PROPHETS Jesus, Moses, Abraham and Muhammad (peace be upon them) were all messengers of God and they all conveyed the message of peace. And what is peace? It is to live and let others live peacefully. The fact that all messengers conveyed the same message is historic evidence that proves the truthfulness of the message. The messengers never met each other as they appeared on the face of the earth at different places and at different times. The last of all the messengers, Muhammad (pbuh), could not read or write. He still conveyed the complete message of God, which was the same as that delivered by the former messengers. History records that he was declared the most truthful and honest of men. Even the pagans of Arabia declared this. He chose simplicity as his lifestyle, even if it meant that most of the time he had nothing to eat. This further underlines the integrity of the religion revived by him. This is the religion of peace, Islam, which has been practiced from the beginning of mankind. It is a religion that elevates humanity to the height of human standards by teaching that the killing of one man is equivalent to killing the whole of mankind. "...if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or (and) to spread mischief in the land – it would be as if he killed all mankind." (Holy Qur'an 5:32) Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is known to have brought about the most effective revolution in the history of mankind. Yet, in accordance with the teachings of Islam, no civilians were killed under his leadership. He commanded a number of military missions, but they were only to restore peace. The living evidence of the peaceful nature of Islam is Saudi Arabia. According to a WHO report, of 171 countries, Saudi Arabia has the lowest suicide rate in the world (0.4 per 100,000 in one year). It is only because of the patience taught by Islam that even in the face of calamity, Saudis say: "We thank God in every situation". Followers of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the Muslims, always remain peaceful unless they are in one of the following two scenarios: 1. When someone deliberately insults God or His messengers. 2. When innocent believers are killed. These situations bring pain to every Muslim. Muslims have the largest youth bulge in the present day world. When they are in pain, it is easy to exploit them to take revenge. Some misguided youth take the path designed by evil exploiters who show them an untrue shortcut way to Heaven. To eradicate terrorism, the international community will have to eliminate both of the root causes explained above. Following are some suggestions on how to achieve this target. 1. The education system in the Muslim world should be designed to promote more patience and tolerance in the youth. God promises unlimited rewards for patience. (Holy Qur'an 39:10) 2. A more fair and transparent system of justice needs to be implemented in Muslim countries in order to minimize extremism. Young people dream of an ideal Islamic justice system. 3. The exploiters of the youth need to be controlled through the rule of law. 4. Any insult to religious figures should be declared as a crime against humanity as it can result in a strong and negative reaction from the youth of the Muslim world. 5. The killing of the innocent must be stopped in every part of the world. Islam promotes a strong belief that all believers are like the human body. If any limb of the body is in pain, the whole body becomes restless. (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim). Altaf Awan,
