Islamic Fundamentalists, Not Islam, Are A Threat To Humanity

From time and memorial we have seen Islamic fundamentalists and radicals getting into antisocial activities. Their acts have killed millions of innocent people across the world. They have destroyed historical monuments, like the Taliban destroyed the historic statue of Gautama Buddha in Afghanistan. Their justification is very clear; all non Muslims should either convert into Muslims or face the wrath of Allah the all mighty. When one comes to hear such lines it is but obvious to get the feeling of anger and hatred against the whole of Muslim community.

There is a saying “one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel”. But has the rotten apple been able to successfully spoil the whole barrel? Can we tag the whole of Muslim community around the world as terrorist or the ones supporting terrorist activities? The answer is a BIG “NO”. Doing so will not be fair.

Yes, we are seeing more and more young people joining terrorist outfits’ like ISIS and that is a big cause of concern all around the world. The biggest cause of concern is that we are seeing a trend of people from educated and well-to-do families joining these militant groups. So we cannot state that poverty and illiteracy are the reasons for these young men to choose the wrong path.

So what is it that makes these people get attracted to such outfit? Is Islam fundamentally supporting radicalism and hatred towards people who do not follow Islam? I am not a pundit of Islam but from a layman term I can be very sure that, not only Islam, none of the religions across this planet teaches its followers to go on a killing spree.

There are fundamentalists and radicals in all religions and they all feel that their faith is superior. Their main focus is to convert as many people to their religion as possible. I am not going to delve into the discussion of whether religious conversion is right or wrong. It is a perspective of an individual as to which religion he/she wants to follow. So let’s not digress from the topic in hand and change the whole discussion.

Yes, agreed that Islam has some traditions which look strange in the modern era, like women wearing the head scarf. There were certain reasons for such rules to be made in the days of its inception and are being followed blindly. Ask anyone who is an ardent follower of Islam and you will find that the reason given will look absurd in the current context of things. In the same way all the religions have got some rules which are not aligned with the current trends. The only difference is, that with time these religions have managed to bring changes in their view and outlook.
Unfortunately the majority of Muslims have not been able to change with time. Majority of them still believe in the old school of belief and refuse to change with time. The few who have changed are the so called liberals and are a part of the mainstream society and have prospered in all walks of life.

There are great leaders who are Muslims and have been known for their liberal outlook towards society. Why go far? Our president Dr. Abdul Kalam was a visionary. He was a person who was loved by all and sundry. American President Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim and isn’t he as liberal as one can be? There are many more, but the point being made here is that no religion is black or white. It is a mix of both and actually grey. It is unfortunate that in the present scenario the darker shade of grey in Islam has come to the fore front more often for the convenience of humanity. We need to work together to highlight the lighter side so that we all can co exist in peace and harmony.

Unfortunately the acts of terror will never end. Evil and good has to coexist hand in hand. We just have to make sure that evil does not get to raise their heads too often and are subdued time and again. So it is not the religion called Islam that we need to worry about, it is the few radicals and fundamentalists of Islam who are spreading terror in the name of Islam are the cause of worry. Let us focus on them rather than blaming the whole clan for the mistakes of a few.