The Culture of Peace

The Culture of Peace was revealed to purify the Kabah of these idols. Instead, in this initial period the Quran’s exhortation to believers was to ‘purify your garments’ (74:4). This meant purification of one’s moral character, and that of others, too. No Justification for Violence Violence is against human nature. It murders humanity. It is the most heinous of all crimes. Yet, despite this, why do some people still engage in violence? The reason is very simple: Such people fabricate a justification for violence, and then they begin actually to believe that their violence is justified. But the fact is that every single justification or pretext that is offered for violence is false. Whenever an individual or group engages in violence, it also has, at the very same time, the possibility of choosing non-violent or peaceful methods. Yet, in such a situation, it still chooses violence. Why? When the opportunity exists to act without violence, why do some individuals or groups choose to act violently? Violence should be abandoned completely and peace should be accepted completely. One should never resort to violence under any pretext whatsoever. No matter what the conditions are, one must necessarily remain firmly wedded to peaceful methods. Solving Enmities People often think of certain communities as their enemies. And then, on the basis of this imaginary perception, they start fighting against them, supposedly to save themselves from the consequences of their enmity. This imaginary enemy of theirs is, however, wholly false. And so are those actions which they engage in to counter this so-called enemy’s imagined threat. Enmity is not a constant aspect of human existence, unlike, say, the fingers of one’s hands. It is just a superficial aspect. Through