TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

Peace in the Quran The Quran is undoubtedly a book of peace, not a book of war and violence. This can be seen from the fact that all of the Quran’s pronouncements are directly or indirectly related to peace. Its opening invocation is—“In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful”, and this verse is repeated in the Quran 114 times. This is an indication that the greatest attribute of the Supreme Being who sent this book to us is His mercy. We could say that the theme of this entire book is God’s all-embracing compassion. Judging by its consequences, the way of peace is far better than confrontation or conflict. According to the law of God for humankind, “Reconciliation is the best.” (4: 128) God has decreed success only through reconciliation, and not through violent courses of action. The Prophet’s wife Aisha said that the Prophet’s general policy was always to choose the easier (non-confrontational) path (Sahih al-Bukhari). This means countering aggression with aggression is a hard option and countering aggression with patience and forbearance is an easier option. A radical approach is more difficult than a gradual one. Peace is always the easier option in achieving the desired results. The Prophet of Peace Due to the intolerance and violent extremism of small groups of people who call themselves ‘Muslims’, Islam is currently widely perceived to be a religion of violence, with objectives that appear to be achievable only through terrorism. This, however, is untrue. Islam is not the name given to the behaviour or the actions of a particular group of people who call themselves ‘Muslims’. Islam is a religion which has certain beliefs and ethics, and people who say that they hold those beliefs and value those ethics are called Muslims. It follows, then, that the behaviour of Muslims must be judged by the principles of Islam and not vice versa. Islam cannot be evaluated based on the actions of Muslims. If individuals calling themselves ‘Muslims’ adopt terrorism, then the responsibility for their actions lies with them, not with the religion they The Quran is undoubtedly a book of peace, not a book of war and violence. This can be seen from the fact that all of the Quran’s pronouncements are directly or indirectly related to peace.