De Gaulleism Shows the Way

However, it was because of De Gaulle’s policies that France started to develop rapidly and now has the first position in Europe in the field of nuclear science. Present-day Muslim leaders ought to take a lesson from the above example. Their leadership, instead of bringing any positive gain, has only led to losses for Muslims. In such a situation, leaders who are spearheading the presentday militancy should bring about a drastic change in their policies. They should abandon violence and adopt a peaceful course of action. Their own leadership may suffer a setback because of such a radical policy, but as far as the Muslim community as a whole is concerned, it will surely begin to make progress along constructive lines. From being a backward community, it will begin its journey towards becoming a progressive community. The greatest positive aspect of this development would be that the image of Islam – in the eyes of people of the world – would undergo a great change for the better. Because of the continuing Muslim militancy all these years, it has come to be generally believed that Islam is a religion of violence. But if Muslims adopted the peaceful method, Islam would be known as a peaceful religion, which enjoined its followers to work and live peacefully. Indeed, giving a correct picture of Islam is undoubtedly the greatest need of today. What Charles De Gaulle did was not the personal policy of one individual; it was rather based on the law of nature.