims have submitted to Islam and carry its virus. They are aware of the existence of a rough side of Islam, the true Islam, but they do not to think too much about it. They create a fantasy world of harmony between Islam and morality and defend Islam’s cruelties under the banner: "blame Muslims, not Islam!" However, deep in their mind, there is a concealed feeling of guilt, because they are not doing enough for the afterlife. They suppress their awareness of their accumulating sins with the hope that they will make up for them in their later years, or that Allah will forgive them. As they indulge more in the earthy pleasures, these moderates keep accumulating sins until they cannot handle it any longer. Once they get to that stage, they know that time is not on their side, and that is the stage when they fall victims to extremism, which may lead to their ‘martyrdom’. Just as not all virus carriers develop the disease, also not all ‘Islam carriers’ become extremists. Some are lucky not to get to that stage at all. Moderation is the outside layer of Islam that is being practiced by amateur Muslims, while extremism is for the professionals, who are more aware of their duty and committed to fulfill their pledge to Allah.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 18:21:01 +0000
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