Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Speaking Tree | March 27, 2015

The recent Brussels attacks, the Paris attacks and violence in Turkey and other places have left the world floundering for answers. MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN tries to address this

More than 30 people are believed to have been killed and hundreds injured in terrorist attacks at Brussels international airport and the city's metro station on 22 March, 2016.This has followed several such mindless acts of violence in different parts of the world, including Paris and Turkey, where innocents have suffered immense loss to life and property. Violence of this horrendous nature has become a routine affair. But the violence has nothing to do with Islamic teachings.Muslims the world over must come forward and condemn this heinous act in the strongest of terms. Those who are involved in such dastardly acts are totally unaware of how the modern age has developed. The present age is an age of peace, one in which the course of war and violence has become obsolete for the fulfilment of any goal whatsoever. Throughout history, thinking people have yearned for an age in which war may be brought to an end and peace may reign supreme.The history of the discipline of pacifism testifies to this dream of all great reformers.However, it has never been possible to achieve this goal. But, when in August 1945 two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, wreaking extensive damage,there came a universal awakening,which resulted in the formation of the United Nations. In the wake of this, in principle, peace was upheld throughout the world as the only valid course for all actions. Along with this, the age of democracy and freedom was ushered in.Due to these modern developments, today whatever one wants to achieve can be done by remaining strictly within the peaceful domain. The world we are living in today is a new world. In other words, it can be said that today everything is for everyone. Those who still perpetrate violence are proving their unawareness of the opportunities in the modern age. Germany, Japan and other nations were involved in the Second World War.They wanted to attain certain goals through war,but at end of the war, they realised that there had been no need to wage war, as they could have achieved and later did achieve everything through a peaceful struggle.The attackers of Brussels and other militant groups must understand that today the age of war is over.Now,violence can only cause selfdestruction. No beautiful title for violent actions can justify their acts. In previous ages,it was thought that one's goals could be achieved only on the battlefield. However, modern developments have made this concept anachronistic.Today whatever the aim, for example, furtherance in the field of education or social work, it can be fulfilled by working towards it peacefully.

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Age Of Awakening

In the beginning, human history was marked by peace. Later, the tribal culture gradually pervaded the world. This tribal culture brought violence along with it. Further developments in history resulted in an age of kingship in which emperors ruled.This period was marked by battles and wars.This violent state of affairs continued for several thousands of years.Then, the human conscience was awakened and eminent thinkers attempted to usher in an age of peace.This process went through various stages, the culmination of which was the formation of the United Nations- the Universal Declaration of Human Rights being an embodiment of the spirit of the present age. Hitler was the greatest warmonger of history,but he was totally unsuccessful and made this remark about World War II, of which he was the instigator: "After this war, there will be no victors and vanquished, but only the survivors and the dead."In saying this,Hitler sent a message that has been expressed thus in a Persian verse: Man na kardam shuma hazar bekunaid. This means,'I failed to save myself.You should not repeat my failure.'