'Not starting war' is not enough

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Dec 13, 2012 at 22:18

Dear Dr Pipes:

Reader Abdelrahman from Egypt displays the same ignorance that many Muslims are known to suffer. Abdelrahman quotes from Quran and proudly says that Muslims are never advised to start a war. Even if we grant that it is true, Islamists should realize that in the human context the advice to not start a war is not enough. Even a cursory glance at other religions will show that most religions spend considerable amount of effort in preaching forgiveness and non-violence. In fact, it has been said many times that an eye for an eye makes everyone blind. Responding to war with war is not the correct advice. People left to their devices will resort to violence and so the call should be to avoid the war as much as possible and war should happen only after a considerable amount of consensus.

I will invite Abdelrahman to explore the Christian concept of 'turning the other cheek', Buddist repeated emphasis on non-violence, and Hindu wish to 'let every one be happy'. All of these principles go beyond the simple advice not to start a war. What Abdelrehman has quoted so proudly may, indeed, be the part of the problem.

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