By Thomas W. Morgan
This book, The Age of Peace, is an exceptionally good book and I wish everyone had the privilege to read it. Personally, it has elevated my appreciation and value of “Peace” to a significantly higher level. I am now of the opinion: That in no circumstance is violence justified; however, easier said than done; especially in extreme instances, such as – obliterating terrorism. But with effort and God/Allah’s help I will overcome these destructive tendencies.
There are several parts of the book, which were very meaningful to me. I will list a few below:
Page 54 — Ignore the problems, avail of the opportunities.
Page 84 — ‘Better late than never’.
Page 91 — If you observe a garden with lush green trees, a mountain or an ocean; if you see the world of nature; if you see the starry universe, you will find that, everywhere, there is peace and tranquility. It is only human life, which is vitiated by violence and fighting. In this sense, man seems to be a creature at odds with the whole of the universe. If those who are engaged in militancy were to give some thought to this incongruity, they would feel ashamed of their conduct. They would immediately give up violence as a way of life and adopt the culture of peace.
Page 100 — If we want to eradicate terrorism, we shall have to reengineer the minds of terrorists along peaceful lines. No other method will be of any avail.
Page 121 — The present terrorist culture is a result of nurturing anger. What are terrorists doing but hurling their inner negative bombs at their supposed enemies? They should have it explained to them that they have in their possession a more powerful weapon—the Quran, which is like a positive bomb, something which is a billion times more effective than the violent bomb to which they have recourse. This would certainly go a long way towards making these people give up violence in favour of peace.
Page 127 — The human mind has great potential, but it can only work in a peaceful atmosphere.
Page 137 — … in this world success is only for those who follow the law of nature.
Page 141 — The grave issue facing the Muslim community today is that they have been left behind in the international race of education. The responsibility for this backwardness rests entirely on the present-day Muslim leaders, who have been unable to recognize the opportunities on offer and have failed to avail of them by wise planning.
Page 164 — Those who are engaged in violence, are not fighting against any person or group, but rather against the very creation plan of the Creator.
The “Universal Peace Center” seems like a wonderful idea and I wish it all the success possible. Peace is definitely needed in the world today and this seems like a good way to educate people to its importance.
Thank you, in behalf of the world and myself, for a much needed book.