THE AGE OF ALTERNATIVES

The coming of the age of alternatives is a very positive sign. It means that history is moving from war to peace. In the twenty-first century this age has reached its culmination. Now there is no need to opt for the gun or the bomb culture. Any person who wants to fulfil his ambitions must take cognizance of the spirit of the age. Before taking any action, he must ponder over the whole situation. If he possesses an objective mind, he will certainly come to grips with the fact that he has a better option in terms of the peaceful method. One such example is modern Turkey. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Turkey was part of the Ottoman Empire, which comprised about thirty present-day countries. But during the First World War, the Ottoman Empire disintegrated and Turkey’s political expansion was brought to an end. However, in the wake of the dissolution of their empire, the leaders of modern Turkey took some drastic measures and searched for an alternative to political expansion—that is, the development of science and technology in their country. As a result of this, within a short period, Turkey emerged as the most developed country of the Muslim world. Present-day Muslims are living in a political dichotomy, that is, in a condition in which there is the ruler and the ruled. They have found themselves reduced to the ruled category, which they find unacceptable. So they are trying to change this state of affairs and to bring themselves back into the ruler category. But this dichotomous thinking is totally unrealistic. They are unaware of the fact that there exists a third option for them, of which they should avail. It is an option which is so great that, by exercising it, they can build a nonpolitical empire for themselves. The real problem is that present-day Muslims are ignorant of the fact that the present age is one of democracy. In this age, the government has been reduced to performing the role of administration. But, outside the administration, there are much bigger fields open to Muslims. For example, education, the press, the media, economics as well as dawah work, or conveying the message of God to people. Muslims would do well to abandon their political activism and dedicate themselves to the above non-political fields. Here, they can build independent universal empires, much greater than their former political empires. The coming of the age of alternatives is a positive sign. It means that history is moving from war to peace.