Muslim Mobs, Educated terrorists and Voices of Reason.

*****Some random thoughts on the problems Muslim society faces today******

There is an increasing trend of Muslim mobs creating havoc,especially after Friday prayers and other mass gatherings for political/religious reasons or just plain thuggery. some of the reasons for this are- 

1) The Maulvis/Mullahs are alot more informed/funded today, hence to fulfill their agenda they dissolve their political affiliations in a literalist-medieval interpretation of Islam. Contextualization and metaphorization are unappealing (often incomprehensible) to the bigoted and jobless hooligans. 

2) The victimhood narrative perpetuated by sections of mainstream media (especially the vernacular dailies) is at full flow. At a subconscious level, even the moderate Muslims fall prey to this propaganda. 

3) Educated debates on Islam which deconstruct the doctrine of Jihad,Khilafah, Shariah etc in mainstream are unheard of. Sometimes local cultural influences are often misconstrued as universal diktats. People like Zakir Naik distort scientific facts for his ill informed brood of followers and unfortunately I don’t see any erudite scientist standing up against it. Only when we bring the contentious issues into limelight, the layman can see things clearly. It’s like separating wheat from husk.
4) The most important reason in my opinion is the Moderates are not speaking out against the unscientific/unipolar clergy and wily politicians (who happen to form Muslim laws) and question their unlawful hegemony over Islamic thought. Concepts like Ijtehad and Fitra are never debated in orthodox Muslim circles. This innate fear of change/improvement has kept the Muslim masses behind. The Islamists with their limited view of the world challenge these changes and equate them to Bid’ah (most dimwits think reformation=Bid’ah. they’re different concepts).

 

Another worrying trend with respect to terrorism (and the most worrisome) is the involvement of educated Muslims. Jihadis can either have a Muslim or a non Muslim background. Most of these educated Jihadis with Muslim background undergo a radical transformation when there’s a clash of the civilizations. The “intrusive” western civilization, Isolation/humiliation, identity crisis etc are major factors that gradually drive them into the abyss of extremism. The Jihadis with non Muslim backgrounds is a curious phenomena. IMO it’s a case of mental illness, feeble mindedness or just plain genetics/natural selection.

 

The emphasis for Muslims now has to shift from collectivism to individuality. As Aristotle once said “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” It’s time we use our educated minds more often and stand up for the greater good of mankind.