It All Depends on the Angle of Vision

The English poet and religious writer Frederick Langbridge (1849 – 1923) says in one of his poems:

‘Two men looked out from prison bars, one saw the mud, the other saw the stars.’

In looking at any event, there are evidently different angles from which to view it. The opinion one forms depends upon one’s standpoint. Viewing from one angle can make a person positive, while viewing from another can make him negative.

This phenomenon is aptly illustrated by the event of 9/11 in the USA. Certain Muslims, who viewed America from the negative point of view that it was an enemy of Islam, wanted to teach it a lesson by carrying out a suicide attack on its soil. On September 11, 2001 a group of terrorists hijacked four passenger airplanes, two of which were crashed into the North and South towers of the World Trade Centre complex in New York City. Both the 110-story towers collapsed and the resulting fires caused extensive damage to surrounding buildings in the WTC complex.

Some time after the attack on the World Trade Centre, I participated in a conference of the Nuclear Disarmament Forum held in Zug, Switzerland on October 12, 2002. In the speech which I made on that occasion, I referred to the horrendous September 11 attacks and while speaking about this incident, I started to cry. I also wept in my office in New Delhi when on the radio I first heard about the attacks the day they were carried out.

The reason I cried is that I realized that those who were involved in the perpetration of this act of violence were completely lacking in wisdom. They looked at the WTC from a negative angle. But had they seen it from a positive angle, they would have learnt a great lesson.

I had gone to New York in February 1998. During the visit, I also went into the World Trade towers and climbed to the top. Where the terrorists had seen these towers negatively, I viewed these buildings from a positive angle and was thus able to discover a great piece of wisdom from this observation. I reflected that modern technology was a great gift of nature, as it had opened up a new scope for people, that is, if there is not enough land for horizontal growth, one can always compensate for it by vertical growth.

The Quran was revealed in the seventh century, long before the advent of modern civilization. At that time the Quran made a historical prediction about the future in these words:

‘We shall show them Our signs in the universe and within themselves, until it becomes clear to them that this is the Truth.’ (41:53)

This means that after the revelation of the Quran, a revolutionary process was to be initiated in human history. The twentieth century was a culmination of this developmental process.

The twin towers of the WTC, a symbolic illustration of this new development in history, represented a whole new age. In former times, only horizontal growth had been possible. But now due to advances in technology, unlimited vertical growth had become a reality. These towers were thus symbolic of God’s unique blessing on mankind. However, because certain Muslims wrongly considered them to be a symbol of their supposed enemy, they destroyed them in an unusual air raid of unprecedented destructiveness.

The above historical prediction of the Quran has manifested itself in numerous ways in the present age. For example, in ancient times, the marvels of God’s creation could only be vaguely discerned with the naked eye, whereas today they can be observed in far greater detail and to a much greater degree of magnitude, due to the invention of the telescope and the microscope.

In the previous ages we could do the work of dawah, or conveying the message of God, on a very limited scale at a local level. However, today due to the developments in print and electronic communications dawah can be performed at a global level. Similarly, earlier while travelling one was hindered in one’s journey due to unavoidable obstacles, such as mountains, jungles and oceans. But in today’s age aeroplanes have the potential to rise above all obstacles and have made travel swift and convenient.

In the age of kingship, a common man had very few opportunities before him. But today democracy has drastically limited the political power of the ruler, and this phenomenon has opened up great scopes for everyone in a great number of fields. Likewise, the previous age was marked by religious persecution, but today every person enjoys unlimited religious freedom.

The above changes in modern times have rendered violence totally futile. Advances in the present age have made it possible to achieve by peaceful means what could previously be gained only by violent means. Earlier every expansion led to confrontation because it involved encroaching on the domain of others, but now such new ways of development have been discovered that great expansion is possible without the slightest need to resort to confrontation.

It is a fact that man, by nature, is ambitious. Formerly, in order to fulfil his ambitions, he used try either to conquer nations or occupy more land by engaging in one battle after another. But now none of these courses need to be resorted to. Today, technology has become an alternative to such action, as every kind of development and progress can be had without fighting or violence. Indeed, modern technology has opened the doors to peace.

The modern age is one of technology. Those who continue to fight in this age give proof of the fact that they are unaware of the opportunities presented by the new age. They want to continue to live in this age of peace with the outdated mindset of the age of war.

Those Muslims who are fighting to achieve political goals are perhaps unaware that by utilizing the resources of modern technology, they can attain all their goals peacefully.

The European colonial period lasted from the sixteenth to the mid-twentieth century. The basic purpose of colonialism was to secure a global market for the produce of the colonizing nations. At that time, this was possible only by gaining political power over a country. Therefore, colonialism in practice turned into “political colonialism”. However, in the present age the industrial nations are fulfilling the same purpose on an even larger scale without having to wage either military or political battles. This change has become possible only through modern technology.

Those Muslims who are fighting to achieve political goals are perhaps unaware that by utilizing the resources of modern technology, they can attain all their goals peacefully. The violent method, on the contrary, can only cause loss of life and property.