Radical Islamists, the biggest threat to Islam and its followers

Egypt Independent

08-07-2025

The greatest threats to most nations are that of external enemies. The Islamic nation, however, sees it biggest enemy come from within.
The radical culture that has come to dominate Islamic thought has divided Muslim societies into disparate, warring, and mutually antagonistic groups and sects.
In times of peace, these groups serve as the scapegoat for dictatorial rulers. The ruler uses the existence of these groups as a justification to close off democratic avenues and postpone the idea of power transfer, under the guise of protecting his nation from them.
This is despite the fact that these groups tend to operate under the ruler's consent, serving as his best excuse – both domestically and internationally – to remain in power indefinitely.
He suggests to both internal and external audiences that the alternative to his rule is these extremist, backward, and violent groups, thereby forcing them to accept the status quo.
On another front, we have seen these groups responsible for the failure of Arab revolutions, as happened in Libya, Syria, and Yemen.
However, Egypt and Tunisia's revolutions succeeded because the people rejected these groups.
For instance, had the Syrian people fully fought as one, as citizens united against their ruler, that ruler would not have remained in power. Instead, the people are divided into sects and groups: there are Sunnis, Alawites, Druze, Christians, and Kurds.
Furthermore, Islamist groups have been justified to spread the cause for Israel's brutal occupation, as they have divided the Palestinian people in how they can confront their occupier. We seethe likes of Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, Al-Quds Brigades, Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, and many other factions, instead of unity under one national banner regardless of religion.
There should be no difference between a Palestinian Sunni, Shiite, Druze, or Christian Muslim, or others.
Why don't we learn from others? The Ukrainian nation is resisting the Russian occupation with one heart, united fully. We don't find independent Ukrainian groups separate from the leadership saying, 'We are the Christian group' or 'Christian Jihad' or anything of that sort. For this, the world respected them and stood by them.
Meanwhile, we ask ourselves: Why doesn't the world stand by the Palestinian people?
The answer is because we haven't presented a unified image, with agreed on goals and principles, to the world.
Instead, the world only sees hostility between Palestinian factions and sects – the time when Hamas once fought Fatah members in Gaza isn't a distant memory. If something similar happened among the Ukrainian people resisting their occupier, the world would have stop supporting the Ukrainian people. In other words, if we respect ourselves, the world would respect us.
When will our people understand this?
This is what gave an American the opportunity to say on a TV channel, 'We support Israel in protecting its security by killing the commander of Islamic Jihad's northern region, Tayseer al-Ajroudi.'
The presenter interrupted him, stating that Israel attacked peaceful people in their homes.
The American replied, 'And why didn't Israel do that to Fatah members?' justifying it by saying Israel is targeting terrorists.
Therefore, we argue that unifying the Palestinian people under one national banner, without color or sectarianism, is essential for the protection of all Palestinians and has become an urgent necessity.
Otherwise, the conflict will persist, and we will witness this painful, recurring scene of innocent lives lost due to a failure to listen to reason.
Radical groups must understand they have erred; historical experience has constantly proven this.
Without unity, the world will not stand with us, nor will Arab or Islamic nations support radical groups.
Islamic governments, like other nations, now fear radical groups that might turn against them at any time, declare them infidels, and carry out terrorist operations against them, as Hamas did to Egypt.
Thus, we must realize that the disunity and division caused by radical extremist Islamic groups will lead us to lose our cause, as has happened repeatedly in the past.
About the author:
Mostafa Rashed is an Al-Azhar scholar and a professor of Sharia and Law and Comparative Religions of Egyptian nationality.
He serves as a Global Peace Ambassador for the United Nations and is a member of the Afro-Asian Writers' Union, the Arab Organization for Human Rights, the International Federation of Journalists, and the International Union of Lawyers.
Rashed is the head of the Global Conscience Organization for Human Rights, headquartered in Sydney, Australia. He also presides over the Arab Enlightenment Organization, affiliated with the United Nations, and is the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars for Peace, also affiliated with the United Nations.
He has authored 30 books and two collections of poetry.