Factors behind Weakness of Moderation and Rationality and Its Impacts on Emergence of Extremism in the World of Islam

Today, some Middle Eastern countries making their development under the banner of Islam, suffer extremism in traditions, culture and religion in their performance due to weakness in moderation and rationality. From among them, religious extremism – more than anything else-comes from the emergence of immoderate and irrational groups that stir up tensions and portray an unreal image of Islam and Islamic community to the world. In this paper, we intend to use a descriptive and analytical method to respond to the question of “What factors are behind the weakening of moderation and irrationality and the emergence of extremist thoughts and actions in Muslim communities?” To respond to this question, we have first provided definitions for moderation and rationality and continued with elaborating their values in view of the Holy Quran, in traditions and in the words of the elite religious scholars in order to review the factors behind extremism. It seems that a superficial understanding of religious texts, poverty and unemployment, social inequity, substandard living conditions, impression by bad publicity at virtual world and through satellite programs, keeping bad company and living under his/her influence, and concentration of the religions on differences rather than commonalities are among the major factors behind keeping distance from moderation and rationality in an Islamic society that leads to extremist acts and behaviors.