Rashad Ali and Haras Rafiq have an important article up at Conservative Home:
Martin Parsons published a three-part series on this site earlier this week about radicalisation towards extremism – and the ideology or theology that underpins violence. There was much in it that holds true. He’s correct to argue that tackling violence without also tackling the ideas that create violent individuals and create a justification for violence missing the point. He’s also right to maintain that violence and ideology is partly a result of a very strident interpretation of the textual sources of Islam – the Quran and, for most orthodox Muslims, the Sunna (or Prophetic teachings and practice).
However, it’s important to understand that the task of combating this ideology and violence requires a detailed understanding of the issues. For this reason, we’d like to raise a few clarifications. The distinctions we’re about to make may seem unimportant or a nuance too far, but they’re nevertheless essential to make if misunderstanding the problem is to be avoided.
