THE ROLE OF ISLAMIC THOUGHT AND INSTITUTION MARJAAAT IN COUNTERING EXTREMISM

Radicalism and extremism threaten the security of many countries. among the various aspects of this phenomenon, its ideological side is of particular importance. on the whole, sharia and islamic jurisprudence by their nature openly oppose international terrorism. the decisions of the leading centers of islamic legal thought reject the ideology of the radicals. to solve the problem of extremism, the interaction of various institutions, both state and public and religious, is necessary. the limited number of leaders who can lead the masses to traditional islam has caused a large number of young people to leave their homes and go to war on the side of various terrorist groups. in this regard, we are convinced that the role of islamic thought and the institution of religious mentoring (marjaata) in countering extremism is very important. the authority of mentors and their ability to influence the political environment is evidenced by a number of examples from history and modernity. among them, ayatollah sayyid ali sistani’s publication of a fatwa in june 2014, calling on iraqi citizens to defend the country, its people and holy places from militants; conviction by high-ranking clergymen (shoberi zanjani, safi golpayegani, mousavi ardebili, makarem shirazi, jafar sobhani, yousef sanei) of crimes committed by extremist groups; calls for shiite and sunni leaders to establish a dialogue between the followers of these two directions, and others. over the entire period of its existence, mankind has sought to form an ideal model of interaction between various groups, both in the field of public interests and in the spiritual sphere. however, often the search for a path of peaceful coexistence led to the emergence of extreme ideas and due to the desire to prove superiority.