TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

avert the cataclysms of war has not been dealt within any of the works which purportedly depict his life. Ibn Khaldun, the celebrated 14th century Muslim historian, was the first to lay down definite rules for the study and writing of history and sociology. He followed the revolutionary course of attempting to present history as a chronicle of events centering on the common man rather than on kings, their generals and the battles they fought. But since war heroes were already entrenched as the idols of society, the caravan of Muslim writers and historians continued to follow the same well-worn path as had been trodden prior to Ibn Khaldun. When people have come to regard war heroes as the greatest of men, it is but natural that it is the events of the battlefield which will be given the greatest prominence in works of history. All other events will either be relegated to the background or omitted altogether. In the past when the sword was the only weapon of war, militancy did not lead to the mass-scale loss of life and property such as modern warfare brings in its wake. In former times, fighting was confined to the battlefield; the only sufferers were those engaged in the battle. But today, the spear and sword have been replaced by mega-bombs and devastating long-range missiles, so that killing and destruction take place on a horrendous scale. Entire human settlements have now become the global arena of war. Even the air we breathe and the water we drink are left polluted in the aftermath of war. Most people think Islam to be outdated and irrelevant precisely because of its militant interpretation. Demands for a reform in Islam are on the increase, as the ‘old’ version of Islam cannot apparently keep pace with the modern world. But, in reality, it is not reformation which is required but revival. What is needed is to discard the superficial and erroneous militant and political interpretation of Islam and to adopt the original, ‘old’ version of Islam based on peace, mercy and the love of mankind. The so-called Muslim Mujahideen have been exhorting their co-religionists to do battle all over the world. But the Quran says: ‘...and God calls to the home of peace’ (10:25). It is up to right-thinking people everywhere to reject the militant version of Islam and to start seeing and understanding Islam as it is truly represented by the Quran. o When people have come to regard war heroes as the greatest of men, it is but natural that it is the events of the battlefield which will be given the greatest prominence in works of history.