Page 32 - Age of Peace Goodword.indd

The Age of Alternatives

This state of affairs is due to our leaders’ unawareness of how
the times have changed. Those leaders who are engaged in
violence in these countries are acting under the influence of an
old mindset. According to this mindset, they are familiar only
with the ancient model of kingship. They are unaware of the
present democratic model. Although the result of this kind of
violent struggle is very terrible, the conditioning of the way of
thinking of these leaders is so deep-rooted that they are unable
to rethink their strategy. In recent times, several leaders have
become victims of violence, for example, Saddam Hussein (d.
2006), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (d. 2014, unconfirmed), and Abu
Ala al-Afri (d. 2015).
The coming of the age of alternatives is a very positive
sign. It means that history is moving from war to peace. In the
twenty-first century this age has reached its culmination. Now
there is no need to opt for the gun or the bomb culture. Any
person who wants to fulfil his ambitions must take cognizance
of the spirit of the age. Before taking any action, he must
ponder over the whole situation. If he possesses an objective
mind, he will certainly come to grips with the fact that he has
a better option in terms of the peaceful method.

The coming of the age of alternatives is a very positive sign.
It means that history is moving from war to peace.

One such example is modern Turkey. Towards the end of the
nineteenth century, Turkey was part of the Ottoman Empire,
which comprised about thirty present-day countries. But
during the First World War, the Ottoman empire disintegrated
and Turkey’s political expansion was brought to an end.
However, in the wake of the dissolution of their empire,
the leaders of modern Turkey took some drastic measures and
searched for an alternative to political expansion—that is, the

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