Summary:
Believing that the entirety of Muslim society is radicalised is a massive overstatement, but it is worth examining why people think this way and separate out what is mainstream from extreme.
Muslims have strong beliefs and bonds that connect us with the principles of our religion of Islam, such as the “oneness of Allah”, Mohammad as a true and last prophet of Islam and the Quran as a divine book. However, there is also a prime belief in Islam, which is to serve humanity regardless of race and religion: Islam teaches Muslims to believe in humanity.
In fact, the Quran addresses human beings as “Ya aiyuhal Nas” (O Humankind) directly 306 times and indirectly more than two thousand times in its over 6,000 verses. But the word “Muslim”? Only mentioned 39 times in the Quran.
Mr Noor Dahri is the Founder and Executive Director of ITCT. He has studied Forensics and Criminal Psychology from Oxford and studied Counter Terrorism from the University of Maryland – U.S.A as well as from the International Institute for Counter Terrorism ICT- ISRAEL. He’s the author of “The Hydra of Radicalization: The Scourge of Global Extremism”.