Fundamentalism and our security

Call it fundamentalism, extremism, militancy or violence and you will find that it exists in every religion. Fundamentalists are basically people who hold certain views that they are unwilling to let go, no matter the circumstances.

Everybody has certain beliefs that will not be relinquished, even under very trying moments, and that is what makes each individual a unique person.

The crux of fundamentalism in the world today, however, is that people belonging to some political groupings are now hiding under the cloak of Jihad, a misconstrued concept, to mortally attack other groups and individuals who do not share in their beliefs or are seen or thought to be engaged in actions which the former consider inimical to their growth or spread.

The Arabic word "jihad" is often mis-translated as "holy war", but in a purely linguistic sense, the "jihad" means struggling or striving and is a call on Muslims not to shirk their religious duties.

Groupings such as Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (IS), Abu Sayyaf, Ansar al-Islam, the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria, the Army of Islam, Boko Haram, the Taliban, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Jemaah Islamiyah, Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, the Indian Mujahideen and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which have different ideologies, have at one time or another visited mayhem on perceived enemies to their causes.

They have not even been considerate of children in their attacks, even maiming and killing many infants and recruiting some children as suicide bombers and others to train as soldiers. Youth who are largely their target are abducted or recruited and indoctrinated to do their bidding, putting the whole security of the world at stake.

The case of the 276 female students who were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in Chibok in the Borno State in Nigeria on the night of April 14, 2014 is still fresh on our minds.

Gradually, this worrying trend has reached Ghana, with the disturbing report this week of the recruitment of a fresh graduate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Nazir Nortei Alema, into the IS of Iraq and Syria.

Parents are major stakeholders when it comes to bringing up their children and being privy to what the children do or are engaged in, especially in these times when getting meaningful jobs is difficult.

The maxim that the devil finds work for idle hands is very much at play and parents owe it to themselves and the communities in which they live to be concerned about the company their children keep.

Currently there are attractions in almost all communities such as betting parlours, which are always overflowing with mostly the youth during foreign football league matches, no matter the time such matches are played and aired. The patrons of the parlours engage one another in bets involving various sums on which teams would win.

Many unemployed youth and schoolchildren on vacation also frequent Internet cafés where they engage in all sorts of vices on the Internet, ranging from watching pornography to using deceit to take money from unsuspecting people, known as ‘sakawa’.

Children and the youth in particular are approached at such places with very enticing or lucrative deals that may not be all genuine as they are made to believe. It is when parents become concerned about the challenges facing their children that they can advise the children appropriately.

The nation also owes it to the youth, who are the future of the country, to put in place working systems that will ensure that they are not only well educated but also become gainfully employed once they complete their formal education.

Parents, opinion leaders, religious leaders, politicians and the government need to approach the issue of fundamentalism with all the seriousness it deserves and also collaborate to properly engage the youth in education and vocation, so that the peace and security of our country and its people are not undermined.