FROM MAULANA'S DESK

This example is not only true of the United States, but perhaps is the story of every person in history. Every human being, whether he belongs to the political or any other field, takes such steps which lead to counter productive or negative results. A person’s greatest weakness is his overestimation of himself. Due to this nature, he takes such steps which do not fulfill his expectations. It would be right to say that human history has been either a history of defeat or a history of Pyrrhic victory. Perhaps, there has been no victory which could be called an all-out victory. A wise person is one who takes into consideration all available factors before drawing up his plan of action and then takes an objectively well-thought out step. The fact is that different kinds of factors exist in this world. Some factors work in our favour and others go against us. The phenomenon of ‘unintended consequences’ or unwanted result is because of the fact that people are aware of their ambitions, but they do not take into account the external factors which may go against their plans. A wise person is one who takes into consideration all available factors before drawing up his plan of action and then takes an objectively wellthought out step. If a person does not fulfil this condition, then he will have to face unintended consequences. This principle holds true, both for superpowers and for individuals. o Maulana Wahiddudin Khan editor@thespiritofislam.org Peace—A Code of Conduct Violence and peace both have wide connotations. Violence includes everything from hatred to war. Peace includes everything from tolerance to love. Both violence and peace are the results of human thinking.