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In Ramadan and Shawwal 1401 AH/1981 AC, al Ummah magazine
published my two-part article on the awakening of Muslim youth. In this study I drew
attention to the positive and negative aspects which concerned observers, duah and Muslim
scholars attributed to the awakening. I also suggested that we should have a dialogue with
and show paternal sympathy toward these young Muslims, and then channel their reawakening
in order to strengthen rather than to impoverish Islam. The response to this study was so
warm throughout the Muslim world that the study was translated into several languages.
Furthermore, the youth in many Muslim universities tolerantly studied my views despite the
fact that my views were critical of many of them.
I would like here to acknowledge with pleasure the attitude of the Islamic Group at the
University of Cairo who adopted my study during their ninth camp in the summer of 1981 and
printed and distributed it to all those interested. This indeed reflects a laudable
awareness as well as a readiness to support moderation.
I shall not indulge here in discussing the recent events which occurred in some Muslim
countries and which involved serious and bloody confrontation between the youth and the
authorities, not only because I do not want to aggravate the matter further, but also
because al Ummah magazine has always catered to the whole Muslim
Ummah, not any
particular group. What concerns us here is the prolonged and heated discussion aroused by
these events on so-called "religious extremism, in which not only learned people
participated but also those whose knowledge of Islam is characterized by ignorance and
whose attitude is characterized by animosity, sarcasm, and cynicism.
I was also asked a few years ago by al Arabi magazine to write the subject of
"religious extremism" with special emphasis on its nature and its
characteristics. When the article appeared in the special edition of January 1982, some
friends blamed me for contributing an issue where the truth, they believed, was being
generally distorted in support of batil Although my friends did not question either
contents or the essence of the article, they were nevertheless suspicious of the motives
and aims behind the campaign which has lately been launched against "religious
extremism" They were not convinced that the campaign genuinely sought to resist
extremism or to guide the extremism to the path of moderation, but rather that is sought
to crush the Islamic reawakening before it could become strong and popular enough
ultimately assume a significant political role. My friends noted that the authorities did
not begin to pay attention to the religious youth until latter began to oppose, on
religious grounds, some of the government's policies. This is supported by the fact that
the people in power act, patronized certain religious groups which had demonstrated
extreme trends in order to use them against other Islamic movements, then crushed the
former when their appointed role was over. As such, my friends insisted, the reasons
behind the confrontation between the authorities the Islamic groups could not be the
emergence of extremism. They further believed that the authorities in our Muslim countries
considered the Islamic movement a most dangerous enemy. Such authorities could, and did
make alliances with either the extreme right or left, but with the Islamic movement.
Sometimes a temporary truce was declared with this movement; at other times the
authorities tried to involve, confrontation with their own political and ideological
opponents. Eventually the authorities and the opponents discovered that they had affinity
of aims and means than they realized, and therefore united against the Islamic movement.
Allah (SWT) says in the Qur'an: "Verily the wrongdoers are protectors to one another,
but Allah is the protector the pious who fear Him and avoid evil" (45:19).. Recent
events support this very strongly. The emergencies of Islamic groups in Egypt was
characterized by extremism. However, they eventually began to show a temperate and
moderate attitude thanks to the efforts of a variety of Muslim thinkers and duah who
managed to influence the thinking as well as the conduct of these young Muslims to the
extent that temperance and moderation became characteristic traits of the majority of
them. Surprisingly, the people in power kept silent when extremism was dominant, but
crushed these groups when moderation prevailed.
I was not unware of these disheartening considerations. In fact, they made me begin my
article in al Airabi with the following:
Despite my conviction of the noble aim which motivated al Arabi to open a dialogue
on what has come to be known as "religious extremism," and despite my unshakable
belief in the importance of the issue and the gravity of its impact on our contemporary
affairs, I will not conceal the fact that I hesitated at the beginning for fear that what
I may write, especially these days, could be misinterpreted or even deliberately exploited
to serve something contrary to my intentions or to that of the journal itself.
Moreover, "religious extremism" is currently in the dock and a target of
accusations and criticism by writers and by orators. I do not like to side with the strong
against the weak, and it is a fact that the authority is always in a stronger position
than its opponents. suffice it to say that an Islamist does not even enjoy the right to
defend himself. There is no freedom of expression in the media, nor can he even use the
platform of the mosque for that purpose.
My hesitation was strengthened by the fact that for decades Islamists have been flooded
with accusations by their opponents. They are labelled "reactionaries,"
"die-hard traditionalists," "bigots," "agents" of enemy
countries, although no observer can fail to see that both the East and the West and the
right and the left are united in their hostility to them and look for any opportunity to
crush the Islamic awakening.
However, after much thought I concluded that the issue concern the whole Muslim world and
not a single country; that silence is not a solution, and that refusal to contribute is,
like fleeing a battle, un-Islamic. 1 have therefore put my trust in Allah (SWT) and
decided to clarify the truth. The Prophet (SAAS) said in a hadith: "The reward of
deeds depends upon intentions, and every person will get the reward according to what he
has intended''.
Many writers who are either ignorant driven by ulterior motives, who have no insight into
the nature of the issue have felt free to voice their opinions. Such a situation
inevitably invites all Muslim scholars to throw their weight behind the campaign and
confront the issue in order to clarify the truth. My determination was further
strengthened by my long interest in the I issue of "religious extremism" A few
years ago I published an article in al Muslim al Mu'asir on "The
Phenomenon of Excessive Takfir. Another article, "The Reawakening of Muslim
Youth", mentioned earlier,' was published several months ago in al Ummah. In
addition, I have had the opportunity to meet many young Muslims face to face in their
camps and during their seminars, and also to discuss with them issues that focus on one
theme-the call for moderation and the warning against extremism. However, what I wrote in al
ArabI was limited to the specific topic required by the journal as well as the limited
space allocated for it. For these reasons, I have for some time felt obliged to return to
this issue, the phenomenon of "religious extremism", and to conduct an objective
study of its reality, causes, and remedy within a genuine Islamic I framework. My
determination to go ahead will not be discouraged by the participation of those who seek
to distort and exploit the issue. The Prophet (SA'AS) said: [The banner of Islamic]
knowledge will be carried from one generation to the other by the moderates who defend it
against the distortion of bigots, the claims of falsifiers and the misinterpretation of
the ignorant." This hadith pinpoints the duty of the learned who should clarify, not
conceal, the truth so that they may avoid Al's curse. But the responsibility extends to
various other parties who are concerned directly or indirectly with the issue under
discussion. It is neither just nor honest to hold only the young responsible for being
excessive in thought or in conduct. Many others, especially those who have neglected their
commitment to Islam and its teachings, share this responsibility, although they always try
to exonerate themselves. Nominal Muslims, whether parents, teachers, scholars or others,
have made Islam, Islamists, and du 'ah outcasts in Muslim lands. It is strange that
we readily disapprove of extremism among the young but fail to recognize our own
extremism, our negligence, and our laxity. We ask the young to show temperance and wisdom,
to relinquish extremism and excessiveness, but we never ask the elderly to purify
themselves from hypocrisy, Iying, cheating, and all forms of self-contradiction. We demand
everything of our youth, but we do not practice what we preach, as if we are naturally
entitled to all the rights while the young must be burdened with all the duties. Yet we
always emphasize that there are duties as well as rights for all. What we actually need is
the unflinching courage to admit that our youth have been forced to resort to what we call
"religious extremism" through our own misdeeds. We claim to be Muslims yet we do
not follow the teachings of Islam. We recite the Qur'an but we do not apply its ahkam. We
claim to love the Prophet Muhammad (SA'AS) but we fail to follow his Sunnah. We declare in
our constitutions that Islam is the offical religion but we never give Islam its due place
in government legislation or orientation. Our own hypocrisy and self-contradictions have
alienated the young, who have sought to understand Islam without assistance or guidance
from us. They have found parents discouraging ulama indifferent, rulers hostile, and
counselors cynical. Therefore, in order to rectify this situation, we need to begin by
reforming ourselves and our societies according to Allah's decree before we can ask our
youth to be calm, to show wisdom and temperance.
It may be worthwhile here to draw attention to a point on which those in authority, as
well as some writers, usually concentrate: the duty and the role of the
"official" religious establishments in eradicating extremism and in guiding the
Islamic reawakening among our youth. Some hold these "official" religious
establishments responsible for what has happened-and is still happening-as well as for all
forms of extremism and deviation. It appears that despite their importance and deep roots,
these establishments are now incapable of carrying out the mission entrusted to them
unless the political authorities cease to manipulate and exploit them, using them as
instruments of support and praise for official policies. The official religious
establishments in the Muslim world could indeed play a positive role by giving guidance
and genuine Islamic knowledge to the youth if they were free to manage their own affairs
without interference from people in power. However, in the absence of that freedom they
remain lifeless skeletons.
We must also remember that advice is meaningless unless the adviser enjoys the trust of
the youth. In the absence of such essential mutual trust and confidence, every advice
given is reduced to mere rhetoric. Our young people have no faith in these religious
establishments or in their leaders who have been appointed by the authorities. There were
circumstances and reasons which actually convinced the youth that these establishments do
not reflect the teachings of Shariah but have merely become the mouthpiece of the regime.
Such establishments can, therefore, exert influence only when they put their own houses in
order: They should refuse to enter the ever-changing, vicious circle of politics; rather
their activities should center on the upbringing of generations of Fuqaha well-versed
in Islam, and fully conscious of, and having insight into, the problems of their age,
i.e., "those who convey the message of Allah, and fear none save Him" (33:39).
Our modern contemporary societies urgently need such righteous scholars who are blessed
with insight and who can instruct our young people in their faith and give proper guidance
to the Islamic awakening. Those who stand aloof and who are indifferent to the Islamic
resurgence or who criticize it without sharing its sufferings or feeling its aspirations
as well as its disappointments cannot play a positive role in its guidance. One of our
ancient poets wrote: "None knows well the sting of craving, nor the pains of longing
except he who suffers to no avail."
Those who do not live for Islam and for its spreading and do not share the suffering and
the hardships that beset the Ummah are self-cantered. Such people have no right to tell
those who believe in Islam and live by it that they are wrong and should change; and if
they seize that right by force, no one will ever listen to them. In conclusion, my own
advice to whoever undertakes to counsel the youth is to abandon his ivory towers, forsake
his intellectual heritage, and come down to earth with the young. He should identify with
their great expectations, warmth of affection, genuine determination, noble motivation,
and good deeds. Furthermore, he must also distinguish between their negative and positive
conduct and attitudes so that he can give advice based on insight, and make judgements
based on evidence.
May Allah (SWT) guard us all against excessiveness and extremism and direct us toward the
straight path.
Yusuf al Qaradawi
Shawwal 1402 AH
August 1982 AC
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