Peace: The Summum Bonum

‘blasphemer’. This is similar to referring someone with nicknames, which is discouraged in Islam: Do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. (Quran 49:11) A person never says he is committing blasphemy (called shatm in Arabic). It is Muslims who impose the allegation of blasphemy on the person, and in doing so they go against the above teaching of the Quran. The correct way should be to attempt to address the mind of the other person by healthy discussion and providing him with books on Islam. The option to kill does not exist. How can we eliminate all terrorists from the world? Can there be an everlasting peace? Terrorism is a phenomenon that results from the misuse of freedom by human beings. God bestowed freedom upon mankind in order to put us to the test in this world. It is the misuse of this God-given freedom which creates all kinds of problems in society. Since we cannot abolish this freedom, we cannot establish an ideal system. It is this fact due to which establishing a perfect society or system is simply not possible. How do we cultivate tolerance when a group interprets the same Quran as peace and another as violence? Which interpretation should we then follow? The issue of myriad interpretations is not unique to the Quran; it is a fact of life. No book, law or constitution has ever had a uniform or a single interpretation, simply because difference is an inherent part of life. For instance, the Gita, the holy book of the Hindus, pertains to wisdom and moral values. Yet along with this is the exhortation