The Religion of Peace

The Religion of Peace enemy in order to get rid of him. There is no room for this sort of notion in Islam. If someone considers another person his enemy, it does not make it legitimate for him to resort to violence against him with a view to eliminating him. If you study the Quran, you will realize that Islam distinguishes between an enemy, on the one hand, and an aggressor, on the other. If a group engages in one-sided and unilateral violent aggression against another group, then, according to the Quran, the latter has the right to engage in defensive action against this aggression and to respond by the use of violence to the extent necessary (22:39). However, the issue of enemies who do not engage in such aggression is entirely different. With regard to them, Islam’s teaching is precisely the same as what Jesus exhorts in the Bible: Love your enemies. (Luke 6:27) The Quran forbids reacting to inimical behaviour with the same sort of behaviour. In this regard, it says: Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend. (41:34) From this we learn that according to Islamic teachings, an enemy is not to be fought against. Rather, he is to be made into a friend. Every human being has a basic and intrinsic human nature, which may temporarily be obscured by enmity. And so, if one were to unilaterally reach out to one’s enemy with kindness and goodness, the latter would revert to this intrinsic human nature of his. And then, he would no longer be an enemy, but, rather, will have become a good friend. Ponder for a while on why people engage in violence. One reason is ideological extremism. Where there is no extremism, there is no violence. By forbidding extremism, Islam cuts off the very roots of violence. According to a hadith (contained in the