TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

and developing their character, after grabbing political power they will promote strife and conflict, not peace and progress. If people on the path of truth have not developed the firm conviction that the only thing of importance for them is truth and that all other matters are secondary, they will become engrossed in other issues if they acquire dominance in society. In this way, they will give birth to new social problems. If they have not risen above the psyche of revenge, after acquiring political power they will start avenging their former enemies, causing their societies and countries to become so weak that it will become impossible to manage them. If they have not developed the power of tolerance, they will unleash war against every person or group who might hurt their egos. If, stirred by their emotions, they lose control of themselves, in the name of ending one evil they will only succeed in producing many more. Whenever you face an unpleasant situation at the hands of someone, you generally think just one thing: “This man is my enemy! I must suppress or fight him!” But this is a very wrong way to estimate a person. God has placed great flexibility in the human psyche. It is a proven fact that human beings do not remain in one state all the time. Rather, they keep on changing. To exercise tolerance means to wait for the manifestations of human possibilities that emerge from this ever-changing nature of human beings. Islam stresses the importance of patience precisely because one should wait for a future period to come to pass when the latent potentials hidden inside people can manifest themselves. Some people go to extremes in their opposition to others by turning aggressive. But in this world that God has made to test human beings, your opponents too, have the freedom to act, just like you do. The best way to respond to them is to clear your own way ahead by exercising patience and wisdom, instead of becoming agitated by others and reacting angrily. A person’s lack of patience and wisdom is his enemy’s deadliest weapon. The most foolish person is one who hands over this weapon to his adversary himself. The same holds true for entire communities. o To exercise tolerance means to wait for the manifestations of human possibilities that emerge from the ever-changing nature of human beings.