Peace is Possible

In the news today there are examples of the two ends of the issue of world peace. 

Firstly in Pakistan we have Muslim killing Muslim. A group of Sunni militants bombed a Shia mosque in Southern Pakistan. This blast killed at least 40 people. My understanding is that both Sunni and Shia believe in the same Koran and the same Allah. How then can they fight against each other? There are theological differences in the Christian church but you do not see Christian fighting Christian. Maybe I can understand Muslims fighting other peoples but I do not understand how Muslim can fight another person of the same faith.

The good news comes from the Philippines where the government and Muslim rebels are working together to maintain peace in the country. This is a positive example of both sides working together to maintain peace. My question is why other governments and rebel groups cannot do the same. Why can’t people respect each other and cultural/religious differences and start a useful dialogue predicated on moving toward peace and work around the difficult issues involved. The overriding goal that must always be kept in sight in PEACE

Am I naive in believing this is possible?

Freedom of Speach

Approximately 800 people gathered in Western Sydney to protest about the cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed on the cover of the Charlie Hebdo magazine. One speaker said that the arrogant West was trying to force their views on the Muslim Community. Freedom of speech was also attacked.

 

Freedom of Speech is vital in our lives and should not be attacked. Whilst this is a right it must not be abused. Before making any statement about another person or organisation, including religions, we need to respect the views of those we are talking about. Ultimately it does nobody any good if we are insulting others; all this achieves is to endanger peace and safety.

All over the world there are instances of one group of people trying to impose their views on others. There are rebels in many countries of the world that are trying to control the government or impose their views on the people. Again this is counterproductive. We need to respect others people’s views and culture and learn from their way of live. 

All peoples in the world deserve to live in Peace and safety. This cannot be achieved unless we learn to respect each others views and cultures and use constructive dialogue to resolve our differences. All war achieves is to kill innocent people including children. To me this is criminal.

Wars and Terrorists

Every time you look at the news or read the papers there are reports of wars or terrorist incidents. 

You have Boko Haram in Nigeria who are a group of militant rebels that are trying to overthrow the elected government and install  an Islamic state. Its followers appear to be influenced by the verse of the Koran which says "Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors". However as mentioned before this is taken out of context as the Koran basically preaches peace.

ISIS in Syria and Iraq are continually killing people that obviously creates fear and terror in the communities. This is an attempt to intimidate people to capitulate to the terrorists way of thinking. It appears obvious to me that the plan of the Terrorists is not working, so why don’t they change their approach and use a peaceful method to work towards peace. You also hear stories of Muslim killing Muslim. I do not understand the way these militants are thinking.

Cant all the world leaders and militant leaders put their differences aside and work towards peace. Am I being over simplistic to think this could ever happen?

Respect Others Beliefs

Why can’t the different peoples of the world live in Peace?

We are all flesh and blood. We may be of different colours and have different beliefs but ultimately we are all human beings.

Why can’t we respect each others beliefs and cultures and live in Peace. It seems to me that some people deliberately go out of their way to antagonize other people. The attack on Charlie Hebdo seems, at least in part, to be motivated by Vengeance on the Magazines for publishing cartoons showing the prophet Mohammed. Whilst this attack against the magazine is deplorable, I believe the response by Charlie Hebdo was not carefully thought out. Putting another cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed on the cover of Wednesday’s magazine can only serve the purpose of further inciting the Extremists. 

I live in Tanzania where Muslims and Christians live in Peace. In fact the Quran preaches peace as does the bible. I found this link http://www.islamforpeace.org/quran.html that talks about Islam preaches Peace.