D. The rise of extremism: evidence, causes and responses

Quran Published translation

O ye who believe! If an evil-liver bring you tidings, verify it, lest ye smite some folk in ignorance and afterward repent of what ye did.

Source: Qur’an, Al-Hujurat (49), 6. English: M. M. Pickthall; Urdu: Fateh Muhammad Jalandhry. Both translations accessed through Tanzil.

Status: Text and cited translation wording checked; relevance note is editorial.

Relevance: A direct warning against harming others through unverified information; digital misinformation is a contemporary application.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1 · Verify 2 · Verify 3

Quran Published translation

And if two parties of believers fall to fighting, then make peace between them. And if one party of them doeth wrong to the other, fight ye that which doeth wrong till it return unto the ordinance of Allah; then, if it return, make peace between them justly, and act equitably. Lo! Allah loveth the equitable. The believers are naught else than brothers. Therefore make peace between your brethren and observe your duty to Allah that haply ye may obtain mercy.

Source: Qur’an, Al-Hujurat (49), 9-10. English: M. M. Pickthall; Urdu: Fateh Muhammad Jalandhry. Both translations accessed through Tanzil.

Status: Text and cited translation wording checked; relevance note is editorial.

Relevance: One continuous passage, counted once. Reconciliation does not erase accountability for aggression; coercive enforcement is not a licence for private armed action.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1 · Verify 2 · Verify 3

Quran Published translation

O ye who believe! Let not a folk deride a folk who may be better than they (are), not let women (deride) women who may be better than they are; neither defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. Bad is the name of lewdness after faith. And whoso turneth not in repentance, such are evil-doers.

Source: Qur’an, Al-Hujurat (49), 11. English: M. M. Pickthall; Urdu: Fateh Muhammad Jalandhry. Both translations accessed through Tanzil.

Status: Text and cited translation wording checked; relevance note is editorial.

Relevance: Provides a textual basis for opposing humiliating group labels. The accessed English wording is retained without silently correcting its wording.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1 · Verify 2 · Verify 3

Quran Published translation

If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted. But if ye endure patiently, verily it is better for the patient.

Source: Qur’an, An-Nahl (16), 126. English: M. M. Pickthall; Urdu: Fateh Muhammad Jalandhry. Both translations accessed through Tanzil.

Status: Text and cited translation wording checked; relevance note is editorial.

Relevance: Limits retaliation and commends patience; it does not authorize private enforcement outside lawful procedure.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1 · Verify 2 · Verify 3

Quran Published translation

O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is Informed of what ye do.

Source: Qur’an, Al-Maidah (5), 8. English: M. M. Pickthall; Urdu: Fateh Muhammad Jalandhry. Both translations accessed through Tanzil.

Status: Text and cited translation wording checked; relevance note is editorial.

Relevance: A constraint on collective hostility and biased treatment of opponents.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1 · Verify 2 · Verify 3

Quran Published translation

Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors.

Source: Qur’an, Al-Baqarah (2), 190. English: M. M. Pickthall; Urdu: Fateh Muhammad Jalandhry. Both translations accessed through Tanzil.

Status: Text and cited translation wording checked; relevance note is editorial.

Relevance: Read with 2:191–194 and juristic rules; it is not a private authorization to commit violence.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1 · Verify 2 · Verify 3

Quran Published translation

And if they incline to peace, incline thou also to it, and trust in Allah. Lo! He, even He, is the Hearer, the Knower.

Source: Qur’an, Al-Anfal (8), 61. English: M. M. Pickthall; Urdu: Fateh Muhammad Jalandhry. Both translations accessed through Tanzil.

Status: Text and cited translation wording checked; relevance note is editorial.

Relevance: Read in the surrounding treaty and conflict context; it is evidence against treating peace as inherently inadmissible.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1 · Verify 2 · Verify 3

Quran Published translation

And if anyone of the idolaters seeketh thy protection (O Muhammad), then protect him so that he may hear the Word of Allah, and afterward convey him to his place of safety. That is because they are a folk who know not.

Source: Qur’an, At-Tawbah (9), 6. English: M. M. Pickthall; Urdu: Fateh Muhammad Jalandhry. Both translations accessed through Tanzil.

Status: Text and cited translation wording checked; relevance note is editorial.

Relevance: The instruction includes escort to safety, within a passage concerning conflict with polytheists.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1 · Verify 2 · Verify 3

Quran Published translation

Revile not those unto whom they pray beside Allah lest they wrongfully revile Allah through ignorance. Thus unto every nation have We made their deed seem fair. Then unto their Lord is their return, and He will tell them what they used to do.

Source: Qur’an, Al-An‘am (6), 108. English: M. M. Pickthall; Urdu: Fateh Muhammad Jalandhry. Both translations accessed through Tanzil.

Status: Text and cited translation wording checked; relevance note is editorial.

Relevance: Prohibits a form of provocation while recognizing its retaliatory consequences; it does not prohibit all theological disagreement.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1 · Verify 2 · Verify 3

Quran Published translation

Excepting those of the idolaters with whom ye (Muslims) have a treaty, and who have since abated nothing of your right nor have supported anyone against you. (As for these), fulfil their treaty to them till their term. Lo! Allah loveth those who keep their duty (unto Him).

Source: Qur’an, At-Tawbah (9), 4. English: M. M. Pickthall; Urdu: Fateh Muhammad Jalandhry. Both translations accessed through Tanzil.

Status: Text and cited translation wording checked; relevance note is editorial.

Relevance: An explicit exception within the opening conflict passage; read with 9:1–6 rather than removing its treaty conditions.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1 · Verify 2 · Verify 3

Quran Published translation

O ye who believe! Shun much suspicion; for lo! some suspicion is a crime. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Ye abhor that (so abhor the other)! And keep your duty (to Allah). Lo! Allah is Relenting, Merciful.

Source: Qur’an, Al-Hujurat (49), 12. English: M. M. Pickthall; Urdu: Fateh Muhammad Jalandhry. Both translations accessed through Tanzil.

Status: Text and cited translation wording checked; relevance note is editorial.

Relevance: Relevant to stigmatization and irresponsible communication; modern digital applications are editorial inferences.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1 · Verify 2 · Verify 3

Hadith Established source translation

"Ruined are the extremists." He said it thrice.

Source: Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud. Sahih Muslim 2670. Arabic and established translations: HadeethEnc, record 3420. Numbering follows that record.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification.

Relevance: The term concerns transgressive excess; it is not a statistical definition of modern violent extremism.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

Verify 1 · Verify 2

Hadith Established source translation

"Indeed, the religion is easy. No one overburdens himself in the religion except that he will be overwhelmed by it. So, seek uprightness (be moderate) and try to be close to it and receive the glad tidings. Seek help by worship in the Ghadwah (early morning), Rawhah (afternoon), and part of the Duljah (night)."

Source: Abu Hurayrah. Sahih al-Bukhari 39. Arabic and established translations: HadeethEnc, record 5795. Numbering follows that record.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification.

Relevance: Counters self-imposed overburdening without equating moderation with abandonment of obligations.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

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Hadith Established source translation

"Beware of oppression, for oppression will be layers of darkness on the Day of Judgment; beware of stinginess, as stinginess ruined those before you. It incited them to shed their blood and regard the unlawful as lawful."

Source: Jabir ibn Abdullah. Sahih Muslim 2578. Arabic and established translations: HadeethEnc, record 5787. Numbering follows that record.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification.

Relevance: A moral warning connecting greed to violence; it is not a single-cause empirical explanation of every conflict.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

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Hadith Established source translation

"Were people to be given everything they claimed, some men would claim the properties and blood of (other) people. However, the onus of proof is on the plaintiff and the oath is upon the one who denies the claim (defendant)."

Source: Ibn Abbas. Al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra 21243 (HadeethEnc locator). Arabic and established translations: HadeethEnc, record 4722. Numbering follows that record.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification. Sahih is HadeethEnc’s displayed assessment; no independent chain grading is claimed.

Relevance: Supports evidentiary discipline, not mob punishment. This complete wording is not labelled a Bukhari–Muslim quotation.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

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Hadith Established source translation

"Whoever kills a mu‘āhad (a non-Muslim who is granted the pledge of protection by the Muslims) shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise, though its fragrance can be smelt at a distance of forty years."

Source: Abdullah ibn Amr. Sahih al-Bukhari 3166. Arabic and established translations: HadeethEnc, record 64637. Numbering follows that record.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification.

Relevance: Explicit protection of treaty-security; modern visa and citizenship applications require separate juristic reasoning.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

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Hadith Established source translation

"Whoever carries weapons against us is not one of us."

Source: Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari. Sahih al-Bukhari 7071; jointly reported according to HadeethEnc. Arabic and established translations: HadeethEnc, record 2997. Numbering follows that record.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification.

Relevance: The source explains wrongful intimidation and attack; the warning is not automatic excommunication.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

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Hadith Established source translation

"A believer will remain in the spaciousness of his religion as long as he does not shed inviolable blood."

Source: Ibn Umar. Sahih al-Bukhari 6862. Arabic, English and numbering: HadeethEnc 66203. No verified Urdu translation supplied.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification. Arabic and English verified; Urdu translation could not be verified.

Relevance: A direct warning against unlawful bloodshed. Verified Arabic and English retained; Urdu published wording unavailable.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

Verify 1

Hadith Established source translation

"Any person who says to his brother: O disbeliever, it will, indeed, fall upon one of them; if he is as he said, or else it will return to him."

Source: Ibn Umar. Sahih Muslim 60; jointly reported. Arabic, English and numbering: HadeethEnc 66271. No verified Urdu translation supplied.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification. Arabic and English verified; Urdu translation could not be verified.

Relevance: Warns against unsupported accusations of unbelief; it is not permission to retaliate with a second accusation.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

Verify 1

Hadith Established source translation

"The strong man is not the one who can overpower others; rather, the strong man is the one who controls himself when he is angry."

Source: Abu Hurayrah. Sahih al-Bukhari 6114; jointly reported. Arabic and established translations: HadeethEnc, record 5351. Numbering follows that record.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification.

Relevance: A moral resource for de-escalation, not a replacement for empirical research on violence.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

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Hadith Established source translation

“There are four (traits); whoever has them is a sheer hypocrite, and whoever has one trait of them has one of the traits of hypocrisy until he gives it up: whenever he speaks, he tells a lie; whenever he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous; whenever he makes a promise, he breaks it; and whenever he is in a dispute, he behaves in a shameless immoral manner."

Source: Abdullah ibn Amr. Sahih Muslim 58; jointly reported. Arabic and established translations: HadeethEnc, record 65124. Numbering follows that record.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification.

Relevance: The source explanation distinguishes practical hypocrisy from automatically declaring a person outside Islam.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

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Hadith Established source translation

"When two Muslims meet to fight each other with their swords, both the killer and the killed are doomed to Hellfire." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, that is the case with the killer, but what about the killed one?" He said: "Indeed, he was keen to kill his companion."

Source: Abu Bakrah. Sahih al-Bukhari 31; jointly reported. Arabic and established translations: HadeethEnc, record 4304. Numbering follows that record.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification.

Relevance: The explanation expressly concerns intention to kill; it must not be used to equate innocent victims with aggressors.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

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Hadith Established source translation

"Support your brother whether he is an oppressor or oppressed." A man said: O Messenger of Allah, I support him if he is oppressed, but how should I support him if he is an oppressor? He said: "Stop—or prevent—him from oppression. This is indeed supporting him."

Source: Anas ibn Malik. Sahih al-Bukhari 6952; numbering displayed by HadeethEnc. Arabic and established translations: HadeethEnc, record 4236. Numbering follows that record.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification.

Relevance: Redefines support for one’s own group as preventing its wrongdoing, not excusing it.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

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Hadith Established source translation — contiguous excerpt

News about the dispute among the people of Banu ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf reached the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and so he went to them, along with some of his Companions, to effect reconciliation between them.

Source: Sahl ibn Sad al-Saidi. Sahih al-Bukhari 2690, Kitab al-Sulh; HadeethEnc 6973, jointly reported. Arabic and established translations: HadeethEnc, record 6973. Numbering follows that record.

Status: Sahih according to the source classification.

Relevance: Opening narrative excerpt, not direct Prophetic speech. The longer report continues with congregational prayer arrangements.

Best use: Evidence / ethical principle

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Tafsir Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

Ibn Kathir’s section on 17:36 includes warnings against claiming to have heard or seen what one has not.

Source: Ibn Kathir, Tafsir 17:36, “Do not speak without Knowledge,” accessed English abridgment.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: Relevant to responsible reporting; the cited exegetical reports are not independently graded here.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1

Tafsir Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

Ma’ariful Qur’an requires checking information before decisions that may harm others, while distinguishing routine matters where the relevant risk is absent.

Source: Mufti Muhammad Shafi, Ma’ariful Qur’an, accessed English commentary on 49:6, “Rulings and Injunctions.”

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: A qualified rule for harmful misinformation, not a demand to suspend every ordinary interaction until a formal investigation.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1

Tafsir Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

Al-Tabari explains that hostility must not lead to injustice in judgment or conduct, and explicitly includes both allies and enemies within the demand for fairness.

Source: Al-Tabari, Jami‘ al-bayan, Arabic commentary on 5:8, explanation of “اعدلوا”; accessed through Quran.com.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: Supports impartiality beyond one’s own community; this entry is a paraphrase of the exegete, not a new translation of the verse.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1

Tafsir Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

Ibn Kathir interprets inclination to peace as seeking reconciliation and a non-hostility agreement, and invokes Hudaybiyah as an illustration of accepting negotiated terms.

Source: Ibn Kathir, abridged English Tafsir on 8:61–63, “The Command to Facilitate Peace when the Enemy seeks a Peaceful Resolution.”

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: The historical illustration is reported here as the commentator’s use of it; this entry does not independently authenticate every report embedded in the commentary.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

Verify 1

Tafsir Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

Al-Qurtubi derives a continuing restraint on insulting others’ religions when reciprocal abuse is foreseeable, and discusses blocking harmful means as a juristic principle.

Source: Al-Qurtubi, al-Jami‘ li-ahkam al-Qur’an, Arabic commentary on 6:108, issues 2–3; King Saud University Qur’an project.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: A consequence-sensitive argument about conduct; disagreement with a belief and insulting its adherents are not treated as interchangeable.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Classical scholarship Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

Ibn Khaldun argues that harsh punishment can undermine initiative and foster dishonesty in students.

Source: Ibn Khaldun, al-Muqaddimah, Chapter VI, section 39, “Severity to students does them harm,” opening argument.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: A classical educational argument relevant to prevention, not modern causal evidence about extremism.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Classical scholarship Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

Ibn Masud instructs people to communicate what they know and acknowledge what they do not know instead of speaking pretentiously.

Source: Abdullah ibn Masud, Companion statement reported through Masruq in Sahih al-Bukhari; exact passage accessed as HadeethEnc 8934, Manners of Scholars and Learners.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: A Companion’s statement, not the Prophet’s own wording. HadeethEnc grades the report authentic; canonical number was not verified.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Modern scholarship Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

The Amman statement recognizes adherents of eight named legal schools as Muslims and rejects declaring them apostates.

Source: The Three Points of the Amman Message, V.1, point 1; official text.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: A collective scholarly declaration, not proof that every scholar endorses every formulation.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Modern scholarship Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

Point 3 requires scholarly qualifications and recognized methodology rather than unrestricted, self-authorized fatwas.

Source: The Three Points of the Amman Message, V.1, point 3.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: An institutional response to unauthorized religious pronouncements.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Academic research Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

Al-Dawoody and Thynne propose dialogue, education and practical guidance drawing on humanitarian law and Islamic legal discussions of environmental protection.

Source: Ahmed Al-Dawoody and Kelisiana Thynne, Of date palms and dialogue: Enhancing the protection of the natural environment under international humanitarian law and Islamic law, International Review of the Red Cross, no. 925, April 2024, abstract and conclusion.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: An attributed implementation proposal; it is not an evaluation proving success.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Academic research Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

Al-Dawoody relates humane treatment of prisoners to Islamic legal obligations and fulfillment of commitments in his discussion of the Third Geneva Convention.

Source: Ahmed Al-Dawoody, التعليق على اتفاقية جنيف الثالثة: معاملة أسرى الحرب من منظور إسلامي, ICRC al-Insani, 13 June 2021, discussion of humane treatment.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: The Arabic article was inspected; these English and Urdu summaries are not published translations or independently verified historical reports.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Academic research Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

The review distinguishes extremist use of the internet from proof that internet exposure causes violence. It identifies uncertainty about causal effects and the effectiveness of countermeasures.

Source: Séraphin Alava, Divina Frau-Meigs and Ghayda Hassan, Youth and Violent Extremism on Social Media: Mapping the Research, UNESCO, 2017; publisher/Clearinghouse abstract, research mainly from 2012–2016.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: The abstract was inspected, not the full book. This dated review does not establish the state of all evidence in 2026 or deny any role for online influence.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Institutional sources Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

The UN overview presents prevention of violent extremism as broader than security responses, addressing conditions conducive to recruitment.

Source: UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, official overview of the Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism, A/70/674, presented 15 January 2016.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: The explanatory webpage was inspected; the full report’s numbered paragraphs are not claimed as checked.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Institutional sources Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

The UN explains the Rabat test through context, speaker, intent, content, dissemination and likelihood of harm, including imminence.

Source: United Nations in Indonesia, “Why the UN in Indonesia Is Saying No to Hate,” section “The Rabat Threshold Test,” 2022.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: A guidance framework; this entry does not adjudicate a particular legal case.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Institutional sources Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

UNDP’s summary reports that one quarter of voluntary recruits cited employment as their primary motive; religious ideas were not the only reported driver.

Source: UNDP, Hope for better jobs eclipses religious ideology as main driver of recruitment to violent extremist groups in Sub-Saharan Africa, 7 February 2023, report-summary paragraphs on motives.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: Regional, retrospective self-reports: not a universal causal law. The publisher’s summary of Journey to Extremism in Africa was inspected, not the full report.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Institutional sources Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

The UNDP summary identifies human-rights abuse, often involving security forces, as prominent among incidents described as triggering recruitment.

Source: UNDP, 7 February 2023 report summary, paragraphs on trigger events and human-rights abuses.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: Concerns the studied Sub-Saharan African cases. Reported grievances do not justify attacks or prove a single sufficient cause.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Institutional sources Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

UNESCO describes prevention through education as developing knowledge, values and behaviours supporting non-violence, dialogue and resistance to hateful narratives.

Source: UNESCO, Preventing violent extremism, opening programme explanation, accessed 18 September 2026.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: A stated programme approach, not evidence that schooling alone prevents all violence. Do not treat Muslim identity or ordinary religious observance as recruitment indicators.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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Institutional sources Scholarly position / paraphrased argument

Presenting Terrorism and the media, UNESCO’s Guy Berger stresses factual, proportionate reporting and attention to underlying drivers, while cautioning that labels can politicise coverage.

Source: UNESCO, UNESCO flags new publications at UN, 21 March 2018, briefing paragraphs on Terrorism and the media.

Status: Cited digital passage inspected; an attributed paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation or Hadith grading.

Relevance: Institutional presentation of a handbook, not inspection of the whole handbook or an independent measurement of journalism’s effects.

Best use: Argument / critical analysis

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