TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

Peace is always desirable for its own sake, and every other desirable state comes after peace, not along with it. Ideology of Peace Peace is not prevalent in the world as people the world over are acting intolerantly and indulging in acts of violence, saying, “Give us justice and peace will ensue.” But when people, ostensibly seeking justice, stoop to violence, peace can never prevail. Peace is always desirable for its own sake, and every other desirable state comes after peace, not along with it. When peace is the desired state, the maxim to be followed is: Ignore the problems, and avail the opportunities. Once people become tolerant and obtain peace for its own sake, it opens up opportunities to strive for their ideals. Eventually this leads to justice and other constructive ends. This ideology of peace can counter the ideology of violence and is based on the original sources of Islam. The Prophet of Islam provides a great historical example in his negotiation of the Hudaybiya peace treaty by unilaterally accepting all the opponents’ conditions. While not receiving justice or rights, he gained a 10-year no-war pact. This gave him and his Companions an opportunity to work uninterruptedly on a constructive program. Using this peaceful non-political program, they were able to consolidate themselves so thoroughly that without waging war they acquired Makkah peacefully. This example shows that Islam is a truly peaceful religion and the Islamic method is a completely peaceful method. What can be done? What can be done in the present alarming situation? What is the practical solution to the present state of affairs? There are two parts to the solution. Half the solution depends on the work of government agencies, with the remaining left to non-governmental organizations. In every country, there are strict laws to curb violence and terrorism, but are of no avail unless enforced by governmental agencies. All those elements involved in heinous acts of terrorism must be punished in a fitting manner. The second half of the task pertains to the re-engineering of the minds. This task has to be undertaken by non-government agencies. An entirely peaceful task, the re-engineering of people’s minds can be achieved