Also
published in Daily Trust
Islam also emphasizes
the need to derive inspiration in the pursuit of peace, from the circumstances
of the origin of man, for it indeed underscores mankind’s common interest to
pursue global peace, regardless of their racial, ethno-religious and other differences.
Allah the almighty says ‘O Mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created
you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) he created his wife {Hawwa
(Eve)}, and from them both he created many men and women, and fear Allah
through whom you demand (your mutual rights), and (do not cut the relations of)
the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever an All-Watcher over you’ (The Noble Qur’an, Surah 4. Nisa (The
Women), Verse 1,)
In the same vein, He,
the Almighty also says ‘O Mankind! We have created you from a male and
female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another.’
(The Noble Qur’an, Surah 49, Al-Hujurat (The dwellings), Verse 13, as
translated by Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali, and Muhammad Muhsin Khan in
Translation of the meanings of the Noble Qur’an in the English language).
Unsurprisingly, what
Islam, as a civilization, accomplished in terms of the achievement and
promotion of peace was particularly remarkable, in view of the peculiar and
indeed particularly messy social circumstances prevailing in the Arab world, as
well as the prevailing regional and international geopolitical circumstances in
which it (Islam) emerged.
It, in a matter of a
few decades, turned the socially chaotic and violent Arab Peninsular that was
wallowing at the mercy of tribal chiefs and warlords in the absence of a
substantive political leadership, into a civilized political entity that forged
ahead to establish and maintain peace in the Arab world, and greatly
contributed to its achievement in the region and the world at large.
Yet, even though the
world has ever since then grown much more complex and diverse in all aspects,
which makes it increasingly challenging to achieve real global peace, Islam, as
a dynamic and realistic religion that is divinely designed to remain relevant
forever, does not only recognize this diversity, but it in fact maintains a
unique approach that harnesses the diversity in order to achieve real and
sustainable global peace.
After all, real peace
is inherently included in the wider concept of mercy around which the prophet’s
mission on earth as the last Messenger of Allah revolves, as Allah the Almighty
says ‘And We have sent (O Muhammad (PBUH) not but as mercy for the Alamin
(mankind, jinn and all that exists). (The
Noble Qur’an, Surah 21, Al-Anbiya (The Prophets), Verse 107, as translated by
Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali, and Muhammad Muhsin Khan in Translation of
the meanings of the Noble Qur’an in the English language).
The Messenger of Allah
(PBUH) also said: ‘I
swear by the One in Whose Hand my soul is, you will not enter paradise until you believe (in
Islamic Monotheism), and you can’t be (ideal) believers until you love one
another. May I tell you something that if you practice it you will love one
another, disseminate Assalam widely amongst you) (Sahih Muslim, Kitabul Iman, Hadith No 54).
Though this hadith is
largely and rightly also cited in the context of encouraging Muslims to greet
one another by using the word Assalam,
which means peace, it’s, first and foremost, actually intended to encourage
Muslims to spread peace as widely as possible, hence they are enjoined to utter
the word repeatedly so as to, among other things, maintain their commitment to
peace and its spread.
Muslims should have a
particular interest in the pursuit of global peace today, not only because they
are the worst affected by the wave of violence and conflicts currently ravaging
many parts of the world, but also because of the urgent need to dispel the
growing misconception associating their religion with violence.
In this regard, they,
first and foremost, need to pursue real peace, achieve and maintain it in their
respective countries and communities, so as to have the necessary moral high
ground to push for its achievement globally.
This entails concerted
and coordinated efforts by all Muslim individuals, depending on their
individual abilities, Muslim religious scholars, organizations, intellectuals,
thinkers and, of course, Muslim governments and communities around the world.
While pursuing it,
efforts should be focused on identifying the underlying sources of the
religious misconceptions that breed extremism and terrorism, and the
circumstances that facilitate the spread of such misconceptions among Muslims
in order to adopt more effective mechanisms to counter them, while vigorous
dissemination of the real Islamic message all over the world continues.
By the way, some
desperate oppressive regimes faced with growing popular resentment, have,
through their respective intelligence agencies, infiltrated many, if not all,
such terror groups, and are actually manipulating them to perpetrate their
terror activities, which give such oppressive regimes the pretexts to blame it
on the political opposition movements in their respective countries, hence use
disproportionate violence against them under the pretext of tackling terrorism,
and consequently divert attention, get away with their crimes and even gain the
sympathy of the international community.
Likewise, some
governments pursuing domineering agendas have also, through their respective
intelligence agencies, infiltrated such terror groups, and are equally manipulating
them in exactly the same way that similarly gives them the pretexts to
perpetrate cruel crimes against innocent Muslim communities under the pretext
of fighting terrorism.
In the meantime also,
terror theorists and their sponsors continue to capitalize on the plight of
such oppressed and subjugated Muslim communities to indoctrinate and recruit
more terrorists under the pretext of resisting the domination of such brutal
regimes and domineering governments, while the vicious circle continues.
Nevertheless,
admittedly, this growing trend doesn’t contradict the fact that there are
indeed many gullible Muslims who actually fall for the distorted religious
interpretations that some few ignorant, albeit very active, individuals
masquerading as Islamic scholars propagate, who also incite them (gullible
Muslims) to form or join terror groups that unleash terrorism around the world.
To be
continued.............
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