BOOK REVIEW

MY JOURNEY TO SWITZERLAND
The Road to World Peace
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
(Translated by Dr Farida Khanum)
Reviewed by Nigar Ataulla

THIS is a little book, just about 80-pages long, but full of interesting anecdotes and valuable lessons. It is a travelogue based on the author’s journey to Switzerland in October 2002. This was the late Maulana Wahiduddin Khan’s third trip to that country, this time on the invitation of the Nuclear Disarmament Forum, a wing of an organization called “Peace International”.

A central theme of the book is to present the ideology of peace to the world. “This book is a gift to the new generation from a peace-loving person to find inner peace and become contributors to world peace,” says the Maulana. He describes Switzerland as a model of peace.

The book holds readers’ interest as the author shares his personal feelings about his journey, some of the people whom he met at the conference for which he had visited the country and even some minute details about the in-flight magazine he read on the Swiss Air flight! One of the best chapters I liked was “Lessons From Switzerland”.

I observed that the Mualana was so grounded despite being in a foreign country and meeting so many different delegates that he often remembered God.

While this visit of the Maulana’s to Switzerland was way back in 2002, the views on peace which he presented at the conference there are still very relevant today and the need of the hour. With the world today going upside down with all kinds of turmoil and trials, the Maulana’s book on his journey to Switzerland brings hope. Positive thinking had been an integral part of the Maulana’s lifestyle till his end and this book, which highlights the need for positive thinking, is a precious gift to the world.