Combating Violent Extremism: A special reference to the concept of Al-Wasatiyyah

Abstract

In recent years, the world has witnessed a new wave of violent extremism that has taken the lives of many innocent people of different faiths, races and nationals. The number of deaths from violent extremism and terrorism has been increased in different ways. Radicalization, an important precursor to violent extremism, is also on the rise globally. Radicalization impacts different age categories (although youth are more involved than others), different faiths, the educated as well as the non-educated, the employed and the unemployed, and men as well as women. The root causes of violent extremism are complex, multifaceted and intertwined, and related to the structural environment in which radicalization and possibly violent extremism can start to take hold. Violent extremism is the product of historical, political, economic and social circumstances including the impact of regional and global power politics. Growing horizontal inequalities are one of the consistently cited drivers of violent extremism. Critically, unemployment or poverty alone is not the only push factor inciting violence and extremism: perceptions of injustice, human rights violations, socio-political exclusion, widespread corruption or sustained mistreatment of certain groups, are also considered important push factors. UNDP declared PVE strategies in 2016 that clearly indicated the burning necessity to work with faith based organizations and religious leaders to counter the abuse of religion for terrorist purpose. However, in appointing “moderate” Islam as an antidote to “radical” Islam, the implication is that, conceptually at least, the two terms are contradistinctive. What is a “moderate” Muslim  community and how would it act? What are the implications for a “moderate” community in relation to pluralist societies? And, can such a “moderate” community offer a practical response not only to “radical” Islam, but, perhaps, more importantly, to increasingly antagonistic, liberal contexts? This study aims to address those understandings based on the secondary sources.