Foreword
I have been associated with the issue of peace directly or indirectly since 1950. I have participated in many peace conferences in India and abroad. In addition, a considerable number of my writings have been published on this subject. Here I would like to refer to three international peace conferences that I participated in, held under the auspices of the Nuclear Disarmament Forum.
The first conference in this connection was held from the 25th to 30th of July, 2001, at Kandersteg, Switzerland, on “How to make a nuclear-free world”. On this occasion, I first suggested following a unilateral policy for nuclear disarmament. This idea was greatly appreciated by Mr. Andre Bykov, the Chairman of the Nuclear Disarmament Forum. I was asked to prepare a document on this topic which was presented at the end of the conference at a function held in the historical city of Zug (Switzerland).
Given the spirit of the Zug declaration, I prepared two pamphlets titled A Manifesto of Peace and The Road to Paradise. This idea of unilateralism is rapidly gaining ground. My booklet was distributed to all the participants at the second conference held by the Forum in Ashdown Forest (England) in September 2001. The third conference was held on October 12, 2002, in Zug, Switzerland. The present book is a travelogue of the author’s journey to Switzerland in October 2002.
The central book theme of the book is to present the ideology of peace to the world that is a guide for nuclear disarmament and offers a peaceful solution to Muslim militancy. The solution to nuclear disarmament is that one superpower unilaterally starts destroying its pile of nuclear weapons without insisting that it be done on a bilateral basis. This will create a compulsive atmosphere for the other party to follow the same course, for it would then lose the justification for keeping its nuclear arsenal.
As regards the case of Muslim militancy, in my view, it is not a case of bomb vs bomb, but an ideology vs ideology. To Muslim militancy, we have to change the thinking of those involved in violent activism by presenting the Islamic ideology of peace based on Islam’s sources. Once they understand that Islam does not sanction violent activism, the perpetrators of violence will leave it of their own choice.
I have presented a complete ideology of peace for life and given the Islamic perspective on issues like jihad, establishing peace in Kashmir and Palestine, the search for Truth, the existence of God, the purpose of life, mind-based spirituality, and the need for spirit-based religion. This book is a gift to the new generation from a peace-loving person to find inner peace and become contributors to world peace.
Wahiduddin Khan
New Delhi, India
January 1, 2021
