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Laxity, Moderation And Extremism In Islam By Baba Ali Mustapha - Religion - Nairaland

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Laxity, Moderation And Extremism In Islam By Baba Ali Mustapha by seeteazain(m): 6:34pm On Feb 08, 2016
KINDLY USE YOUR TIME AND READ BELIEVE

Before I begin I wish to make it clear that this research work was conducted before the recent insurgent in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states of Nigeria and I am deeply indebted to Bridget Aisha Lemu, who also quoted Dr. Yusuf al-qaradawi a well-known scholar and author of the book “The lawful and the prohibited in Islam”. He has written another excellent book called “Islamic Awakening between Rejection and Extremism” published by the International Institute of Islamic Thought.


I brought up the topic again because it is very relevant to what is happening in those states and even some parts of Middle East, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan and which ever name they are called ISIS, Taliban, Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda and Al- Shabab, they are all form of extremism. The research has effectively covered the topic and brought to light many useful references from the Quran and the Hadith. However some portions of it are more applicable to those mentioned Middle East countries, while I have tried to relate the topic more closely to the Nigerian situation.

I think it is essential to define the term used in the title of the paper: Laxity, Moderation and Extremism. The definition of laxity is easy, It means carelessness and looseness. Laxity in Islam means failure to follow basic teachings- negligence of the prescribed acts of worship and failure to submit to the moral guidance of the Shariah in respect of various aspect of Islamic way life. This may be due to ignorance, weakness, upbringing, social pressure, or lack of understanding of the moral principles and the wisdom underlying Islamic injunctions and prohibitions. “Laxity” refers not to those who have consciously rejected Islam. It refers to those who believe in God but do not avail themselves of His guidance. This condition can therefore often be cured by tactful da’wah and reasoned discussion where by the careless person learns to care about his or her relationship with God and other people.

What is “moderation” in Islam? Moderation means to carryout to be best of one’s ability what Allah has prescribed and to avoid what He has forbidden, to understand the wisdom of Allah’s laws and moral guidance and to grasp and apply the basic Islamic principles to every new situation as it arises. Having complined: with the compulsory aspects of worship and moral discipline, a moderate person may if he so inclined, attempt to purify himself and come closer to Allah by supererogatory acts of worship in the form of voluntary prayers, fasting, charity, Hajj, Umrah, dhikr-allah and loving conduct towards other people. The way and the degree to which he does depends on number of things including his natural temperament, his understanding and his level of Iman. “Moderation” therefore covers a wide range of spiritual states.

According to a number of hadiths, the Prophet (S.A.W) praised those who adopted a moderate approach to worship. Worship, he said, should be done with freshness of heart, not as an exhausting routine carried on in spite of fatigue. Therefore various provisions were made in the Quran and Hadith to ease things for travellers, for sick, for pregnant or nursing women, for the old, for the poor because “Allah does not wish to place a burden on you greater than you can bear.”

The word ‘Moderate” is sometime taken to mean “only half-committed”. This is a mistake. A moderate may be just as deeply committed as an extremist, but he fulfills his commitment in a different way. It is therefore not the case that a lax person scores between 10-30% a moderate person between 31-60% and an extremist between 61-90%. There may be some excess that an “extremist” commits that could bring his score down far below that of the moderate, as we shall discuss later. Moderation is therefore not a matter of commitment to Islam, or lack of it but of how to practice Islam. How to interpret and apply its teachings, how to relate to other people and how to go about calling other people to the truth.

If I look back, when we were young that is from 70th to 1980th there were high level of tolerance on part of Muslims – a tolerance that seemed sometimes to sterm from simplicity and lack of awareness. Student in schools were still generally being taught their religion by traditional Mallams, Islam meant how to perform prayers, the rule of fasting, memorization of the Quran and so on. Christians were minority who posed little threat and they enjoyed much tolerance from the Muslims.

Within a decade the situation began to change. Students now began to get their knowledge of Islam from a variety of sources, young NCE teachers, a variety of books in English, and a great number of magazines and newspaper articles. They also began to follow Islamic programmes on the radio and television, some of them well-informed, some not. In addition they learned from lectures and camps organized by the Muslim student Society and other Islamic organization, who would invite anyone with Islamic interest to give lectures. Many young students themselves gave lectures and conducted group studies of the Quran and hadith. This is the common pattern of learning until today. It is the age of the amateur in Islamic studies and anyone can stand up and have a go, even those with very limited knowledge.

The outcome of this has it’s good and it’s bad sides. On the good side, young Muslims have come to realize that Islam is not just prayers, fasting and memorization of the Quran. They have a much broader idea of the implication of Islam as a way of life, together with it’s social, economic and political teachings. The interest generated by these discoveries has brought about a reawakening among Muslim youth, and many of them, with the enthusiasm and the dedication of youth, have identified themselves with the Islamic cause and tried to conduct their lives on Islamic Principles. Many naturally aspire for an Islamic form of government based on the Shariah as it existed before the colonial era in Nigeria. At the same time have become much more aware of the efforts of some Christian groups to suppress and undermine Islam and the Shariah wherever they had the opportunity to do so, particularly during the meetings of the constituent Assemblies.

But the re-awakening also has it’s dangerous sides. Students have become confused and often divided through being exposed to such a variety of information and views from so many different sources. Young Muslims with poor standards of general education and no firm grounding in Islam can hardly be expected to possess a clear judgement with which to assess what they read or are told about Islam. Consequently, they could be easily led, by those who pose to have knowledge, to take up positions of extremism and intolerance, not only towards non-Muslims but towards fellow Muslims who might not conform to their newly acquired concept of Islam. Those who do not hold the same idea or possess the same fervor could be regarded as hypocrites or even unbelievers, instead of brothers and sisters sharing the same faith.

And who could blame the youth for dividing themselves and taking extreme positions when they could see some of their elders doing the same thing over the issue of whether sufi practices are Islamic or unIslamic.

What then is meant by ‘extremism”? Read more here: http://247tops..com.ng/2016/02/laxity-moderation-and-extremism-in.html

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