THE RELIGION OF PEACE

Soviet Union in the 20th century—at least this is what the Communists called ‘peace’. But both this Communist ‘peace’ and the ‘peace’ of Pax Romana were forms of ‘coerced peace’. Needless to say, such ‘peace’ is not desirable. Some thinkers dream of a single world state in order to establish peace. But history testifies that it has never been possible to translate this dream into reality. The fact is that a peaceful society can be brought into being through the mental training of—and intellectual revolution in—individuals and not through dreaming about a state that controls the whole world. It is generally thought that religion is not of much importance in establishing peace. Some people even claim that never in history has peace been established through religion. They insist that efforts to establish lasting peace through religious sanctions have had little effect. This interpretation of history is not right. The fact is that this perception is based on faulty analysis. When these people think about the question of peace-building, Islam does not figure in their list. That is why they come to their conclusion on the basis of their study of religions other than Islam. This is because of the widespread misconception that Islam is a religion of violence. The reality, however, is that Islam is in the full sense of the word a religion of peace. Islam here refers to the early period of Islam, which should be the basis for understanding Islam as it really is. In this period, two major developments occurred under the influence of Islam. First, the ending of obstacles to peace. And second, the establishment both ideologically and practically, of a complete model of peace. It is true that in the early period of Islam some battles were indeed fought. But the aim of these battles was precisely what is indicated by the phrase “The last war, to end all wars”. The Prophet of Islam was born in 570 CE in Makkah. He passed away in 632 CE in Madinah. This was a time when much of the world was under monarchial rule. This system had been in existence for centuries. It had completely eliminated human freedom. The will of the monarch alone counted for everything. Peace can come about only through freedom, not through coercion. Coerced peace is a form of oppression, not true peace. Genuine peace is one that emerges from intellectual revolution.