Page 80 - Non-violence and peace-building

Reflections on Communal Riots

city, the custom is that if water falls on your head from
someone else’s house, it is you, not that other person,
who must arrange and pay for the necessary repairs.”
The tenant replied, “This is absolutely illogical! The
man who lives above me should arrange and pay for it.
After all, it is his bathroom floor that is cracked, because
of which I have to suffer!”

This other man was, however, not moved by the
tenant’s logic.
In a short while, the tenant came to understand that
his logical arguments did not seem to have any takers
at all!

Now, the men who lived in the neighbourhood were
all fellow Muslims, and so the tenant began citing verses
from the Quran and Hadith to back his stance. But
even this did not melt their hearts. Then, some friends
suggested to him that he should take to court the man
whose bathroom was leaking. But he soon found out
that this would be such a costly and time-consuming
affair that, in practical terms, it was utterly useless.
Finally, he was forced to agree to pay for the repairs
himself!

This story illustrates the approach that most people
adopt when it comes to their personal affairs. In such
situations, people do not get into the debate about
who is right and who is wrong. They know that in this
world there is often nothing weaker than logic. No
matter how clearly you may prove someone to be guilty
through the use of logic, in practical terms it does not
solve any problem, because few, if any, people these days

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