TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

struggle, they will instantly enter Paradise. Thus for them both victory and defeat will have equal value—in either case they believe that they are the winners. On the strength of the above mentioned misleading ideology, terrorists can sustain their militancy for an indefinite period of time, even for many generations. But although they belong to a different breed, they are not a people apart. They are an integral part of the contemporary society they live in. And the greatest source of their strength is the ideological factory they run, aimed at brainwashing the youth. This brainwashing goes on unceasingly, and there is always a long queue of those who want to be recruited and end up as martyrs. Terrorism will persist in one form or another until the ideology of violence is countered with another ideology based on peace. But let us first understand the ideology of violence that is resulting in terrorism. This ideology is that Islam is a political system and that it is the duty of all Muslims to establish the political rule of Islam in the world. This kind of thinking was not prevalent during the time of Prophet Muhammad or his Companions. It is a later innovation. This was developed over the last few centuries by a handful of people and has become widespread in the Muslim world today. This has led to the present day violence. A group of Muslims especially among the youth have become obsessed with this ideology and are trying to establish the political rule of Islam, thinking it to be their ticket to Paradise. Having failed to achieve this objective of establishing Islamic rule by peaceful methods, they have started resorting to suicide bombing. The reasoning behind this seems to be, ‘If we cannot eliminate non-Islamic rule, let us at least destabilize it and pave the way for Islamic rule.’ After studying Islam by referring to its original sources—the Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (the Hadith)—one can say with certainty that the political interpretation of Islam is an innovation and the real Islam, as followed by Prophet Muhammad and his early followers, is based upon peace, compassion and tolerance. A new strategy must now be adopted, a strategy that requires developing a full-fledged ideology of peace to counter the ideology of violence. The ideology of violence is prevalent all over the world and Ideology provides man with the necessary inspiration. Without an ideology, he fails to summon the requisite energy and enthusiasm so vital to the success of any struggle.