THE CULTURE OF PEACE — Part II Teachings of Islam

been perfectly created. Here, everything has been made according to its desirable plan. This means that humans should act in a balanced way in this world, without distorting the balanced pattern of Nature. If we distort this plan of Nature, it will lead to chaos. We must completely abstain from violence and lead our lives entirely on the basis of the principle of peace. Innumerable processes are at work in the world, all in accordance with Nature’s system of balance. The earth rotates and revolves nonstop. The sun continues to pour its light on the world. The winds blow, the rains come, the rivers flow, the plants and trees grow, and so on. Innumerable processes like these carry on without any interruption, day and night, all of them in a perfectly peaceful manner, with no violence or confrontation whatsoever. This is the plan of Nature, and human beings should live according to it. Hence, we must completely abstain from violence and lead our lives entirely on the basis of the principle of peace. Those who behave to the contrary engage in what is termed in the Quran as fasad or ‘corruption in the land’. They are definitely not engaged in promoting reform. Avoidance, Not Confrontation The Quran instructs us; Avoid the ignorant. THE QURAN 7: 199 The opposite of avoidance is confrontation. Avoiding conflict keeps one within peaceful limits, while confrontation leads to violence between opposing parties. No one — whether individuals or groups — lives alone in this world. People live in proximity with many others, each of who has his own objectives and separate agendas. It is because of this that people and groups often come into confrontation and conflict with each other. There are two ways to respond to this situation: avoidance of conflict, on one hand, and confrontation, on the other. There is simply no third option. If one chooses the path of confrontation, it will only result in fighting. The whole of human history testifies to the fact that fighting only enables one to give vent to one’s pent-up emotions but that it has no real benefit at all. Hence, one must abstain from, and consciously