PROMOTING PEACE IN MUSLIM SOCIETIES

is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend’ (41: 34). It means to do good in return for bad deeds and you will see that your enemy has become your dearest friend.” I explained that this is a law of nature. According to this law, people should be categorized not as friends and enemies, but rather as friends and potential friends. Every person is our friend—either an actual friend or a potential friend. Turn your potential friend into an actual friend by doing good to him, and you will discover that everyone is your friend! This is the Islamic teaching on the matter. It is based on friendship, harmony, peace, love, and compassion. Dawah Work: The Greatest Target Here, I wish to add an important point. If you want to make people peaceful, you will have to give them a target to fulfil. Giving them an ideology is good, but that alone will not work. We have to give them a target. And what is that target? It is dawah work, the work of inviting people to God. It is to communicate the word of God to others. We at the Centre for Peace and Spirituality, have prepared translations of the Quran in various languages, and many people in different countries are engaged in distributing these, as well as other literature on Islam and peace. Our young volunteers across the globe are engaged in dawah work. We have set specific targets for them to achieve. They distribute literature, interact with people and engage in dawah work in different ways. Earlier these people were living in negativity, in hate, but now they are living in love and compassion. If we want people to be peaceful, we will have to help them change their minds. At the same time, it is also necessary to give them a purpose, a task, a target. There are numerous Quranic verses and Hadith reports telling us that the Quran was sent for the whole of humankind. For instance, the Prophet of Islam said: “No house on earth—big or small—will remain but God’s word shall enter into it.” (Musnad Ahmad) It is an undeniable fact that due to wrong interpretations of Islam, some sections of our society are today engaged in hate and violence.