TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

History tells us that in every age, religion has been the means of uniting or joining people—far from splitting them asunder. But in the age of democracy in modern times, a new culture has come to be promoted— that of the vote bank. This has divided people into different groups. Now human relationships have become that of rivalry rather than the brotherhood of man. This phenomenon has emerged in the wake of democratic politics. Democratic politics is undeniably important. But there is a great need for religion not to be politicized. The need of the hour is, thus, to awaken the spirit of religion. It is, therefore the duty of religious scholars to engage themselves in this most important task. The study of religion tells us that one thing is common to every religion and that is spirituality, or a non-material outlook. A non-material outlook is essential to peace. In this respect, peace is deeply related to religion. A material outlook disturbs peace, while a non-material outlook fosters the environment of peace. This is why, the most important way of establishing peace is to revive the spirit of religion. The ideology of Islam is a peaceful one in the full sense. Islam embraces the whole of humanity. It does not believe in the ‘We’ and ‘They’ concept, but rather it believes in the ‘We and We’ concept. The Prophet of Islam said that all human beings are God’s family. All human beings are blood brothers and blood sisters. Therefore, they have to live in this world as a universal family. There are many religions in this world, and they have many things in common. While there are also many differences, Islam teaches us to manage the differences, rather than try to eliminate them. The formula of Islam in this regard is to follow one and respect all. Peace is, without doubt, extremely important. It would be right to say that peace is the greatest good, the summum bonum—without it no progress is possible, neither religious nor secular. The principle for peace in Islam is the same as has already been adopted in the secular world and that is, peaceful co-existence. This is the only method in this matter which is practicable. Islam teaches us to manage the differences, rather than trying to eliminate them. The principle of Islam in this regard is to follow one and respect all.