Canada: Spiritual leaders meet in Guelph to tackle the issue of radicalization in faiths

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One way to tackle the problem is to provide a counter narrative, demonstrating the real, true teachings of Islam are based in peace

Photo via Twitter: @tauseefkhan

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Guelph Mercury
By Chris Seto | November 1, 2015

GUELPH — The radicalization of men and women of all faiths has become one of the most significant threats of international terrorism in the world today, says Lal Khan Malik, a religious leader.

Speaking at the 35th annual World Religions Conference at the River Run Centre on Sunday morning, the national president of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Canada outlined the importance of this year's conference. The theme of the event was how to tackle radicalization in faiths.

The conference was open and free for the public to attend. Guelph has hosted the annual conference for the past three years.

Seven speakers, each from a different faith tradition, sat elbow-to-elbow on stage and spoke about tackling radicalization, as it pertained to their own belief systems. The seven speakers were Doug Thomas of Elmira, representing Humanism; Simerneet Singh of Chicago, representing Sikhism; Farhan Iqbal of Toronto, representing Islam; John Buttars of Guelph, representing Christianity; Walter Cooke of Hamilton, representing Aboriginal Peoples; Daniel Maoz of Cambridge, representing Judaism; and Praveen Saxena of Guelph, representing Hinduism.

Each speaker had the chance to go over their thoughts on radicalization and how the issue can be tackled, but was held to specific time constraints by the moderator, CBC Radio host Craig Norris.

Photo via Twitter: @tauseefkhan

During the morning session, a little less than half of the seats in the main auditorium were filled. In between sessions, people milled about in the lobby and took in a variety of display boards outlining world religions.

Farhan Iqbal is the Imam of the Bai'tul Islam mosque, one of the largest in Canada. In his opening remarks, he made it clear that he sees no connection between the original teachings of the Islamic faith and radicalized and extremist groups seen around the world today.

"The Islamic faith and radicalization are diametrically opposed to one another," he said. Radicalization and extremism may run parallel to any faith, but they are never a result of that faith.

In an interview after the session, Iqbal said radicalization occurs partly, not wholly, because of distortions of the teachings of Islam. These distortions could come from clerics with extreme views or other groups online who take phrases from the Qur'an out of context.

"When they distort the faith they tend to sometimes attract criminals to an extremist ideology," he said.

One way to tackle the problem is to provide a counter narrative, demonstrating the real, true teachings of Islam are based in peace, he said.

"Real teachings of Islam have nothing to do with hatred or violence and all these things. That's why our motto as Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at is 'love for all, hatred for none.'"

Photo via Twitter: @tauseefkhan

Praveen Saxena, professor at the University of Guelph, sat on the panel as a representative of Hinduism. He said the problem of negative radicalization originates in people's minds; it's their attitude, and their attitude toward life.

He said radicalization isn't always a negative thing, however. It can actually be positive.

"Hinduism proposes that everyone is consciousness and this consciousness is pure energy. Energy is neutral in nature, so if it becomes positive, it seeks the path of religion and spirituality. The end product of this is eternal peace."

Hindu scriptures propose simple strategies of meditation and karma yoga to keep control of the mind. These are the two techniques the faith offers as a solution to prevent radicalization from happening.

It's about having control over your own thoughts, or being neutral to them, so you can analyze them objectively, he said.


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cseto@guelphmercury.com


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