The Religion of Peace

collections of Al-Nasai, Ibn Majah and Ahmad), in Islam there is no extremism, or what in Arabic is called ghulu. Another cause for violence is anger. In Islam, anger is considered to be a grave moral failure. The Quran (42:37) describes a true believer, or momin, as one who, when he experiences anger, forgives. Clearly, if people were to act on this teaching of Islam and forgive others whenever they become angry with them, they would never become violent. Yet another cause for violence is that many people think that it is a potent means to achieve goals. But the Quran seeks to put an end to this way of thinking. According to the Quran, violence is nothing but a pointless sort of negative reaction. It is not an effective and beneficial way to succeed in fulfilling one’s goals. The Quran teaches us that if we have a dispute with someone, we should try our best not to let it degenerate into a confrontation that would finally turn into violence. Rather, we should try to resolve the dispute through efforts at reconciliation at the very outset itself. According to Islam, in the event of a dispute with someone, we should resolve it by adopting a conciliatory course of action, and not by confrontation. Clearly, if this Islamic approach were adopted, even if we had a dispute with someone it would not degenerate into violence. A hadith is of great help in understanding this point more clearly. According to this tradition, contained in the Sahih alBukhari, God gives in response to softness what He does not give in response to harshness. This hadith indicates something profound about the system of nature that God has established. And that is, that to achieve one’s goals, the peaceful method is always more effective. In contrast, violent methods cause destruction and in no way prove effective in pursuing positive goals. Here it is necessary to add that Islam and Muslims are not the same thing. Islam is the name of an ideology, while Muslims are a group that claims to have adopted Islam as its religion. Hence, the behaviour of Muslims should be gauged according to Islamic