Narrow-Mindedness: An Obstacle To Social Harmony - (Part One)

By Dr. Zafar Darik Qasmi, New Age Islam 9 August 2025 Abstract: Narrow-mindedness creates division, intolerance, and prejudice, weakening social unity. It appears as rejecting others’ beliefs, avoiding dialogue, hating opposing views, and refusing criticism. True progress needs open-mindedness, tolerance, justice, and respect for diversity. Only through education, dialogue, and acceptance can societies achieve harmony, cooperation, and sustainable development. Main Points: 1. Narrow-mindedness limits thinking and rejects diversity in beliefs, cultures. 2. Intolerance harms unity, creating division and weakening social cooperation. 3. Hatred towards opposing views blocks dialogue and critical thinking. 4. Prejudice based on religion or culture fuels social disharmony. 5. Avoiding intellectual debate stops growth, research, and healthy progress. 6. Refusing constructive criticism prevents improvement and encourages stagnation. ----- Narrow-mindedness refers to a limited and rigid way of thinking where individuals are unwilling to accept or even consider perspectives, beliefs, and lifestyles different from their own. Such an attitude often breeds intolerance, prejudice, and unnecessary conflicts, making it difficult for communities to live together in peace. It acts as a barrier to mutual understanding and respect, which are essential for social harmony. When people refuse to engage in open dialogue or appreciate diversity, the bonds that hold society together begin to weaken. Over time, this division can lead to social isolation, mistrust, and even hostility. To build a truly harmonious society, it is necessary to replace narrow-mindedness with open-mindedness, empathy, and a commitment to justice and equality for all. Unity, harmony, and collective agreement are essential for building and developing any society. History records in bold letters the achievements and activities of those nations that embraced unity and solidarity. On the contrary, those who abandoned unity and promoted division, conflict, and discord lost their importance and were given little value in society. Unity, solidarity, and constructive thinking act as powerful tools for bringing together people of different religions, beliefs, ideologies, and viewpoints. Today, the state of discord and division we see in society has many causes. One is bias and partiality in our thinking — narrow-mindedness has created division in society. Another reason is double standards in justice, which exist at every level from individuals to governments. A third cause is ignorance and lack of knowledge. A fourth is sectarian differences. These, among others, are major factors that hinder unity and harmony. We must remember that human beings are social creatures; they cannot live alone. Their survival, progress, and prosperity depend on collective efforts. That is why unity and solidarity hold a central place in human society. When people unite for one purpose, one thought, and one goal, they can move mountains and make the impossible possible. The word unity means joining together under one purpose, ideology, or action. When hearts, minds, and actions are aligned in one direction, it is called unity. Solidarity refers to the harmony that emerges through mutual love, cooperation, compassion, and loyalty among individuals. It is a force that promotes social harmony and collective progress. When people are united, their collective strength increases many times over against any enemy. “Unity is a blessing” is a true principle. Behind every successful nation lies the unity and cooperation of its people. Economic, educational, and scientific progress is possible only through collective effort. Unity fosters peace, love, tolerance, and brotherhood in society, while eliminating hatred, hostility, and sectarianism. Enemies easily overpower nations that are internally weak and divided. Unity makes a nation undefeatable. If all Muslims truly became one community, no power in the world could defeat them. Unfortunately, today Muslims are divided into sects, nationalities, and personal interests. Unity is not only a religious command but also the foundation of every successful nation. From the individual to the family, from the family to the nation, and from the nation to the global community — all are connected. If we truly want progress, we must sacrifice personal interests for the sake of the collective good. 1 — Narrow-Mindedness As An Obstacle To Unity And Solidarity: Among the main reasons that unity and harmony are absent in society, one of the most significant is narrow-mindedness. It is important to understand what this means. Narrow-mindedness is a mental state or attitude where a person’s thinking becomes limited and trapped within their own beliefs, religion, language, nation, or culture — refusing to accept differences or diversity in others. A narrow-minded person does not like to hear or understand other perspectives and often opposes them. Experts Have Pointed Out Several Harms Of Narrow-Mindedness, Including: A- Intolerance Of Others’ Beliefs, Ideas, Or Lifestyles: Human society is full of diversity — every person may have different beliefs, thoughts, religions, customs, and ways of life. But when a person or group refuses to tolerate these differences, this is called intolerance. It is a dangerous social and moral attitude that goes against humanity, dialogue, and harmony. Religious intolerance arises when followers of one faith view others as inferior, misguided, or enemies — mocking their rituals, objecting to their practices, or speaking with hatred. Likewise, intellectual intolerance occurs when political or ideological differences are rejected without listening or engaging — treating disagreement as enmity, insisting only one’s own view is correct, and silencing others. Similarly, intolerance of lifestyle includes looking down upon others for their dress, food, living habits, language, or culture — such as considering rural people ignorant, demeaning speakers of different languages, or criticizing women’s clothing unnecessarily. A truly civilized and progressive society allows people to live with dignity despite differences, making unity and harmony possible. B- Believing One’s Own View Or Belief To Be The Complete Truth: This is a mindset where a person becomes convinced that only their opinion or belief is entirely correct, and everyone else’s is wrong or misguided. It is a sign of intellectual arrogance, bias, and lack of humility — blocking dialogue, interfaith understanding, and social unity. When everyone believes only their view is right, the doors to discussion, mutual understanding, and cooperation close. This often leads people to declare those with different religious or sectarian views as misguided, innovators, or even unbelievers — fuelling conflicts, sectarianism, and unrest worldwide. C- Hatred Or Hostility Towards Opposing Views: This is a social and intellectual attitude that deprives individuals and societies of critical thinking, tolerance, dialogue, and progress. It emerges when a person considers their opinion sacred or beyond criticism, seeing other views as threats. Disagreement is treated as rebellion, and opponents are labelled as enemies or misguided. Such an approach breeds intolerance in educational, political, and religious institutions, leading to extremism and division. Instead of dialogue and reasoning, accusations, insults, hatred, and violence become the tools of expression — pushing society into stagnation and decline. History shows that all scientific, intellectual, and cultural progress happened when someone dared to question prevailing ideas and suggest new paths. If everyone thought the same, discovery and innovation would die. D- Social, Religious, Or Cultural Prejudice: This is when individuals or groups consider their own nation, religion, or culture superior to all others — seeing others’ identities, beliefs, and customs as inferior or wrong. Examples include discrimination based on caste, race, gender, language, or region; sectarianism that mocks or rejects others’ worship and beliefs; or cultural arrogance that sees one’s dress, food, and festivals as superior while labelling others as backward or immoral. The Qur’an clearly teaches that diversity exists so people may know one another, not hate: “O mankind! We created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.” (Al-Hujurat: 13) Prejudice leads to intellectual stagnation — where a society avoids new ideas, research, dialogue, and critical thinking. Such stagnation kills curiosity and progress, leaving societies trapped in the past. E- Avoiding Intellectual Discussion: Narrow-minded societies often avoid scholarly debate. Intellectual discussion is the process of presenting different views and evidence respectfully to find truth or solutions — focusing on reason, not personal attacks. Avoiding this deprives a society of research, innovation, and growth. History shows that nations who encouraged open dialogue and critical thinking progressed, while those who feared questions declined. f- Inability to accept criticism: Today, we often see people unable to tolerate criticism. This weakens intellectual and moral growth, as it comes from an unwillingness to admit mistakes or hear anything but praise. Constructive criticism is like a mirror, showing weaknesses so they can be improved. Islam values this deeply — the Qur’an says: “And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.” (Adh-Dhariyat: 55) Caliph Umar (RA) said: “May Allah have mercy on the one who shows me my faults.” Imam Shafi‘i said: “When someone points out my mistake, he is my best friend.” Those who reject criticism often suffer from insecurity or arrogance, blaming others instead of improving themselves — and ultimately decline. Conclusion: The causes and factors described above show how narrow-mindedness, in all its forms, blocks unity and harmony. It contains prejudice, hatred, and limited thinking, while open-mindedness brings tolerance, love, and intellectual acceptance. An open-minded person listens to and respects differing views, even without agreement. Narrow-mindedness is a dangerous social and intellectual disease that harms both individuals and entire societies. Its cure lies in education, intellectual training, open dialogue, and acceptance of diversity. Only by replacing narrow-mindedness with openness, justice, and respect can we build a united, moral, and progressive society. ----- Dr. Zafar Darik Qasmi is an Author and Columnist URl: https://www.newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/obstacle-social-harmony-part-one/d/136443 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism