Fanaticism and extremism should be fought in every way possible. Combating them with doctrinal discourse is necessary and useful. An even clearer and stronger argument is that such groups lack mercy, which Islam has made it a fundamental pillar of the Muslim character. Yet the argument of mercy is highly underused. 
The fascination of some Muslims with the concept of “Islamic State” or “caliphate,” and according their attraction to ISIS, reflects serious misunderstanding of both Islam as a religion and the critical function of the first Islamic state, i.e. the one founded by the Prophet. It also shows ignorance of or deliberate overlooking of the un-Islamic aspects of the later Islamic empires. The Islamic caliphate is promoted by its advocates on the basis that it was an ideal system of Islamic government in the past that can be equally suitable and successful for the present and future. The fact is that this form of rule is completely unsuitable for use anymore, let alone it is impossible to implement.… Read the rest
The rise of The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and its extreme form of intolerance, persecution of Christians and Yezidis, and brutality have shocked the world. As noted by many commentators, ISIS is too violent and intolerant even for al-Qaeda, which is some feat to achieve.… Read the rest
Variations of the term “salaf” have become very common in Islamic religious debates. They are often used by those who associate themselves with this term to claim to follow the proper and undistorted understanding of Islam of the first Muslim generations, while they are equally used by others to accuse those claimants of being too strict, backward looking, and closed-minded.… Read the rest