A Fils for Your Thoughts

The greatest difficulty we encounter when trying to understand the phenomena of “extremism” is that we do not recognize the mindset of the extremists. We usually reduce it to simplistic origins, such as poverty, the feeling of being social outcasts or even mental illness. George W. Bush tried to explain why the terrorists attacked the US on 9/11 because “they hate our freedoms,” without realizing that this hatred for freedom is not the root cause of extremism, but only a by-product of it.

In this article I offer an insider’s perspective on what extremism means, and what it’s true origins are. This is a personal account of how I became an extremist, and why I chose that path. (more…)

Whenever Islam is criticized for terrorist attacks, oppression of women, religious intolerance, or any other social or psychological ill, Muslims are quick to direct the blame towards themselves. “Islam isn’t at fault,” they say, “but the problem is with the Muslims.” They usually credit Islam for any accomplishment by a Muslim, or any positive feature within Muslim societies, but blame Muslims for all the problems that plague their societies and their souls.

In this article I wish to point out how misleading this distinction is, and to make the case for why the distinction should not be made between Islam and the Muslims. (more…)