MODERATION AGAINST BIGOTRY: THEOLOGICAL METHODS

Jahongir Tohirov 

Head of the department at the Imam Maturidi

 International Scientific Research Center

The following methods are recommended for theological correction of the views of the fanatic:

1) To determine the level of knowledge of the fanatic and show him

2) Expanding the fanatic’s worldview

3) The destruction of «Mirage» and moderation

4) Releasing the fanatic from a situation of constant conflict

5) Rejection of the views of «Takfir» and «Khawarij»

6) Inculcate social responsibility in the fanatic

7) The balance between this world and the hereafter

8) Substantial promotion of the Hanafi-Maturidi doctrine

9) Releasing victims of bigotry from the influence of destructive religious sects and foreign preachers

1) To determine the level of knowledge of the fanatic and show him

A fanatic does not renounce his views without realizing that he does not know much about religion. He regularly relies on a few Qur’anic verses and hadiths that he has memorized. He should be asked how many verses of the Qur’an, hadith, and issues of fiqh he knows. It is also necessary to show him that such verses, hadiths, and issues are many in fact and he knows very little.

Today, the Internet and modern means of globalization have proliferated. For this reason, some fanatical sects do not understand the need for a tradition of gaining in-depth knowledge through studying in a special madrasah in Islamic sciences. After studying certain verses and hadiths on the Internet, without understanding the sources of Islam, without knowing how to study and interpret them, he is in a hurry to draw conclusions and issue fatwas. He calls for taking judgment from the Qur’an and Sunnah directly.

Religiously illiterate young people who do not speak Arabic and are unaware of early Islamic sources are confronted with problematic issues of the Islamic creed. They call anyone as a disbeliever, a polytheist, an apostate, a heretic and send him to Hell. They also call whomever they will “pious” and “brother” and “prepares a place in heaven for him.”

The reputation of the original scholars is being tarnished by the fact that some sects today are giving “scientific” status to illiterate young people. If thieves separate the herd from the shepherd, they can easily manage it. Delegating issues such as takfir, which are the rights of scholars and judges, to ordinary people has become one of the most effective tools of the policy of “turning Islam against Islam”.

Such baseless “equality” is denied in the Qur’an. Allah the Almighty says, “Say: Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know?” (Surah az-Zumar: 9). “If you do not know, ask the people of recollection (dhikr)” (Surah an-Nahl, 43).

It is necessary to convince the fanatic that he cannot perform ijtihad and has no right to interfere in problematic issues such as takfir, jihad and jizya. If he admits that he does not deserve the status of a “mujtahid” and realizes that he is “ignorant,” then it will be easier to work with him.

2) Expanding the fanatic’s worldview

In Sunni Islam, pluralism, ijtihad, fatwas, and the diversity of sects are recognized. In the worldview of the fanatical person, however, there are only two ideas - only his own belief is true and all other misguided beliefs. In his narrow mind there are only 2 categories: fardh (obligatory) and haram (forbidden). In fact, according to the Shari’ah, there are 10 intermediate categories. The farther a person moves away from such narrow thinking, the less fanatical he will be.

The diversity is natural, it is found in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: The Qur’an was revealed in seven letters. He also said, “None of you should perform the Asr prayer except at Bani Qurayzah.” Some of the Companions prayed on the way. Others accepted it directly. Upon hearing this, the Prophet did not criticize or disapprove of either of the two groups.

The following books by Sheikh Muhammad Sadiq Muhammad Yusuf are recommended for fanatics: “Conflicts: Causes and Solutions”, “Wasatiya - the way of life”, “Sects are symbol of unity” and “Open letter”.

3) The destruction of “Mirage” and moderation

It is necessary to teach the fanatic to take into account the current situation and to be moderate in religion. They popularize concepts such as manhaj, shirk, kufr, heresy, tyrant, apostate, and misinterpret one-sidedly.

They even describe their criminal activities as “good” and move away from real life under the influence of “mirage” fantasies.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “O ‘Aaishah, if your people had not believed recently, I would have demolished the Ka’bah and rebuilt it as Abraham had built it, then I would have built two gates on the east and the west.” That is, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) correctly assessed the situation with vigilance, taking into account the situation. He is also the one who does not do good deeds so as not to harm the community. Later, those who did this went astray.

The Prophet said, “Leave him (Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul, the leader of the hypocrites), I do not want people to say that Muhammad is killing his own people.”

Caliph Umar temporarily abolished the punishment of those who stole during the year of famine. Caliph Uthman ordered the burning of all the Mushafs that differed from the main Mushaf (copy of the Qur’an). When a fanatic thinks of the above examples, he realizes that he is drowning in a “mirage” swamp.

4) Releasing the fanatic from a situation of constant conflict

A conflicting situation in football or boxing affects the human mind, even if it is artificial, deliberately organized. Contradiction gives a person emotional power, moves him, keeps him subconscious for a certain period of time. The Qur’an also states that man is prone to conflict: “…but humankind is the most argumentative of all beings” (Surah al-Kahf, 54).

It is well known that sects in Islam keep their followers constant by means of a certain line of contradiction in their subconscious. This is done by representing friend and foe with political concepts.

Terms such as apostate, polytheist, infidel, heretic, and misguided are used in order to constantly identify the common enemies of Islam. Being critical of others, such as relatives, friends, neighbors, government officials, and imams is instilled. As a result, the person becomes under the influence of conflict in the subconscious and becomes overly aggressive and irritable. It stretches kinship, loses work, friends, and distances itself from communication. In this way he is brought into a state of artificial depression.

It is no secret that a person whose emotional state has changed can easily be manipulated and sent to commit a crime. This is because that he is looking for a way out of the existing state of depression in the subconscious. This situation is exacerbated when a person is shown the way out, especially if it is not simple, but the way to “heaven”.

The task of the theologian is to show him an alternative way out, to return him to his family and relationships with those around him. Allah says in the Qur’an: “Then whoever still fabricates lies about Allah, they will be the ˹true˺ wrongdoers”. (3:94), (49:13) (60: 8) (18:29) (2: 256) (29:46).

The Qur’an emphasizes the need to be tolerant of people of different religions, and even to treat Pharaoh, who called himself a “god,” with kindness. (Surah at-Taha, 43-44)

5) Rejection of the views of “Takfir” and “Khawarij”

These two are common methods inherent in the Muslim world in turning away from bigotry. A fanatic criticizes the beliefs of all ordinary Muslims, scholars, government officials, and easily accuses them of “kufr”. This is a sign of a dangerous disease in faith and the Khawarij.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever addresses a man as a disbeliever or calls him the enemy of God, and he is not, then it returns to him.”. “In the last days of this world there will appear some young foolish people who will use (in their claim) the best speech of all people (i.e. the Qur’an) and they will abandon Islam as an arrow going through the game. Their belief will not go beyond their throats (i.e. they will have practically no belief)”.

Abdullah bin Umar said, “They (Khawarij) use the verses revealed about the polytheists against the Muslims.”

These traits are also found in today’s fanatics: appearance and speech that distinguish them from others, extreme hypocrisy in religious practices. These hadiths help to free the fanatic from the situation where he considers himself to be “absolutely right” and others to be “absolutely misguided”.

6) Inculcate social responsibility in the fanatic

A fanatic is a selfish, mentally weak person who puts personal interests before the interests of society. The only false goal of suicide is to enter heaven. He doesn’t think about the consequences. Therefore, it is necessary to show him a scene that could be caused by a self-explosion. It is necessary to tell him how much irreparable harm he will cause to others and to make him feel a general responsibility.

Allah says in the Qur’an: “Fitnah (to create disorder) is more severe than killing”. (Surah al-Baqara, 191) “…and they give food, out of their love for Him (Allah), to the needy, and the orphan, and the captive” (Surah al-Insan, 8).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If you hear a plague spreading in a place, do not go there. If there is a plague in your place, do not flee from it!”

As stated in the two hadiths, we all say that we are in the same “ship” and that we are “parts of one body”.

There is a generally accepted rule in Muslim law: “The interests of society take precedence over personal interests.” “Avoiding harm is better than benefiting.” “Forbidden things are allowed when necessary”.

“Then, whoever is compelled by necessity, neither seeking pleasure nor transgressing, there is no sin on him”. (Surah al-Baqara, 173)

Hence, an exception is permitted to perform an action that is prohibited when compulsory or necessary.

7) The balance between this world and the hereafter

It is necessary to determine the balance between the interests of this world and the hereafter. Otherwise, after excessive condemnation and cursing of worldly life, the fanatic becomes indifferent, lazy and greedy for his duties, thinks his activities and work are meaningless, loses his initiative, and leaves the initiative in the hands of others.

The Qur’an and the Sunnah encourage believers to work and act, to acquire knowledge, to engage in socially useful activities, and to condemn laziness and dependency.

Islam is a religion of aspiration and action. Allah teaches this prayer in the Qur’an: “Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of Fire.” (Surah al-Baqara, 201).

Our Prophet (pbuh) prayed to Allah to protect him from laziness, weakness, poverty, humiliation and oppression. “Knowledge is obligatory for every believer.” “Surely an honest and trustworthy merchant will be with the Prophets, the truthful and the martyrs.”

Religious fanatics often use the themes of death, the end of the world, the approach of the Day of Judgment, and the Mahdi for their own purposes.

Juhayman al-Otaybi and Muhammad Kahtani, who declared themselves the Mahdi, occupied the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca (1979);

Mehmet Ali Agja, who declared himself the “Mahdi”, assassinated the Pope of Rome (1981);

Jamaliddin Kaplan proclaimed the caliphate in Cologne (Germany) (1983);

Magomed Kazakhbaev, a self-proclaimed “Mahdi” in Dagestan (2010), his sect claim that the Qur’an should be read from a Russian translation by Krachkovsky;

Fayzrahman Sattarov declared the city of Kazan a “sacred land” and isolated his followers from the outside world;

Most modern communities believe that their leaders and sheikhs are “Mahdi.” In Africa, fraudsters claiming to be “Mahdi” appear every year.

8) Substantial promotion of the Hanafi-Maturidi doctrine

Fanatics often deny traditional sects, national customs, and values ​​without scientific justification. They randomly take judgments from the Qur’an and Sunnah, they do not have a methodology to understand the primary sources.

Representatives of the Hanafi school, in particular, scholars of Mawarannahr such as Sarakhsi, Bazdavi, Asmandi, were theorists who systematized the science of Usul al-Fiqh.

Sects - schools of Islamic law have also survived because they have methods of understanding texts and making clear judgments based on them. Imam Abdullah ibn Wahb said: “Every scholar of hadith cannot avoid error if he does not have the knowledge of fiqh.” Anyone who does not know them will be “drowned” in religious texts.

It is recommended to study the issues of faith on the basis of traditional Maturidiyya doctrine. They do not encourage man to challenge his local, cultural identity, but rather to adapt him to society, to be moderate.

9) Releasing victims of bigotry from the influence of destructive religious sects and foreign preachers

Leaders and propagandists of fanatical destructive movements give “amateur” youth the powers of scholars and lead them into the deepest issues of Islamic theology. Then the human fanaticism occurs gradually over time. In some cases, because a person is overly isolated, he or she seeks a propagandist who legitimizes offenses and crimes. Another trend that is on the rise today is that there are attempts to change people’s minds through the internet and social media.

They criticize those who speak out against the sects. Imams are accused of being “statesmen”. Muftis and public figures in Middle Eastern countries were intimidated and killed.

The following are effective in correcting the views of a fanatic: being in an offensive position against the beliefs and ideas of destructive religious movements, creating a negative image of them, showing materials (former fanatics’ videos, remorseful audio recordings) that reveal their working methods and evil intentions as much as possible, and to use the fanatics against themselves.

Most fanatics learned their prayers from the books of Nasir al-Din al-Albani. It contains a call to criticize and condemn the jurisprudential sects, to take judfments directly from the Qur’an and Sunnah without following any sect. All of this can be refuted by the book Tanaquzat al-Albani al-Wadhihat (The Open Controversies Identified by Albani).

In order to free the fanatics from the influence of foreign propagandists, it is necessary to draw their attention to this rule of fiqh: “As the time and place change, so does the fatwa.” This is because the fatwas of foreign propagandists do not always correspond to the local reality.

Ibn Qayyum al-Jawzi, a scholar recognized by them, said: “Whoever gives fatwas to people only on the basis of what is given in the books, regardless of their morals, customs, time, place and circumstances, is misguided and also misleading others. The crime of such a mufti against religion is greater than the crime of a doctor who treats all people according to a single medical book, regardless of the difference in place, time, temperature, and customs. Such ignorant muftis and doctors are doing the greatest harm to religion and human health”.

The fact that releasing fanatics from the influence of foreign propagandists means that they should be under the influence of local propagandists. Now it is primary and urgent task for local specialists and priests to work hard, to work on themselves, and to improve their skills in order to keep the fanatics under their influence.