Najeeb EssamYemani Makkah Online The Ministry of Education recently incorporated a learning unit in public school syllabi that highlights the dangers of extremism and of exceeding the proper bounds in religion which have an adverse impact on society and individuals. The ministry made the changes at the intermediate level. In my opinion, this should be introduced in the elementary level onwards so that the Islamic values of moderation can be inculcated in the minds of students from the early stages of education. This is a great initiative launched by the ministry and it is a significant step toward educational reform. The Ministry of Higher Education has stopped hiring academics from a neighboring Arab country in its bid to prevent extremist academics from misusing university platforms to advance their dubious agendas. Allah has enlightened Minister of Education Prince Khaled Al-Faisal who is determined to eliminate from our schools those who advocate such ideologies. It is imperative for us to stand united against all elements that lead to terrorism in order to ensure the safety of our society. Extremism and exceeding the proper bounds in religious matters are the breeding ground for terrorism. Extremist tendencies were imported into the Kingdom by people who have deviant thoughts and ideas. These people found Saudi Arabia to be a safe haven for spreading their wrong doctrines and they managed to secure followers from inside the Kingdom. They misused Saudi youth as tools to realize their destructive plans. Eventually, the seeds of extremism began to crop up in Saudi society through the holding of camps and the distribution of propaganda material. Soon, Saudi youths started showing symptoms of deviant ideologies by warning and threatening those who challenged their ideas in their homes, schools, mosques and even on the streets. They began interpreting religion through a narrow lens and labeled those who opposed their deviant ideas as infidels. Their understanding of Islam was superficial as they did not try to understand the meaning of religious principles thoroughly and deeply. If they had read the history of Islam and had understood the fundamental principles of the Islamic Shariah as well as the words and deeds of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the right manner, they would have seen that extremism is completely rejected by Islam. Extremism is contradictory to the Islamic principles that promote tolerance and moderation. Those who advocate such ideas are forgetting the fact that Islam is based on the ideals of moderation and justice. They are following doctrines similar to that of the Khawarij, who advocated deviant thoughts in the early period of Islam. In short, extremism is an alien phenomenon in our society and it traces its origins to the Khawarij and their followers who deviated from the path of moderation and exceeded the bounds of the Shariah. Hence, it is high time to stand united in confronting these extremists and eliminate them from our society. There should be a close surveillance of their words, deeds and dealings. They must be prevented from misusing mosque pulpits. We have to be wary of them and to continue building this nation on the foundations of tolerance, love and a culture of dialogue, as advocated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
