Countering
Religious and Political Extremism
By Nahal Ameri
CA
Religious extremism in the
name of Islam and political extremism in the name
of democracy is the raging trend in the world
today. This extremism is destroying the fabric
of Muslim-American life. The Muslim Public Affairs
Council (MPAC) Annual Convention is the perfect
forum to launch the remarkable task of countering
political and religious extremism.
2004 has been a significant year in history. In
2004, there have been raids on mosques, beheadings
in the name of Islam and abuses of prisoners in
Iraq. What is the root cause of all of this? Extremism.
The tragedies of 2004 have been caused by ideology
that is motivated by an extreme interpretation
of religion and an extreme interpretation of politics.
Interpretations of religion that justify beheadings,
bombings and the like are anything but Islamic.
The rules of engagement in Islam are very clear.
Although the perpetrators of these acts claim
to represent justifiable causes, those causes
seem to disappear in the background as terrorism
takes cen ter stage.
Political extremism uses justifiable causes as
well to do horrible things in the name of politics.
It is the opinion of a minority that exploits
the sentiments of the majority to achieve its
own goals. Political extremists use concepts like
national security, weapons of mass destruction
and 9/11 to justify their actions. Actions like
raiding people’s homes, detaining immigrants
and keeping prisoners in Guantanamo Bay without
contact with the outside world.
Although it is a grim situation, it is not all
doom and gloom. We cannot allow these actions
to go unnoticed. We cannot allow others to speak
for us, we must define Islam and we must define
fair politics.
It is important to do this not only for our children’s
future but also for the welfare of the world.
We will not stay silent as American Muslims and
the values of the United States are abused. We
will not stay silent as extremists define Islam
by terrorism and violence. The American Muslim
community is the bridge of the East and the West
and is the only group that can successfully battle
extremism of both types.
This year’s MPAC Convention entitled ‘Countering
Religious and Political Extremism’ will
include speakers who have suffered at the hands
of political and religious extremists. Speakers
such as Tariq Ramadan who made the TIME top 100
influential persons list and was offered a position
as a visiting professor at the prestigious Notre
Damn University. Other speakers will include Dr.
John Esposito, Professor of Religious Studies
at Georgetown Universities Center for Christian-Muslim
Understanding, Islamic scholar and Saint Mary’s
University Professor Jamal Badawi and Guantanamo
Bay Chaplain Captain James Yee. For more information
or to register for the MPAC Convention in Long
Beach, CA please visit www.mpac.org or call 213
383 3443.
(Nahal Ameri is the Community Relations Coordinator
of the Muslim Public Affairs Council)
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