The failure to live by religious moral values is one of the worst dangers that can arise for a society. Because in societies in which people do not abide by these values there is a rapid moral collapse, and the peace and order of society is damaged. Furthermore, just about all the individuals in the society are harmed by this. Examples of this have been seen in various countries in the world in recent times.
In order not to find ourselves facing such a danger it is of the greatest importance to wage an intellectual struggle against irreligiousness.
However, in waging this struggle there are a number of elements that need to be borne in mind. One of the most important of these is the fact that irreligion may not always appear as an organized movement.
Unorganized Irreligiousness
Despite their being thousands of proofs of the existence and oneness of God, some people persist in denial and avoid living according to religious moral values, made incumbent upon all people by God. There is no doubt that this is a most ignorant attitude. That is because the only way to find the true peace, happiness and security that a person seeks throughout his or her life is to live according to the religious moral values commanded by God. It is impossible for anyone who does not live by those values, no matter how broad the means at their disposal, to be truly happy. Moments experienced during the course of the day that have the appearance of happiness are actually both very short and transitory and also most of these people are not really happy at all, but merely imitate happiness.
Religious moral values permit people to be patient, compassionate, tolerant, moderate and of good conscience, in other words to live a pleasant life. In a society in which everyone abides by the moral values of religion, peace and moderation prevail over society as a whole. Individuals are always treated with love, compassion and understanding.
People who nonetheless reject this manifest truth engage in a great campaign to prevent people living by religious moral values. That is because their own interests are usually built on evils incompatible with religious moral values. However, they usually wage this campaign in a non-organized manner. When a situation opposed to religious moral values arises, people who are unacquainted with one another and have never previously been together in the same environment, may join forces for the same ends. When asked questions, people who have never before laid eyes on one another give similar replies, say the same kind of things based on a similar logic but in different places, and utter the same slogans in different locations. These are not generally organized from a single center, but under a satanic influence possess the same logic, the logic of irreligiousness.
It is Satan who determines and directs the logic of irreligiousness. These people engage in denial and fight against religious moral values under the direction and propaganda of Satan. In this struggle they display the same twisted logic almost everywhere in the world, say the same things, resort to the same deceptions, react in the same way, and behave in the same manner. In one verse God has revealed that unbelievers struggle on the path of Satan:
… Those who disbelieve fight in the way of false gods. So fight the friends of Satan! Satan's scheming is always feeble. (Qur'an, 4:76)
In another verse we are told this about Satan's fight against religious moral values and sincere believers:
… The satans inspire their friends to dispute with you… (Qur'an, 6:121)
As is revealed in this verse, it is actually Satan who actually directs the unbelievers to make irreligious propaganda and to work against religious moral values. In other words, even though they are not organized they work together at Satan's beckoning. Satan inculcates the same propaganda against religious moral values aimed at people of different races and speaking different languages. They, in turn, act in the same way under satanic direction. When the requisite situation arises, under the inspiration of Satan his supporters immediately realize what they have to do, what words they have to speak, what logic to construct, and what paths to follow. The result is a non-organized movement of irreligiousness.
The Responsibility of Believers
One of the greatest responsibilities imposed on believers by God is that of commanding what is right and forbidding what is wrong:
Those who repent, those who worship, those who praise, those who fast, those who bow, those who prostrate, those who command the right, those who forbid the wrong, those who preserve the limits of God [set for humanity]: give good news to the believers. (Qur'an, 9:112)
This responsibility incumbent upon believers makes it essential for them to engage in an intellectual struggle against those striving to propagate evil in the world. In fulfilling this important responsibility, the correct identification of the target will, by God's leave, be a means whereby results can be more quickly obtained. Therefore, believers need to be aware that the real threat they are dealing with is non-organized irreligiousness, in other words one that grows and develops through satanic propaganda. God informs us in the Qur'an that Satan approaches people from many different directions, taking them by surprise:
He [Satan] said: "By Your misguidance of me, I will lie in ambush for them on your straight path. Then I will come at them, from in front of them and behind them, from their right and from their left. You will not find most of them thankful." (Qur'an, 7:16-17)
For that reason, the propaganda methods and deceptions employed by Satan may all be different, but at heart the logic is the same. The way to neutralize this danger is evident: to constantly endeavor to disseminate religious moral values. To that end it is exceedingly important to constantly describe the manifest proofs of the existence and oneness of God, to reveal the twisted nature of philosophies and trends that turn people away from religious moral values, and to keep the blessings that those values impart constantly before people's eyes. This comprehensive intellectual struggle is a vital means of breaking Satan's influence over some people and warming their hearts to religious moral values. And, by God's leave, He will reward those of His servants who struggle on that path with success and victory:
Our word was given before to Our servants, the messengers, that they would certainly be helped. (Qur'an, 37:171-172)