Terrorism, Stability and Other Personal Thoughts « AE
Abu Eesa has an interesting take on the recent phenomenon of turncoat "reformed extremists" who present themselves as some sort of true face of Islam, with particular reference to the troubles among the Muslims which followed Abu Qatada's issuing of a fatwa legitimising the killing of innocent civilians:
So, the real common factor was a lack of stability. They were unstable then, and they are unstable now – like leaves floating around in the wind, changing religious direction with every puff as if Islam was some kind of a game. Just as such people were not to be trusted in their deviation then, we have little reason to trust them now.
Actually, it is a lucky few that start their Islamic development on a moderate path and maintain that throughout the years, without going to extremes, without ending up contradicting their entire methodology within the space of just a few years such as one has seen with the much tainted “Sufi to Salafi” and “Salafi to Sufi” switches, or more vividly the “Radical to Pacifist” switch of recent times. Your community representatives, teachers, elders and leaders should be chosen for their continual balance and stability over the last twenty years and not the last twenty months, for it is ‘ilm and hilm attained over a long period of time that are the pillars of such calmness and wisdom that helps a community in difficult times such as now.