EDUCATION ALONE WILL NOT WORK
Renouncing Muslim Militancy
MALALA Yousafzai, is the youngest ever Nobel Prize recipient. Her mission is to educate the modern Muslim generation. It is said that Muslim militancy is one of the greatest problem of modern times, and this problem can be solved only through education.
This appears to be a good idea. But, the question is why are the ranks of Muslim militants filled with the well-educated, especially those who have studied in Europe and America. The fact is that modern militancy is based entirely on modern technology, and modern technology can be handled only by those who have modern education. Results show that solving the problem of Muslim militancy through education has not been successful. Events like 9/11 were the handiwork of educated Muslims, and not that of the uneducated.
The fact is that, modern Muslim militancy is based on the modern concept of Islamic jihad. It is this ideology of jihad which is the main reason behind militancy.
The real Islamic Jihad is based on peace and spirituality.
The problem is that some Muslim minds have developed an Islamic ideology that is based on the so-called khilafat, or Caliphate. According to this ideology, they believe that the mission of Islam is to establish the Caliphate. It is the duty of Muslims to establish Islamic rule all over the world. They believe that the western world is an obstacle in achieving this goal, and so they consider it an enemy of Islam. Thus, they wish to destabilize the western world, even if their method of choice is through suicide bombing. It is this self-styled ideology of jihad that is the real problem.
In such a situation, modern education cannot yield the required result. More modern education would give rise to greater militancy, because modern education increases the militants’ access to modern technology. It helps them further equip their jihad machinery. Therefore, the thought of rooting out militancy by educating Muslims is not a novel idea.
Modern Muslim militancy can be eradicated neither through airstrikes nor through education. It can be eradicated only by providing a counter-ideology. The issue of terrorism is an issue of ideology versus ideology and not one of ideology versus the gun or ideology versus education. The right course is to re-engineer the modern Muslim mind. We should present to them the true ideology of Islam based on peace and tolerance. The real Islamic jihad is based on peace and spirituality. Therefore, the problem of Muslim terrorism can be solved only by reviving the real Islam and not by taking recourse to any other means.
Centre for Peace and Spirituality is an organization which aims to promote the culture of peace through mind-based spirituality. The Centre presents an ideology of peace, tolerance and co-existence that has been developed to address the modern mind.
Modern Muslim militancy can be eradicated only by
providing a counter-ideology.
This ideology of peace based on the Quran, the preserved word of God, and the Sunnah, the sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad, is the only counter-ideology to the problem of violence. The Centre has published several books on Islam and the life of the Prophet of Islam, which show that Islam is a religion of peace. Many people after having read these books have developed rethinking in themselves and have abandoned the path of militancy and adopted the way of peace. o
Exalted Conduct
When a man is enraged at anything
which goes against his will,
tolerance as a priority
becomes paramount.
The true superman is one who,
in really trying situations,
can demonstrate his
super-tolerance.