Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi
An esteemed global report on international extremism indicators in the Middle East for 2014 shows the extension of this region’s exposure and involvement in terrorist operations. Qatar occupied the top position in terms of being completely free of terrorism, with a score of zero out of 10, according to the report, followed by Oman, Kuwait and the UAE. It is a blessing valued only by those who have been overwhelmed by terrorism such as people in Iraq, Syria and Somalia, who occupy the top ranks in the report.
On the other hand, the biggest challenge facing Arab and Islamic societies, is some extremist groups that provide a distorted picture of Islam, overshadowing the culture of tolerance, coexistence, acceptance and peace. In addition, they promote violence at home and abroad through the use of religious or sectarian texts from Islamic heritage or incidents and statements from different historical periods that are mixed together and portrayed as reality. These are major contributors to the spread of radicalism, which makes some resort to violence and terrorism.
A book entitled Moderation against Extremism was issued by the Bahraini Council of Islamic Affairs in a series on social and Islamic affairs. The book indicates that encouraging moderate views is the basis for addressing extremism so that this ideology is contained and its sources are dried up until it is completely eliminated. However, this requires a healthy social environment, offering freedom of speech and open dialogue. Such atmosphere will ultimately filter out the unwanted ideology of extremism.
There are several steps that must be taken in this regard:
Provide moderate scholars and preachers who will have a positive effect in stopping radicalism.
On a large scale, use media to promote intellectuals with sensible and balanced views. Establish scientific centres specialised in researching the root causes of extremism so that they may be dealt with using convincing logic.
Prepare interesting programmes to encourage moderation and non-violence, and then use the output in media discourse to rationalise and strengthen such culture.
While attempting to eliminate extremism and uproot it, there are steps that are often ignored. These entail realising that the establishment of democratic alternatives and commitment to political, economic and cultural reforms are the keys to ending this phenomenon in Gulf, Arab and Islamic societies.
An esteemed global report on international extremism indicators in the Middle East for 2014 shows the extension of this region’s exposure and involvement in terrorist operations. Qatar occupied the top position in terms of being completely free of terrorism, with a score of zero out of 10, according to the report, followed by Oman, Kuwait and the UAE. It is a blessing valued only by those who have been overwhelmed by terrorism such as people in Iraq, Syria and Somalia, who occupy the top ranks in the report.
On the other hand, the biggest challenge facing Arab and Islamic societies, is some extremist groups that provide a distorted picture of Islam, overshadowing the culture of tolerance, coexistence, acceptance and peace. In addition, they promote violence at home and abroad through the use of religious or sectarian texts from Islamic heritage or incidents and statements from different historical periods that are mixed together and portrayed as reality. These are major contributors to the spread of radicalism, which makes some resort to violence and terrorism.
A book entitled Moderation against Extremism was issued by the Bahraini Council of Islamic Affairs in a series on social and Islamic affairs. The book indicates that encouraging moderate views is the basis for addressing extremism so that this ideology is contained and its sources are dried up until it is completely eliminated. However, this requires a healthy social environment, offering freedom of speech and open dialogue. Such atmosphere will ultimately filter out the unwanted ideology of extremism.
There are several steps that must be taken in this regard:
Provide moderate scholars and preachers who will have a positive effect in stopping radicalism.
On a large scale, use media to promote intellectuals with sensible and balanced views. Establish scientific centres specialised in researching the root causes of extremism so that they may be dealt with using convincing logic.
Prepare interesting programmes to encourage moderation and non-violence, and then use the output in media discourse to rationalise and strengthen such culture.
While attempting to eliminate extremism and uproot it, there are steps that are often ignored. These entail realising that the establishment of democratic alternatives and commitment to political, economic and cultural reforms are the keys to ending this phenomenon in Gulf, Arab and Islamic societies.
