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.
THE RELIGION OF PEACE
OVER the centuries, much has been written about pacifism. It still remains the subject of much debate and scholarship. Pacifism, or the love of peace or the religion of peace, is a movement that is several centuries old. It aims at completely ending war so that human societies may live in peace. One can discern stirrings of pacifism in almost all periods of human history. These stirrings have taken different forms—sometimes being expressed in religious idiom, at other times, being articulated in terms of philosophy or ethics. Among pacifists there are some who desire peace for its own sake. They define peace as the absence of war. Other pacifists insist that peace must go hand-in-hand with justice. They consider the two to be inseparable. According to them, peace without justice is a negative peace, while peace with justice is a positive peace.
For any constructive or positive work, peace in society is indispensable. Without peace no progress of any sort is possible.
There is no doubt that peace is the most desirable of desirable things, because for any constructive or positive work, peace in society is indispensable. Without peace no progress of any sort is possible. Peace can come about only through freedom, not through coercion. Coerced peace is a form of oppression, not true peace. Genuine peace is one that emerges from intellectual revolution. The Romans, for instance, had established peace in their Empire in a limited sense, which they called Pax Romana. In the same way, there appeared to be some sort of peace in the erstwhile Soviet Union in the 20th century—at least this is what the Communists called ‘peace’. But both this Communist ‘peace’ and the ‘peace’ of Pax Romana were forms of ‘coerced peace’. Needless to say, such ‘peace’ is not desirable.
Some thinkers dream of a single world state in order to establish peace. But history testifies that it has never been possible to translate this dream into reality. The fact is that a peaceful society can be brought into being through the mental training of—and intellectual revolution in—individuals and not through dreaming about a state that controls the whole world.
It is generally thought that religion is not of much importance in establishing peace. Some people even claim that never in history has peace been established through religion. They insist that efforts to establish lasting peace through religious sanctions have had little effect.
This interpretation of history is not right. The fact is that this perception is based on faulty analysis. When these people think about the question of peace-building, Islam does not figure in their list. That is why they come to their conclusion on the basis of their study of religions other than Islam. This is because of the widespread misconception that Islam is a religion of violence. The reality, however, is that Islam is in the full sense of the word a religion of peace.
Peace can come about only through freedom, not through coercion. Coerced peace is a form of oppression, not true peace. Genuine peace is one that emerges from intellectual revolution.
Islam here refers to the early period of Islam, which should be the basis for understanding Islam as it really is. In this period, two major developments occurred under the influence of Islam. First, the ending of obstacles to peace. And second, the establishment both ideologically and practically, of a complete model of peace.
It is true that in the early period of Islam some battles were indeed fought. But the aim of these battles was precisely what is indicated by the phrase “The last war, to end all wars”. The Prophet of Islam was born in 570 CE in Makkah. He passed away in 632 CE in Madinah. This was a time when much of the world was under monarchial rule. This system had been in existence for centuries. It had completely eliminated human freedom. The will of the monarch alone counted for everything.
To establish freedom and peace it was necessary to end this coercive system. The Prophet and his Companions engaged in war for a limited period so that this system could be ended. It was first brought to an end in Arabia. After this, the early Muslims were confronted by two major empires of the time, the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanid Empire. The Muslims were victorious over both the empires, which brought an end to the coercive rule that held sway in a large part of the world. The French historian Henri Pirenne asserts that, had the followers of Islam not put an end to this system of what he terms ‘Absolute Imperialism’, it would never have been possible for the age of freedom and peace to dawn in the world.
After this, history began moving in a particular direction. The process that started with Islam in the seventh century then carried on, reaching its culmination in the 20th and 21st centuries. Thereafter, it became impossible for the old-style coercive system to be re-established in the world. This is no mere coincidence. The fact is that because of the developments in the last two centuries, the world has witnessed enormous changes that block the possibilities of old style empires being established anywhere. The factors that allow for such empires to be established now simply no longer exist.
The French historian Henri Pirenne asserts that had the followers of Islam not put an end to 'Absolute Imperialism', it would never have been possible for the age of freedom and peace to dawn in the world.
One can cite several examples of deterrents that oppose the establishment of political empires in the modern world. In the ancient past, when a monarch captured, through force of arms, a certain territory, the inhabitants of that territory accepted his sovereignty, considering this to be the conqueror’s right. This is why in those days, only a monarch, and not commoners, could defeat another monarch. But in today’s world, thanks to democracy, political freedom and the concept of national government, public opinion has changed so much that no external conqueror can gain the wide social acceptance that is necessary to establish rule.
In the past, the economy was based wholly on land, and land was considered the personal property of the king. But today, the Industrial revolution has given birth to innumerable economic resources that everyone can access. And so, it has become possible for ‘ordinary’ people to acquire independent economic means outside the domain of governmental control. This economic transformation has, in turn, made the possibility of governmental coercion even less possible. Likewise, today there is something that can be called a ‘media deterrent’. In modern times, the development of media and communications has made it possible for news about a local happening to be broadcast almost immediately across the rest of the world, so that people everywhere can come to know about it. This is a massive check that has made it virtually impossible to resuscitate the old-style political empires. Now, no emperor can do whatever he likes without fear of censure, unlike before.
In the same way, today we have what can be called a ‘universal deterrent’ in the form of the United Nations, Amnesty International and numerous human rights groups. No ruler can afford to turn a blind eye to them or to act against them for too long.
Relying only on peaceful means throughout, one can now reach the pinnacle of success. The violent method has now become an anachronism. It is contrary to the spirit of the age.
Following these momentous changes at the global level, human history entered a new phase. Now the peaceful method has gained the status of being a completely successful method. Now, using this method alone, from start to finish, one can carry out efforts for any goal without needing to use violence at any stage. Relying only on peaceful means throughout, one can now reach the pinnacle of success. The fact is that the violent method has now become an anachronism. It is contrary to the spirit of the age.
All the changes of the present times are in favour of Islam, and it is one of the results of the revolution created by Islam itself. This happened so that opportunities for conveying the peaceful message could be opened up to the utmost extent. The followers of Islam now have no need to enter into any confrontation and by adopting peaceful methods they can convey the message.
