Presently,
there is an urgent need for a united intellectual struggle among the people of
faith in order to defeat the harmful ideologies that feed on violence, says
Harun Yahya.
Living
as we do in a world of instant communication, not a day passes by in which we
do not hear, read or watch news about a conflict somewhere which leaves many
people hurt or dead, while the rest of the world searches for a solution.
People living in the same country, on the same land, side by side for ages,
suddenly start fighting against one another and cause the destruction of cities
– sometimes even entire countries. When asked, every citizen on earth would
say, ‘I want world peace’ – with the exception of a few opportunists who make
money from war and conflict. There are many think-tank and non-governmental
organisations working to bring peace to the world, but when we look at their
results, we see no progress. The situation makes one realise that there is a
major intellectual flaw in the way the world operates. Due to the urgency of
the dire situation we witness in the world today, this flaw should be corrected
sooner rather than later. Today, as always, there are two opposing poles in the
world. However, contrary to what one might think, these two poles are not
formed by Muslims on one side and Jews and Christians on the other. Rather,
these are the forces of good and evil which form the opposing poles. That is to
say, the supporters of moral values belong to one group and the adherents of
ideologies that feed on bloodshed and violence belong to another. Christians,
Jews and Muslims are all on the same side. The common beliefs, observances and
moral values of all three religions are distinctly explained in their holy
books, the Qur an, the Gospels and the Torah. As God commands in the Qur an:
‘As for the faithless, they are allies of one another. Unless you do the same,
there will be turmoil on the earth and great corruption’ 8:73 . What we are
observing today in the world is this turmoil and great corruption, and only an
intellectual struggle in which believers are united against those ideologies
which feed on violence will provide the peace and harmony that the entire world
longs for. As God has commanded, waging a common intellectual struggle against
evil together in solidarity and unity is the responsibility of all devout and
sincere Christians, Jews and Muslims of good conscience and common sense. This
intellectual union is one based on mutual love, respect, understanding and
cooperation. We have no time to lose. We must encourage this cooperation
quickly – as every single day causes even further losses of life. We should
determinedly avoid anything and everything that might lead to disputes or divisions,
however small. The calamities brought upon the world by radical tendencies have
the same source as well. Even though the radicals we see today like ISIS, Boko
Haram, etc., prove to be harmful and destructive, it is only ignorance that
makes it possible for these radical movements to find supporters. People who
are not properly informed, or who are misinformed, fall under the influence of
extremist tendencies and adopt the ideas put forward by them without judging
them properly. With intellectual activities carried out jointly by members of
the three Abrahamic faiths, we can eliminate the conditions that prepare the
ground for radicalism and bring about peace as a result. It is an unfortunate
historic fact that various conflicts have arisen between members of these three
faiths in the past, but none of these conflicts were caused by the essential
nature of Christianity, Judaism or Islam. All the conflicts and wars in the
world have happened because of mistaken decisions and the ideas of
nation-states, communities and individuals, and the reason behind these actions
is invariably political or economic interests and expectations. All three
religions have a common goal and that is to ensure that all mankind lives in
peace, security and happiness. Each religion says that any conflict violating
that goal is wrong. Studying the conflicts throughout the course of history
shows us that there is a great alliance which has been formed by the forces
which target religious and moral values; the history of the world reveals this
truth. In order to bring about peace, we should concentrate on this truth and
be aware of this danger. Up until today, the forces united against the good,
and especially against the believers of the world, have exerted great might
against moral values by combining all their means together. This is what
brought about the conflicts and wars we are witnessing today. However, it is in
our power – in the power of the devout – to intellectually shatter that
alliance and bring about world peace. When we are united, we can eliminate the
negative and destructive consequences of irreligious and materialist
indoctrination. Intellectual victory against the alliance of evil will enable
us to establish a society in which moral virtues, peace, security and well-being
prevail. But that can only be done by the sincere members of the three revealed
faiths, Islam, Judaism and Christianity, joining together in light of this
common purpose. We need to invite all believers to unite around common
objectives, to strive together against atheism and the hatred of religion and
the radicalism which is the very source of that hatred. With that alliance we
can put an end to social and moral degeneracy and spread moral virtues. All
honest, conciliatory and virtuous Jews, Christians and Muslims, who are
supporters of moral virtue, peace and justice, and are of good conscience and
common sense, must unite in order to bring peace to the world.