Page 70 - Non-violence and peace-building

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The Sensible Way to

Respond to Provocation

here is one solution to conflict that every person
Tis aware of. In fact, every person uses this very
method when he feels that his personal interests
are under threat. This solution involves conducting
oneself in such a manner that helps winning over one’s
opponents, rather than engaging in confrontation with
them. Lamentably, however, when it comes to relations
between communities, many people forget this method
completely. They wrongly believe that there is no
solution to their problems other than confrontation
and conflict.

The basic reason for this contradiction is ‘cheap
leadership’. A community that is degenerated lacks the
power of action. It seeks to hide this fact under the veil
of heated rhetoric. In such a community, the easiest
way for someone to become powerful and ‘famous’ is
through bombastic rhetoric. Our Muslim leaders stiffly
compete with each other in this regard.
This sort of utterly superficial leadership always

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