Peace: The Summum Bonum

price for their own unrealistic actions carried out under the influence of misguided leaders. Such a separatist movement would be unacceptable to any country, even if it were given the euphemistic name of ‘self-determinism’. The solution to the problem of the Rohingya Muslims is only one — that is, they must disavow their insurgency and militant activities. They should make it known that they are a larger part of the Myanmar nation. They should rid their hearts of separatist tendencies. I am sure that the Myanmar government would then accept them, and the whole issue would be peacefully resolved. The separatist movement has only caused a deterioration of the condition of the Rohingyas to the point of ruination, although prior to this they were living prosperously in Myanmar. Indeed, the best interests of the Rohingya Muslims lie not in wanting a separate land, but rather, in living as part of the state of Myanmar. This is true both in the religious and secular sense. In 1934, I took admission in the Madrasah al-Islah, an Arabic seminary in Azamgarh, for my religious education. I had only one friend in this seminary, one Abdul Rashid Rangooni (he was from Burma). He was a very decent person and had a very good opinion about the Burma of his time. Judging by the impressions I received from him about the Burmese people, I would say that the blame for the later actions which were taken against the Rohingya Muslims lies not entirely with the Burmese administration, but with the unwise Rohingya leaders who fuelled violent activities in the region. In the course of this militancy, outside leaders also participated, aggravating the situation. But I personally know that the Burmese are very good people and will certainly reaccept the Rohingya Muslims wholeheartedly, provided the Rohingyas acknowledge that they were misled by separatist leaders and have now resolved to remain faithful citizens of Myanmar. Rohingya Muslims should know that, in this world, friendship and enmity are both relative terms. If you offer friendship to another person, he too, will definitely accept you as a friend. This natural law has been stated thus in the Quran: Do good deed in return for bad deed and you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend. (Quran 41:34) It must be understood that the decisions and actions of the leader affects his community in a profound manner. The impact – positive or negative – is far-reaching and engulfs even those members of the community who had no role to play in the decision-making or were even averse to the decisions made. This fundamental aspect causes even the innocents to suffer and pay the price in the aftermath of their leaders’ decisions. This fact cannot be altered. The only solution is that leaders carefully evaluate the consequences of their actions so as not to bring about affliction to their community. This wisdom has been alluded to in the following words in the Quran: And beware of an affliction that will not smite exclusively those among you who have done wrong. Know that God is severe in exacting retribution. (Quran 8:25)