TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

A CCORDING to media reports, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire on two military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, on July 16, 2015. He first committed a drive-by shooting at a recruiting centre, then headed to a U.S. Navy Reserve Center and continued firing until he was killed by police in a gunfight. Five people died in the shootings, including four U.S. Marines, who died at the scene and one U.S. Navy sailor, who died at a hospital two days later. Abdulazeez (1990 – 2015), a naturalized American citizen, was a Jordanian born in Kuwait. However, according to Jordanian sources, he was a Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship; his parents described themselves as Palestinians. He immigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1996 and received citizenship in 2003. (https://en.wikipedia.org) Although the youth was a Muslim, his acts were totally un-Islamic. They were against the teachings of Islam in every respect. Violence is perpetrated with the help of guns and bombs, but the thought of the act is initially harboured in the mind. Therefore, if we have to arrest this kind of violence, our efforts should start from re-engineering the minds of Muslim youth. The most important responsibility of Muslims is to convey the message of God and this task should continue generation after generation. TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE We often talk of peace in the context of war. But this is a very narrow and restricted notion of peace. Peace is deeply linked with the entirety of human life. Peace is a complete ideology in itself. Peace is the only religion for both-man and the universe. It is the master-key that opens the doors to every success. Peace creates a favourable atmosphere for success in every endeavour. Without peace, no positive action—small or big—is possible. RADICALIZATION OF MUSLIM YOUTH Breaking Your Oaths