In the hidden war zones of extremism, a generation is being stolen before our eyes not by poverty or ignorance alone, but by a radical ideology that weaponizes faith and innocence in equal measure. The modern-day Khawarij, ideological descendants of the earliest violent rebels in Islamic history, have revived an old method with devastating precision: recruit children, twist their beliefs, and unleash them in a war they cannot understand.
These groups do not build armies. They manufacture minds. In regions like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where disillusionment and instability run deep, boys barely in their teens are indoctrinated to believe that fighting the Pakistani state is not only permissible but obligatory. They are taught that attacking their own soldiers, sabotaging their own cities, and hating their own country is an act of faith. They call it jihad. But it is nothing short of fasad mischief, chaos, and rebellion masquerading as piety.
When these children are asked why they fight “Punjab,” a phrase they use synonymously with the military, the answer is often chilling: “We were told the army is Punjab.” This, while they themselves operate from the hills and towns of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa far removed from the province they claim to be at war with. Their understanding of theology is equally hollow. Ask them to define a “murtid” (apostate), and many simply reply: “A kafir.” They cannot explain the terms they have been taught to kill for. This is not faith it is indoctrination. It is not conviction it is coercion.
Islam is unambiguous when it comes to the responsibilities of children. Warfare, even in the most just and defensive sense, is not permitted for minors. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) laid down this principle with clarity. In a hadith recorded in Sahih Muslim, he stated: “The pen is lifted from three: the one who sleeps until he wakes, the child until he reaches maturity, and the insane until he regains sanity.” Moreover, during the Battle of Uhud, one of his closest companions, Abdullah ibn Umar, presented himself for participation at age fourteen and was turned away solely because of his age. If Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) denied a boy the right to fight in a legitimate defensive battle, how can men in our age unqualified, unelected, and unaccountable command children to wage war under their distorted banners?
But the Khawarij’s exploitation does not end with minors. Their ideological corruption extends to political thought. These groups aggressively preach that democracy, as practiced in Pakistan, is equivalent to disbelief. This is a gross misrepresentation of both religion and law. The Constitution of Pakistan begins by declaring that sovereignty belongs to Almighty Allah alone and affirms that no law shall be enacted that contradicts the Quran and Sunnah. While the political system in Pakistan has serious flaws corruption, elite capture, flawed legislation these shortcomings do not make democracy an act of apostasy. Reform, not revolt, is the path Islam prescribes when systems fall short of ideals. Participatory correction not violent dismantling is the method laid out in prophetic tradition.
What the Khawarij are doing is not reform. It is destruction. They are not fighting tyranny they are creating it. And when they place guns in the hands of children, they are not committing acts of resistance; they are committing unforgivable crimes against both humanity and religion.
This is not a localized threat. The ideological template of the Khawarij has crossed borders before, and it will again. From the deserts of the Middle East to the suburbs of Western cities, where vulnerable youth search for meaning and identity, this doctrine of hate finds its way. And wherever it goes, it leaves behind orphans not always in body, but certainly in spirit.
We must be clear: a child holding a rifle is not a symbol of jihad. He is a victim of propaganda, trauma, and betrayal. Those who exploit his confusion and call it religious duty are not warriors of Islam they are its enemies. They do not defend the faith; they defile it.
This is not just a warning. It is a moral line. If we allow it to blur, we risk surrendering the next generation to the very forces that profit from their destruction. The Khawarij are not fighting for Islam. They are waging war against its most sacred principles by turning its future into foot soldiers of chaos.
