Recently, an acquaintance of mine shared two opinions about Islamist extremism and the Muslim community on Facebook. The first was that the Muslim community should do a better job of differentiating themselves from extremists. Secondly, many Muslims accuse people of Islamophobia simply for condemning acts of terrorism.
I suspect that others share these perspectives.
Frankly, it is not the responsibility of various members of the Muslim community to differentiate themselves from lunatics and extremists. If an individual is unable to distinguish between a peaceful Muslim and an Islamist extremist, then they lack sound judgment.
The reality is that not only are Muslims frequent targets of Islamist extremists, but many are actively combating extremist organizations. It may be true that the moderate Muslim community does not have a globally recognizable spokesperson. However, Muslim-led organizations such as Quilliam are dedicated to opposing extremist beliefs. Additionally, individuals like nonviolence advocate Zak Ebrahim are committed to promoting peace.
Anyone that is interested in being informed about where members of the moderate Muslim community stand on extremism should seek out places where their views are represented. That may mean finding additional news sources. I imagine that the conflation of Islam with radical extremism is what many in the Muslim community take exception to and consider a form of Islamophobia. Granted, there are verses in the Quran that can arguably be used to justify violent behavior, and the radicalization of self-proclaimed Muslims is a real problem. Still, the unavoidable question is why some individuals respond violently to their faith while others do not.
Ultimately, belief in Islam or any other religion may appear to be the most apparent explanation for extremist behavior, but it is the shallowest, least thoughtful one. Ironically, the most significant drivers of religious extremism are probably more worldly than we think.
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