Page 146 - Age of Peace Goodword.indd

The Vatican as a Principle

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he Vatican City is a walled enclave within the city of Rome.
TWith an area of approximately 110 acres, and a population
of little more than 800, it is the smallest internationally
recognized independent state in the world in terms of both
area and population. The independent city-state came into
existence in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See
and the government of Italy.
For centuries, each succeeding Pope was the uncrowned
king of Christian Europe. Today, a palace for the Pope still exists
in the city of Rome. But, in later times, great differences arose
between the Church and secular people. The Pope ultimately
saw that he could not return to the previous position, so he
agreed to confine his jurisdiction to the Vatican City, which is
recognized by the government of Italy. Eventually, even from
this territorially small domain, the Pope continued to hold
great religious sway not only over Italy, but also over many
other parts of the world.
This history of the Vatican gives us an important principle—
if you cannot keep your control over the whole, then agree
to restrict yourself to a small part. Muslims who are engaged
in infructuous fighting in different countries should take the
opportunity to succeed in the same way in other fields—that
is, they should be ready to accept a “Vatican”.

Now, let us take the case of Saddam Hussein (1937 – 2006).
He was the ruler of Iraq for almost twenty-one years. Towards
the end of this period, circumstances went against his rule and
it became clear that he would not be able to retain his former

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