Extremism has been
linked to religious thought and sometimes non-religious thought, that due to
the large number of analysis and synthesis.
When people in a religion are allowed to fabricate and adopt
semi-theories, and linked it to the origin sources in this religion, this
necessarily leads to the creation of sub-trends in this religion.
These semi-theories
are based on analysis and synthesis. They are not complete theories. They are a
theoretical case derived from the analysis of texts and re-synthesis
it in a "technical manner"
Then divide them into other groups so that sub-orientations emerge,
becoming independent with the days, although they bear the name of the religion
itself. In many cases they become
transmissible into inhumane situations.
Just like the river
which divided into several branches, they built these new branches, where these
branches in their waterways turned into sub-rivers, and after a distance they
become an rivers, so these sub-rivers are no longer the same river.
Although the spring, in the beginning is the
only source, but those branches takes water from other sources in their
new flow, so that the strength of the
main spring weaken in these sub-rivers.
That Due to the presence of other water sources, from different springs which
flow into these sub-rivers.
This is exactly what
happens in many religions. When a strange thought comes out of a religion and
allowed this thought to create a direction, it inevitably will become an
extremist movement that fights the origin religion and everyone who disagrees
with it. Because extremism and fighting will become a means of sustaining the new
thought.
In this sense, I
believe that preserving religion’s
origin resource from any strange streams may come out of it, is the
solution to prevent any possible extremism, because religion will be
accountable to its community first and to the general society secondly, So any
allowing to a new strange streams to come out of a religion, that Inevitably leads, after a short period,
to the inability to control the
catastrophic extremism.
This is what happened
in Christianity and Islam.
In Christianity,
although there is no violent extremism,
but when they weakened the church,
through split the Orthodox mother Church , this led to schism which led to
hundreds of schisms, which this led to
the inability to control the branches.
In Islam, the different currents which had and still
emerges, is result to different interpretations, sources, which leads
to the emergence of high level of lethal extremist currents where no longer can be controlled.
So, analysis and composition which come out from a the origins resource of in a religion is inevitably leading to a
tragic end.
By Fr. Spyridon Tanous
Editor: Fr.Spyridon Tanous Greek Orthodox Priest
