Those who monitor how extremist movements operate and who examine the language they use should realize very quickly how these movements manipulate religion and use it as a cover to conceal their real intentions.
What these movements are really seeking are political goals, and in order to attain them, they have no hesitation in applying all possible means, even if this means breaking the law or challenging whatever is legal.
These movements manipulate religious texts as a means of justifying their actions. In so doing, they mix up issues by portraying evil as good and what is unacceptable as not only acceptable but something that can be easily accommodated.
It is an easy thing to arouse religious sentiments and win the sympathy of the ordinary man and woman in the street. The ultimate objective of the policies is to develop a popular culture — within certain sectors of society — which is eager to find solutions to political, economic and social problems.
What these movements fail to understand is that contemporary problems should be approached in a different way, one that uses logical and practical solutions rather than wrongly involving religion by misinterpreting religious text.
The neo-fundamentalists are products of a different environment, governed by specific family and social values. These values have contributed to the absence of a cultural umbrella capable of expunging extremist thought that has nothing to do with Islam — a humane religion capable of accommodating people’s different needs.
It is worth noting that the extremists use advanced technology in their communications. Osama Bin Laden and other extremists have even more access to information technology, the Internet, mobile and satellite phones, than many would-be intellectuals who claim to have a greater understanding of the world than most.
It is true that the extremists have access to contemporary culture, are in daily contact with the world around them and are well organized, which is something that could prove very dangerous. They are also very narrow-minded and can only see things in one way. It is this strange combination of modern technology and intolerance that makes these people lack a cultural basis for a genuine understanding and interpretation of Islam.
For a long time extremists were allowed to move around freely and preach their philosophy. They found the stage empty and occupied it. Now we have to cope with the problem of how to dislodge them and take back the place they have occupied.
The job of filling their places calls for dealing with people who think they alone are right and every one else is wrong and that they alone have solutions to all problems. The blame for much of this situation lies with liberal intellectuals who allowed these people to wield such an influence on our youth and also for the liberals’ failure to play their proper role in disseminating accurate knowledge in society.
Arab News From the Local Press 9 July 2003
