The End of the Age of Violence

The End of the Age of Violence During the Second World War (1939-45) several countries opted for the path of violence, namely Britain, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia and the U.S.A. But when the war was over, all these countries abandoned the path of confrontation in favour of a peaceful struggle. This was not a simple matter. It was in actual fact, a declaration that human history had reached the stage when the age of violence had come to an end forever. Now man had only one option and that was of adopting peaceful methods. Before engaging in any activity, the results of that activity must be considered. Any act which will not produce positive results is surely unfit to be considered as an option. The results of the Second World War made this quite evident. All those nations which participated in this war made innumerable sacrifices in terms of lives and possessions but, in terms of any positive results, these sacrifices proved futile. It should be borne in mind that modern-day weapons have become a deterrent rather than an incentive to waging war. For instance, Germany and Japan incurred great losses in treading the path of war, so in the light of this experience, they opted for the way of peace. Consequently, the two countries rose to great heights of success. They did so, even after having lost a part of their countries, Germany losing the eastern part of it and Japan losing the large Island of Okinawa. Kashmir and other regions where Muslims have launched violent movements ought to take a lesson from these experiences. These events have resonated far beyond the countries in which they took place. Indeed, they illustrate the law of nature, according to which those who take to the path of hatred and violence will suffer only deprivation as their lot in life, whereas those who take to the path of peace and love, will have all kinds of success awaiting them. Destructive Politics A well-known Muslim speaker of the West once addressed a conference attended by Muslims and quoted the maxim: “Rebellion to a tyrant, obedience to God”.