LAXITY, MODERATION AND EXTREMISM IN ISLAM BY BABA ALI MUSTAPHA

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”? It is important to be clear about the definition, because the word is often used improperly to describe anyone who is committed to follow the basic and well known teaching of Islam.

To quote Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi:

“Literally, extremism means being situated at the farthest possible point from the centre. Figuratively it indicates a similar remoteness in religion, in thought, as well as behavior. One of the main consequences of extremism is exposure to danger and insecurity. Islam therefore recommends moderation and balance in everything: in belief, Ibadah, conduct and legislation. This is the straightforward path that Allah (S.W.T) calls al-Sirat al-Mustaqim, one distinct from all the other which are followed by those who earn Allah’s anger and those who go astray. Moderation, or balance, is not only a general characteristic of Islam, it is a fundamental landmark, as mentioned in Quran 2.143 which says “We have made you an Ummah just balanced…”

Islamic text call upon Muslims to exercise moderation and to reject and oppose all kinds of extremism: qhuluwwu (excessiveness) and tashdid(bigotry) For example the Prophet (S.A.W) is reported to have said:

“Beware of excessiveness in religion. (People) before you have perished as a result of (such) excessiveness” (Hadith from Ahmad, Nasai and Ibn Majah). In other words, excess may eventually develop into a large problem and even become a threat to the wellbeing and security of the Ummah.

According to another Hadith, the Prophet (S.A.W) said:
“Rained were those who indulged in hair splitting” and he repeated it 3times (Muslim). Imam An-Nawawi commented that this referred to those who were excessive in utterances and action, resulting in loss of this life and the hereafter.

According to a Hadith, the Prophet (S.A.W) said: “Verily this religion is easy, and none shall be severe in religion but it will overcome him; he shall turn it into a stone and make it a tomb” (Buhari).

 “Do not over burden yourself, less you perish. People (before you) overburdened themselves and perished. Their remains are found in hermitages and monasteries”. (Hadith from Muslim and Abu Dawud)

The Prophet (S.A.W) always resisted any tendency towards religious excess, even in Ibadah. Numerous hadith testify to this. Islam seeks to create a balance between the need of the body and those of the soul, between this world and the hereafter, between the right of man to live to it’s full, and his duty to worship and obey his creator.

The form of Ibadah Islam purify the soul and establish harmony and brotherhood in the community, without hindering of building of culture and civilization. Muslims are to pray or “the good of this world and the good in hereafter” (Quran 2.201).

 If Allah does not wish us to be extreme in our worship on Him – which was the reason for Our Creation-there is no reason to believe He want us to be extreme in our conduct towards one another, or in other aspect of our life.

The Quran in a Makka revelation speaks of enjoyment of life:

 “O children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer. Eat and drink but waste not by excess, for Allah love not those who waste. Say: Who has forbidden the beautiful gifts of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the things clean and pure which He has provided for sustenance”? (Quran 7.30-331) and in a Medinah revelation:

“O you who believe! Make not unlawful the good things Allah has made lawful to you but commit no excess, for Allah does not like those given to excess. Eat of the things which Allah has provided you, lawful and good, but fear Allah, in whom you believe (Quran 4.86-88).

The Sunnah emphasizes that people should give due right to their lord, to themselves, to their families and to other people. All those warning are necessary because there is something inherently wrong with excessiveness and extremism. Firstly, it is too repulsive for ordinary human nature to endure or tolerate. The majority could never put up with excessiveness, even if the few could do so far a short time. The Shariah addresses the whole of humanity, not just a special group who have a unique capacity for endurance. Once Mu’adh led prayer and prolonged it, and some people complained to the Prophet (S.A.W). The Prophet said to him “O Mu’adh! Are you putting the people on trial?” and repeated it 3 times.

On another occasion he spoke with anger to an Imam saying : “ Some of you make people dislike good deed (Salah). So whoever among you lead people in Salah should shorten it because among them are the weak, the old and the one who has business to attend to “(Buhari). When the Prophet sent Mu’adh and Abu Musa to Yemen, he gave them the following advice: “Facilitate (religious matters to people and do not make (things) difficult. Obey each other and do not differ (among yourselves). (Buhari and Muslim.)

 Secondly, excessiveness tends to be short-lived. Al Qaradawi says:

“I have often met people who were known for their strictness and extremism, then I lose conduct with them for a while. When I enquired about them after a period of time, I found out that they had either deviated or taken the opposite extreme or at least lagged behind; “ So the Prophet (S.A.W) said ‘ Do those deeds, which you do easily, as Allah will not get tired (of giving rewards) till you get bored and tired of (of performing religious deeds)…. And the most beloved deed to Allah is the one which is done regularly even if it were little”. (Buhari and Muslim).

The third defect of excess is that it is often at someone else’s expense-that is someone else is likely to suffer neglect or inconvenience as a result of the extremists’ pre-occupation with doing more than others.

If extremism refers to whatever is furthest from the centre or the middle course, and it was condemned in the Quran and by the Prophet, it is important to distinguish where the middle course lies and where the extreme lies. People’s perception of this are bound to differ. Obviously personal piety, family background and the environment affect our perception of what is extreme, moderate and lax.

For example, people brought up in a strict Muslim environment tend to regard any deviation with horror and aversion. At the other extreme are some whose background is so un-Islamic that they regard even minimal adherence to Islam as a kind of extremism. They express surprise at someone who pray 5 times a day, cast doubt over what is clearly haram, and even regard the wearing of hijab as “extremism”.

MANIFESTATION OF EXTREMISM
Let us therefore look for some of the manifestation of what could clearly be identified as extremism. The following are among them.

1. Bigotry: that is the extremist’s belief that he is right and cannot be wrong. He regards anyone who differs from him as an enemy or at best an ignorant person. He cannot tolerate difference of opinion. Al Qaradawi remarks: “This becomes critical when he develops a tendency to coerce others, not necessarily physically but by accusing them of bid’ah wantonness, unbelief, and deviation. Such intellectual terrorism is more terrifying than physical terrorism.

2. Commitment to excessiveness in all things with attempts to force other to do likewise, despite good reasons for Islam having made things easy. As the Quran says: “Allah intends every facility for you: He does not what to put you in difficulties.” (Quran 2:185)

3. Sternness without consideration a time or place. For example causing difficulties for converts in UnIslamic societies and pursuing controversies over such matters as dress, sitting on the floor instead on chair, eating on the floor, and so on, and insisting everyone must comply with their wish. Moreover, those who initiate and sustain such bitter controversies over matters of detail are often well known for their negligence of essentials religious duties to their parents, wives, children and neighbours.

4. Linked to this is ill mannered treatment of people, and a crude approach to calling people to Islam-which generally serves to frighten them away rather than draw them closer.

5. Suspicion- the extremist is always ready to accuse people and jump to conclusion of guilt the moment he suspects a person of anything, contrary to their spirit and teachings of Islam which encourage Muslims to think well of others. If anyone tries to state a moderate and authentically Islam position, the extremist accuses him of transgression, laxity, Westernization, disrespect for the Sunnah, or even of disbelief.

Allah say: “O you who believe! Avoid suspicion as much ( as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin” (Quran 49:12).

 Such suspicion is related to pride, first act of disobedience of Satan who claimed: I am better than he is (Quran 38:76).

CAUSES OF EXTREMISM
Extremism does not originate by chance. It must have it’s causes. It should be realized that such a complex phenomenon has numerous causes direct and indirect, some recent and some going far back in time.

1. The first cause of extremism is lack of knowledge of and insight into the underlying purpose, spirit and essence of the religion. Some extremists who claim to be versed in religion lose sight of the underlying purpose and essence of Islam. They insist on total literal application of certain Ahadith without consideration of the circumstances in the contemporary world under which they are applied. As Dr al Qaradawi remarked: “ This intellectual shallowness leads to endless conflicts over marginal issue” Such as beards, turbans, length of dress, photographs, minor optional detail of worship, and excessive extension of prohibitions which make life difficult for people.

Another aspect of this shallowness of knowledge is the inability to distinguish between major and minor degree of kurf, shirk or hypocrisy without any consideration to the person’s inner motives, and wrong interpretation of allegorical text of the Quran and Hadith.

Most of those problems of young extremists arise because they have not been taught by reliable “Ulama”. They have received semi-knowledge from books and newspapers, preachers and so-called “activist” who were themselves in some cases not properly taught.

2. A second cause of extremism is lack of insight into reality and history as well as Allah’s Sunnah or way of dealing with His creation. This causes people to demand the impossible. They want to change the whole fabric of society-its thoughts, traditions, ethics, social, political, and economic system by the mean unrelated to reality. They may show great courage and disregard for personal consequences, but without insight into the nature of reality their sacrifices are doomed to fail. The concept of a “step by step” approach, which was adopted by the Prophet (S.A.W) in Makka has no appeal. By contrast the extremist wants immediate and complete transformation, and has no time for allowing long term strategies to mature. In the absence of support from the majority of Muslims, he may resort to force or precipitate a crisis even though it may cause a setback to the long-term cause of Islam.

3. A third cause of extremism is it’s opposite-laxity indifference to Islam values and corruption as seen in the society around as-particularly when those in authority fail to take the obvious and necessary step to control it for the general good for the society. The laws of the land are not necessarily based on the Shariah, the gap grows between rich and poor, and social justice become more and more evident. Young Muslim witnesses these things and feels powerless. They are not in a position to “change things with their hands” as they have no authority to do so. They lack experience to know how to go about “changing things with their tongues” so they battle up their frustrations in their hearts until sometimes it boil over. For this some are duly punished resulting in further frustration.

Likewise on the International Scene they feel powerless in the face of suppression of Muslims in many part of the world. They see many Muslim rulers apparently reduced to puppets in the hands of foreign powers. This generate a general feeling of resentment of all non-Muslim foreigners and a suspicion of everything foreign, including modern knowledge-irrespective of the guilt or otherwise of the foreigners concerned or the usefulness of the knowledge to Muslims. They are all labeled as Kuffar and all their work as “Kurf”.

THE REMEDIES FOR EXTREMISM
Having identified some of the symptoms and diagnosed some of the causes of extremism, what are the remedies?

The first step of a Predominantly Muslim community must be to acknowledge and confirm it’s genuine commitment to Islam not through slogans or constitutional clauses but by practical adherence principles in the conduct of public affairs. This must be done with full commitment both to Islam and to the religious right of non-Muslim minorities. This type of commitment to Islamic value by the Government at least in Predominantly Muslim areas would certainly win a response from the general public, channel youthful idealism into useful direction and thus bring about greater stability. It is necessary therefore to conduct well-reasoned da’wah among people in government and administration.

Secondly, older people should show a greater understanding towards our youth, and have frequent and open discussion with them. They need patient treatment on an intellectual level. You cannot fight obstinacy with obstinacy or bigotry with another bigotry. Nor should we condemn religious extremism yet keep silent about religious laxity. Freedom of expression must be defended and rational discussion used to bring order and sense to confused mind.

Thirdly, steps must be taken to increase youth’s in-depth understanding of how to interpret the Quran and the Hadith so as to achieve a true insight into the Shariah.

Those who have this knowledge and insight must make it a duty to teach young Muslims on a regular basis, otherwise they will fall into the hands of half baked “Sheik” of shallow knowledge and little insight. Islamic organizations should give much attention to the training of youth, making clear to them the following points:

1. A verse of the Quran or Hadith cannot be taken in isolation as an authority without reference to other verses and other bhadiths that may elaborate, explain and qualify it. This is a field requiring expert knowledge.

2. It is necessary to distinguish between the external and unalterable principles of Islam and other teachings which are directed to particular needs.

3. It is necessary to take into account the diversity of our society. Social change and technological progress has increased the admixture of people from many different communities within nations. This applies on not only to the mixture of Muslims and non-Muslims who must learn to live together, but even within Muslims and other Muslims in the country. What is Islamically acceptable in one area may be regarded as very un-Islamic in another. Even the children of one family may have been brought up with stricter Islamic standard than others. We must learn to live with variety.

Our community therefore include the strong and the weak, the learned and the ignorant, the highly motivated and the poorly motivated, males and females, old and young, and they cannot all achieve the same standard in their understanding of and commitment to the application of Islam. This diversity should be taken into account in our attempts to guide others, or give a fatwa. What we may find easy be unbearable hard for some other. Therefore even an Islamic administration would not be advised to impose extreme standards on all.

 Baba Ali Mustapha, of Ngarannam Ward, Bolori II, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.

Reference: For further knowledge, consult the Book “LAXITY, MODERATION AND EXTREMISM IN ISLAM”, by Bridget Aisha Lemu, published by Islamic Education Trust, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria