FROM MAULANA'S DESK

Taking the lives of innocent people is an act for which there is no excuse whatsoever. Committing such an act in the name of God only aggravates the heinous nature of the crime. violence the name of ‘jihad’ and are thus engaged in perpetrating terror. This kind of violence can be termed ‘justified violence’. Since these people have sought justification for their violence, their conscience does not refrain them from killing others. Taking the lives of innocent people is an act for which there is no excuse whatsoever. Committing such an act in the name of God only aggravates the heinous nature of the crime. Those who perpetrate such acts have no relation whatsoever with Islam. To those who—based on such incidents—form an opinion that Islam is a religion of violence, I will say that Islam should not be judged by the acts of Muslims. Islam should be judged through its scripture and not through the practice of Muslims. According to the Quran, killing of a human being is the worst act in God’s eyes. The Quran states that killing one person is like killing all of humankind. (5: 32) This verse certainly applies to people who went on a killing rampage in Paris. Those engaged in this self-justified violence should know that no self-styled justification can make an unlawful act lawful. How could we banish violence and terror from our lives? UNESCO has adopted the dictum: ‘Violence begins from the mind.’ Therefore any effort to meet this challenge needs to begin in our minds. We have to dispel from the minds of terrorists, the ideology they have adopted. The Quran gives us an example. Before the revelation of the Quran, Arabs were continually engaged in warfare. The Quran offered them a message of peace, which reengineered their minds, and they became peaceful as a result. Reference to this incident has been given in a verse of the Quran. (3: 103) In modern history, we find an example of this nature in Japan. Before the Second World War, the Japanese people had adopted the violent method to achieve their goal. One of the methods used was known as hara-kiri, a form of suicide attack. However, after World War II educated people of Japan rose up to guide people towards the path of peace by giving up violent means. Thus Japan emerged as a peaceful country. This miracle occurred by way of dissemination of peaceful ideas through literature and several public speeches and broadcasts. It helped bring about a transformation in the mindset of the Japanese people and as a result Japan became a peaceful nation.