TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE We often talk of peace in the context of war. But this is a very narrow and restricted notion of peace. Peace is deeply linked with the entirety of human life. Peace is a complete ideology in itself. Peace is the only religion for both—man and the universe. It is the master-key that opens the doors to every success. Peace creates a favourable atmosphere for success in every endeavour. Without peace, no positive action—small or big—is possible. CONSTRUCTIVE ENTERPRISE VS. POLITICS A BU ALI MUHAMMAD ibn Ali ibn Muqla (885-940) was a man of great talent and capability. He made a substantial reform of the ancient Arabic script (Kufic script) with his extraordinary artistic ability. He succeeded in making it beautiful and comprehensive. He took the Arabic script out of the early stages and carried it to the highest stages. Philip K Hitti in his book History of the Arabs calls him the founder of Arabic Calligraphy. (p. 468) Encyclopedia Britannica wrote that Ibn Muqla was born in Baghdad and was the most prominent calligrapher of the Abbasid period (750-1258). He gave the Arabic letter a novel beauty. (V/272) Ibn Muqla was initially appointed as secretary on a six-dinar monthly payment in an office of the Abbasid government in Baghdad. His artistic mastery took him to the court of the Caliph. Here he gained so much popularity that he was the vizier of three consecutive kings. First of Al-Muqtadir Abbasi (895-932), then of his brother Al-Qahir Abbasi (899950), then of Al-Razi Abbasi (909-940). It should be noted that the position of ‘vizier’ used to be synonymous with the Prime Minister in ancient times. The king had only one vizier, and he had all the powers. Hamid bin Abbas was a minister in the early days of Al-Muqtadir. The king appointed Ali bin Isa al-Jarrah as a deputy minister. This evoked surprise from the people. A poet wrote: