Violent Activism,
Peaceful Activism
The English historian Edward Gibbon (1737 – 1794) observed in his famous work The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
‘History is indeed little more than the register of crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.’
This is a negative remark. But every event of history, whether it be negative or positive, has a lesson for us. In this sense, it would be right to say that history is full of useful lessons. European politicians fought two wars: World War I (1914 – 1918) and World War II (1939 – 1945). The combined military and civilian casualties in these two wars numbered about 90 million. The economy of the continent suffered serious setbacks and constructive works such as education were severely hampered. Historians have never reported any positive gain resulting from these world wars.
In the same Europe there was another activity going on concurrently. This activity was conducted by scientists, educationists and other thinking people. The result produced by this second group was quite different: it culminated in glorious historical developments which brought to us heights of modern civilization till then unscaled.
The first group can be thought of as comprising violent activists, while the second group consisted of peaceful activists. Violent activism did not give anything to the world, either in the First World War or in the Second World War. On the other hand, for all mankind, peaceful activism ushered in a civilizational phase which was more highly developed than ever seen before.
If we examine both events by applying the criterion of the result achieved, we can safely conclude that after being witness to numerous examples from the past, there is no justification at all for adopting violent activism. It is high time for those who are engaged in violence to abandon this path forever. No individual has ever been known to have consumed poison twice. Similarly, there is no more justification for continuing with violence.
The game of fire and blood cannot be justified by describing it as a means of attaining justice. The truth about such people, both in the eyes of man and God, is that they are committing heinous crimes.
Those engaged in the gun and bomb culture in the name of religion have no justification for it in the present age. The negative effects of their violent culture are reported daily in the media, without any positive results ever being mentioned.
If those engaged in the violent culture were asked why they were following this course of action, they would say that it was to seek justice. But the truth is that resorting to violence is in itself the greatest form of injustice. This game of fire and blood cannot be justified by describing it as a means of attaining justice. The truth about such people, both in the eyes of man and God, is that they are committing heinous crimes.
People who indulge in violence in the present age are rightly called terrorists. Those who get killed in this violent enterprise are all innocent people. The Creator had created them to play a healthy role in this world, but the terrorists’ actions have jeopardized this plan of God and have thus prevented them from playing the role required of them by their Creator. This attempt by the terrorists is undoubtedly the greatest crime, and criminals who perpetrate it can never earn God’s forgiveness.
If a study of history is undertaken, it will be seen that human history is full of instances of war. In all cases, war has only led to the loss of life and the destruction of property. It can be said, then, that the first individuals who engaged in war could be forgiven, as they were unaware of its ill consequences. But those who continue in this way, even after realizing the negative experience of war, cannot be absolved of guilt.
As far as the modern age is concerned, war has become entirely irrelevant. This age is one of an explosion of opportunities—opportunities have increased to such a great extent today that everything one wants can be achieved by treading the path of peace. It would be true to say that, under the present circumstances, war and violence are no longer an option. What one failed to achieve in the past through confrontation can be successfully achieved in the present day and age solely by making use of peaceful means.
Following the peaceful method today is like letting a tree grow, while choosing the violent method is like cutting it down. Our task, then, is to grow a tree and not to cut it down – an indisputable axiom which is applicable not just to gardening but also in a highly significant way to human society.
