Author: Joseph

The War Resister
Page Three
ISLAM AND WORLD PEACE
By H. Ahmed
In the limited space at my disposal, I will concern myself with the fundamental principles of pacifism in Islam, as taught by the great Prophet of Arabia. As in the case of almost all the other religions, Islam has also been betrayed by its followers, so much so that the other day I came across a rather blunt remark that there is no place for nonviolence in Islam and that Islam does not advocate the establishment of world peace. And it is very often that we come across such remarks.
There is a bar to all knowledge, and that is contempt prior to investigation. Any scholar who studies the original Islam without preconceived ideas will realise that Islam is also a religion of peace and that it also advocates pacifism. It aimed at the welfare and prosperity of every human being without the difference of caste, creed, colour or nationality. The teachings of Islam lead one to the golden rule of "Live and let live for mutual forbearance and tolerance". "Faith is restraint against all violence," declared the Prophet of Arabia, and exhorting his followers to non-violence, he said, "Let no Muslim commit violence!" Can there be a more clear injunction than this ?
Islamic Realism
Islam, being a thoroughly practical religion, approaches the problem of peace and pacifism in a simple, realistic, straightforward and practical way.
Islam, like Buddhism, laid great emphasis on the personal responsibility of men. World conditions, like so many other things, are the result of our own doings. Man in general is responsible for tension between people and people, nation and nation, government and government. This personal responsibility is very important, for only after realising that we are responsible for the situation and that we alone can ease it, can something substantial be achieved.
Islam teaches the futility of miracles. It can, therefore, be concluded that according to the teachings of Islam there is no short cut or patent cure for world peace. Those who expect that Islam has got a magic wand by waving which we can establish heaven on earth, may be disappointed. It is a plain fact, and I feel very pleased to announce, that Islam has no such talisman.
Page Four	The War Resister
The Causes of War
Then what is the solution offered by Islam ? To understand the point of view of Islam thoroughly we must consider the causes of moral degradation.
The seeds of war are to be found in an unhealthy society and unsolved problems. Nature provides war when it is necessary. In other words, war is the product of circumstances and the prevailing conditions. Unless we remove the circumstances that lead to war and conflicts it would be futile to talk of peace. Nobody can deny the fact that Hitler was the product of circumstances. As long as society is unhealthy, such personalities will appear and will play their own destructive part. This is the world of cause and tffect. Unless we remove the causes, we cannot expect to escape the results.
Greed, fear, wrong use of power, exploitation of weak ones by strong ones, are also the causes of war in addition to so many others.
The problem of armaments is important as they can also be a cause of war. Destructive weapons cannot be kept idle for long. They must be used. In spite of it, the fact remains that the whole environment must be changed first.
We cannot establish world peace merely talking of peace. In tin words of H. G. Wells, "A desire for peace will no more give us peace by itself than the concentration of mind upon hunger will nourish the body".
The Heart of Man
So it is quite clear that to promote world peace, it is necessary, nay inevitable, to reform the society. But it is not easily possible to change society. As a matter of fact, it is most difficult to break habits, customs, traditions and ideologies. Nothing useful can be achieved unless a strong body of* devoted and selfless persons is formed, which is ready to sacrifice everything for achieving the aim of reforms. We have seen in our own lifetime, how such a group of enthusiastic men under tin-guidance of Mahatma Gandhi changed the destiny of India.
About fourteen hundred years ago when the conditions of societ\ were not very different from these of ours, was born a man called Mohammed.
The War Resister
Page Fire
Mohammed was very disturbed to see the petty quarrels of his countrymen, and the degradation of contemporary society. Not only that, he was also concerned about the whole of humanity and wanted to make reforms. After much contemplation to improve the conditions, he received inspiration. According to these inspired teachings, he civilised his own people, and very slowly but efficiently changed the heart of men. Thus in his own lifetime he formed a society in which it became impossible for one section to exploit the other. This is the main foundation on which permanent world peace can be established.
Some people are too pessimistic with regard to the extermination of war. They think that war is in the very nature of human beings, and the idea of pacifism is a mere dream of an Utopian and, therefore, every step taken towards the goal is nothing but a waste of time and energy. There are still others who are on the other extreme, so to say.
Islam advocates the middle path and oilers a realistic outlook. According to the teachings of Islam, there is evolution in all human institutions, and it is the responsibility of man to make changes for the better. Islam at the same time teaches its followers not to be pessimistic. It also exhorts its followers to struggle after righteousness with their own strength.
Nationalism
Nationalism is a great obstacle in the way of establishing world peace. As Rabindranath Tagore observes, nationalism is a cruel epidemic of evil which is sweeping over the human world of the present age and eating into its moral vitality. The prophet of Islam gave a system in which one is able to proclaim "every land belongs to me for it belongs to my God".
The idea of God who cieated all the universe is the basis for the philosophy of Pacifism. Side by side with this conception there is the idea of the brotherhood of man which in itself is the fundamental principle of Pacifism. In this regard the teachings of Lord Buddha and Mohammed are quite similar.
I can say without the slightest hesitation that if we approach the original teachings of Islam and the noble principles for which it stands, after removing all the evils of later fabrications, dogmatism and orthodoxy, we will find that Islam contributes equally with the other World Religions to the philosophy of pacifism.