The Challenge of De-radicalization

Osama bin Laden is a controversial figure. For many people, Osama is a symbol of terrorism who is the most responsible for all acts of terror that occurred in the world, particularly in the World Trade Centre (WTC) attack at the United State of America on September 11, 2001. The government of the United States considers that al-Qaeda is responsible for the terror that occurred in the WTC. Thus, the assassination of Osama (May 1, 2011), as the leader of al-Qaeda, is a justice that must we accept as a punishment for terrorists.

But, not all Moslems agree on this. Most of them consider that Osama deserves the assassination for the acts of terror that he scattered through the network of al-Qaeda. Osama is the culprit that must be stopped. Osama has reduced Islamic doctrine to be a doctrine of violence which allows all the ways to fight for their believe which proper with the God’s will, according to their doctrine.

So, in the country where the majority people are Moslems, there are dualism attitudes toward the figure of Osama. Some Moslems considers that Islamic religion has been hijacked by the terrorists. Islam doesn’t teach terror. Moreover, the targets are the people who are innocents. The act of terror in Islam is very criticized because of killing one man considered as killing all mankind; and preserve one human life also means protecting the lives of all mankind (Al-Maidah: 32).

In Medina, when the new Moslem community has been formed, the Prophet Muhammad never fight those who do not embrace Islam. Even against the Jews, the Prophet Muhammad set the same rights and obligations as a society in Madinah. There is no doctrine practiced by the Prophet Muhammad which cause the radical attitude of the Moslems. In addition, Prophet Muhammad had made agreements with the people who do not embrace Islam to coexist and respect each other. This is what the history of Islam tells us.

Nowadays, almost in every terror occurs (especially in Indonesia), the culprits were often identified themselves as Moslems who fight for Islam. Many verses and traditions of the Prophet were quoted to legitimize their actions. Indeed, they regard themselves as the Islamic warriors. Simply it is not enough to state that they were wrong in understanding the verses of the Koran and the traditions of the Prophet. More than that, it needs hard work and deep thinking to hold the arguments that emphasize that Islam is blessings for the universe (rahmatan lil ‘alamin).