Page 37 - Non-violence and peace-building

Non-violence and Peace-building in Islam

Bible suggested to the Jews was that they should
put all their efforts into pleasing God, only after
which they could regain their lost position.
In other words, the secret of whatever happens to
people in this world must be searched for in divine
principles laid down for this world, rather than
attributing them to the conspiracies of other people.

2. In this period of the Jews’ degeneration and
decline, they were clearly forbidden from what
could be called ‘jihadist action’. Instead, they
were exhorted to try to harmonise with the then
dominant communities. Instead of confronting
others, they were told to focus on their own
progress.
This suggests that in such circumstances, jihad is the
work of internal construction, rather than an externally-
oriented action.

3. In the period of their decline, poets and preachers
emerged among the Jews, seeking to stir them up
in the name of ethnic or communal pride and
glory. They fed them on grandiose dreams and
unrealistic hopes, and instigated them to resort to
counter-productive activism. The Bible castigated
this as strife and corruption. These men talked in
terms of what appeared to be positive change. But
in actual fact, the path that they sought to lead
the Jews on could only result in their destruction.
The Bible termed these people as wrong, and
exhorted the Jews to be realistic. It told them
to avoid confronting the existing rulers, and to

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