ASK MAULANA

positive thinking in the complete sense of the word. And, positive thinking is most important for one’s personality development. The book is called The Age of Peace, but the reality might seem quite the opposite. Violence is so widespread today—not just in the form of war and terrorism, but also violence in society, in homes, in families, in people’s minds, maybe on a scale that did not exist before. So, on what basis do you call this the Age of Peace? When I say that the present age is an age of peace, I mean it in terms of potential. If people are fighting, they are doing so on account of unawareness of the present age. I want to dispel this unawareness and make people aware of the potentials available to us to work peacefully in every field in the present age. When I say that today we are living in the age of peace, I do not mean it in the sense that someone says that we are in the age of machines. What I mean is that now by following the peaceful course of action all things are achievable for us, and in a much better way than by taking recourse to violence. I therefore, want to explain to people who are engaged in violence that their case is one of anachronism—of living with the mindset of war and violence in an age in which one can attain all of one’s goals through peaceful methods. The modern age, in terms of the possibilities that exist today, is an age of peace. But due to people’s unawareness, they are unable to adopt the peaceful method. The opinion makers of society are unaware of the spirit of the age. They still speak as if even today violent struggle is as important for the attainment of a goal as it was earlier. Therefore, it is my experience that those who are explained the importance of peace and have realized it, have changed their thinking and methodology. Earlier people took to the way of war due to circumstantial compulsion, but if they do so now, it is out of unawareness. If this unawareness is removed, they will come to the path of peace. Today, one of the greatest challenges to world peace are terrorist groups misusing the name of Islam and falsely claiming to be engaged in jihad. If this is truly to be the Age of Peace, how do you feel these groups and their ideology can be countered and defeated? The violence in the name of jihad that we see today among Muslims is a result of the political interpretation of Islam. This interpretation was given in the twentieth century by certain Arab and non-Arab Muslims. Under the influence of this interpretation, Muslims came to think that they needed to change the political system to bring about reform in society. When they realized that they could not unseat those who