FORMAL REQUEST FOR FRIENDSHIP

Dear FRIEND,
The Court verdict on the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid titleship issue has been given earlier today. All should respect and adhere to the Court verdict. Even though the Government had sent strict prior instructions to the TV News Channels not to air anything that will incite passions and the newspapers as well as the TV News Channels really did play a commendable role, we have not thought what impact it will have on our children and the future generations. The young children who are hearing the words ‘Hindu Temple’ and ‘Muslim Mosque’ and have been witness to the tension that subsequently got built will surely grow up considering the adherents of the other religion as ‘different’ and ‘who were opposed to their place of worship’. Such media exposure is bound to deepen the already created wedge between the two communities.
It is time to take initiative. And initiative has to come from the Muslims. A very interesting solution has been given as the ‘The Immediate Solution’ in the last chapter of book ‘MUSLIMS NEED TO CONVERT TO ISLAM’ compiled by some Saiyed Haider (the passage is given below for you to read). Taking cue from this book, we at Life Watch feel that it is time for us to take the initiative of approaching the adherents of Hindu religion with a formal request for friendship. I, Aziz Haider – born to Muslim parents - hereby formally approach you – born to Hindu parents – for FRIENDSHIP. Kindly give your approval response in writing at the earliest so that I can ‘present the names to a couple comprising of a Hindu and Muslim spouse’.
I look forward to your reply.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Regards!
Aziz Haider
9810661830

Passage from the book ‘Muslims need to convert to Islam’ compiled by some Saiyed Haider
The immediate solution
As the first step towards forgetting the past and strengthening social integration among Hindus and Muslims, for the much greater cause of leading our country India on path towards global supremacy and greatness as the world power, the march towards which has been consistently hampered in the past and our progress is still being slowed due to the differences that exist between Hindus and Muslims and due to the huge mass of 150 million backward Muslims whose backwardness is debilitating India’s progress, very much like a load tied to an athlete’s leg, this compiler suggests the forthcoming measures to be taken:
1) Every Indian who is proud of India’s citizenship should consider it mandatory to make 5 friends from amongst rest of Indian citizens adhering to religions other than his or hers. For instance, each Indian Muslim should formerly approach 5 non-Muslims for friendship and once this permission is obtained, present the names to a couple comprising of a Hindu and Muslim spouse, be it Gauri and Shahrukh Khan, Meera and Muzaffar Ali or any such couple in the vicinity. The Hindus should also do the same in the country’s interest. Every such friendship should be widely propagated so as to motivate others.
2) Every Indian employer with a minimum employee base of 100, should employee at least 70% non-Muslims, if the employer happens to be a Muslim, and at least 7% Muslims, if the employer happens to be a Hindu. If employers with less work force do this, nothing better.
3) The Government should form a special ministry with sincere and dedicated people at its helm, identify 12 major groups/sections from Indian population and commence work for their social, moral and economic betterment on immediate basis. Of utmost importance is to provide them modern education, at least till class X that will help them integrate with the Indian public and to take care of their basic health and sustenance needs. These 12 groups should necessarily include the farmers, the Muslims, the adivasis, the dalits, the Kashmiris, the SCs, the North Easterners, the Minorities and the STs.
4) The present system of caste based reservations should be abolished. Groups, say 14, are formed that will include all the Indian population. For instance, groups can be like the farmers, the Muslims, the adivasis, the dalits, the Kashmiris, the SCs, the STs, the Upper Castes, the North Easterners, and so on, the last of 14 being ‘The Rest’. Every person, even if he falls in two or more groups, will have to choose between 1 of the groups; with no category as ‘General’. An independent census is carried out to know the population of all these groups. For every placement exercise, say Civil Services, while the first 50% candidates should be selected purely on merit, the rest 50% should be selected on the basis of reservation with each group having 50% reservation to its population in India. No Indian citizen will have reasons to complain.

What happened at Ayodhya 155 years ago?

Ayodhya genie is out of the bottle again. BJP President has urged the Muslims to hand over the claim of mosque at Ayodhya to Hindus while All India Babri Masjid Action Committee convenor Zafaryab Jilani has rejected the offer claiming that BJP is yet to change its mindset. The Court is scheduled to give its verdict shortly. With mistrust prevailing between both communities, it is not possible to get to a change. As long as there is sincere will to come to some solution, no solution can be reached.
Looking back in history, we found one particular incident very similar to the Babri Masjid Ram Janambhoomi issue. Let’s look at the issue, how it was flared up and how a solution was reached. It is said, if there is a will, there is a way! Read on…
Year is 1855! The last of the Awadh Nawabs, Wajid Ali Shah is at helm of affairs. Perhaps only for namesake as there is a British Resident staying at a stone’s throw distance form his seat of power. He is not in total command as several thousands of British forces are stationed nearby, being paid salaries by the Nawab’s exchequer. Alleged British sponsored intrigues and political murders are common and the infamous policy of divide and rule has shown rich dividends. Now the Resident Commissioner is looking for excuses to annex this most prosperous territory in India – Awadh. Politically sidelined, Wajid Ali Shah has taken to patronizing art and culture in a big way. New markets are being developed, fresh incentives to traders being given and artisans encouraged at par with artists. Administration is still largely in the Nawab’s hand, being closely watched by the British for their nefarious plans. This is also the time when the famous Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (culture) is at its peak. Muslims are celebrating Diwali and Holi with élan while Hindus are keeping tazias on Moharram, as a symbol of respect for the martyred at Karbala. At this juncture, Hanumangarhi episode takes place, which could have marred all the good work done by this Nawab during the past 9 years of his rule. Mismanaged, and it threatened to take away his entire kingdom. But what Wajid Ali Shah eventually revealed was that he was a man who had risen above the narrow domestic walls of sectarian beliefs.
Hanumangarhi, not to be confused with the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid site, is a cluster of temples in Ayodhya. The temples, it is said, were built by the money of Nawab Safdarjung, great grandfather of Wajid Ali Shah. A Muslim living with Hindus in this area (most likely instigated by the British or by those who do not like co-existence between the two communities) came out proclaiming that Hindus have demolished a mosque that was situated in between the temple complex. The matter took a serious turn as about a dozen Hindus and more than 70 Muslims got killed in the communal clash that followed. The Muslims presented a petition to the Nawab and beseeched him to intervene as a Muslim on this plaint. Not to go by what they wanted, Wajid Ali Shah instituted a commission, setting a 3-member committee consisting of a Muslim, a Hindu and a British officer. These three men were Raja Man Singh, Agha Ali Khan- the nazim at Faizabad and Captain Orr of the East India Company.
The Commission reported that there was no mosque within the precincts of Hanumangarhi. These three men went to Ayodhya and succeeded in bringing Hindus and Muslims together. Agreement was arrived and a deed of compromise executed.
The matter would have been settled but some Muslims started an agitation claiming it to be an act of appeasement. A Muslim Maulvi Ameer Ali threatening Jehad vowed to go to Ayodhya and rebuild the mosque. As he with his followers marched to Ayodhya, the Nawab sought the fatwa of the chief cleric Mujtahid Sayyad Muhammad Nasirabad – a scholar of the famous Khandan-e-Ijtihaad family. The chief cleric in consultation with the senior most Ulema from Firangi Mahal (another Muslim institution of repute) ruled that since it was established that there was no mosque, constructing the mosque was not permissible by Islam as it would hurt the sensibilities of the Hindus. Armed with the fatwa, the Nawab’s forces confronted Maulvi Ameer Ali and his followers at Rudauli, a little distance away from Faizabad, as he proceeded towards Ayodhya.
In the battle that ensued, Ameer Ali was killed and his followers either killed or made to flee. And the Hanumangarhi episode was resolved once and for all.
The “great justice” that the erstwhile Nawab of Lucknow may have delivered also left several detractors. It is nearly impossible that each and everybody gets pleased. But a sincere willingness to find a compromise is the need of the hour without which it will not be possible to do away with widespread discontent.
Acts like those of last Nawab of Awadh laid the foundations of that great Hindu-Muslim unity, which historians never fail to mention. It was due to this that when the Nawab was dethroned by the British about a year later, a general atmosphere of restlessness prevailed all over Awadh, which resulted in several skirmishes even prior to the great fight for independence in 1857. Nearly the entire population of Awadh fought against the British forces in 1857; some of the fiercest battles took place on the banks of Gomti in Lucknow and Ganga in Cawnpore (Kanpur), where Hindus and Muslims fought shoulder to shoulder with their common enemy. And it was not mere co-incidence that Mangal Pandey, who actually started it all at a remote cantonment in Meerut, belonged to a small village near Faizabad, in the very vicinity of Ayodhya itself.
Nearly a century and a half later, a similar story has been enacted. Hindus and Muslims came to loggerheads at the same venue – Ayodhya. We have seen that even the intervention of Shankaracharya of Kanchi failed to resolve the problem. Innumerable Jehadis and Kar Sewaks were born out of this conflict, which still threaten to tear the social fabric apart. Still there are some who are talking of building a monument by force, this time a temple over the ruins of a ‘structure’ revered by the other community as mosque till some time back.
There is one major difference though. Politics of the vote bank has replaced the monarchy, adding new dimensions to the erstwhile divide and rule policy followed by the British. Unity between Hindus and Muslims has been made a martyr at many a sacrificial pyre, by the near fatal blows of fundamentalists and politicians.
And instead of a quick and impartial resolution to the conflict, the matter is simmering since decades, whose most brutal eruptions have lately been seen, time and again.
Is there a silver lining then? Can the politicians be trusted that they wont dip their loaf of bread in a little more of human blood before eating? Are we to know for sure whether the religious heads of either community are not nursing their own personal ambitions, political or otherwise? And are Indian Hindus and Muslims again going to act as naïve siblings unable to comprehend the ferocious propaganda aimed at them? The truth will be out in some time!
It is time for every right (not rightist) thinking citizen of India to speak now, without reconciling themselves to the decree of the politicians. Perhaps answer likes in Wajid Ali Shah’s words itself as he described the infamous Hanumangarhi episode in poetry:
Hum ishque ke bande hain mazhab se nahin vaqif
Gar Kaaba hua to kya butkhana hua to kya.
(We are the votaries of love and unacquainted with religion;
To us it does not matter, whether it is Kaaba or a temple.)

Aziz Haider, Editor, Life Watch

True spirituality

True spirituality alone can rescue mankind from the distress that the world is being subjected to by the greed and selfishness of man. Religion alone, if understood and practiced rightly, is capable of moulding the moral fibre of man.
A life of virtue, goodness, forbearance, sacrifice, tolerance and live is the only assurance of peace and happiness to both the individual and the world at large. This must be understood by everyone. Religiosity is not spirituality. One may be formally religious and yet possess a negative character. Therefore, the practice of spirituality in the right sense of the term is of great importance.
Pray: “May we all work together harmoniously in peace, with the spirit of self-sacrifice for the well-being and solidarity of the world! May we all possess an understanding and forgiving heart, broad tolerance and adaptability! Grant us that eye with which we will behold the Self everywhere.”

Swami Sivananda, The Divine Life Society, PO Shivanandanagar, Distt. Tehri-Garhwal, Uttranchal.

Religion unites people’s hearts

Religious disharmony is a misnomer. Religion unites people’s hearts. No true follower of any religion will ever condemn other religions. He will, on the contrary, promote goodwill and understanding, peace and harmony.
What creates disharmony is the irreligious part of man, the animal quality in man. It is greed, lust, selfishness and egoism. They generate fear, and fear leads to wars. None of the religions of the world sanction these bestial qualities.
We are living in a new world. We are living in the atomic age. An immediate change of heart is inevitable. The strongest bond of love must unite the hearts of all. Bestial passions must be banished. Tis can be achieved only by the practice of religion.The second factor that creates disharmony is intellectual gymnastics. The true follower of any religion will busy himself with practicing its tenets. He will be conscious only of the need to perfect himself. But the intellect is fond of creating newer and newer theories and, therefore, greater and greater division. The intellect should yield to the heart; practice should take precedence over theory.

Swami Sivananda

Harmony In History

The rise of communal problem in India has been accompanied by a great deal of misinterpretation of history, especially the medieval history. It has been propagated that the invasion of Muslim Kings has brought about the slavery of Hindus; it has brought in the spread of Islam on the strength of the sword; it has resulted in great suffering to the Hindu masses etc. This selective projection of history itself is not only wrong but feeds into the communal prejudices.
This type of mythification of history has served as a potent tool in the hands of communal forces who in turn, then demonize the whole community leading to intensification of hatred in the society. What is the real truth? Is the history of medieval times, all about invasions of Muslim kings to destroy temples and convert the people to Islam? Is this period of history the dark period of our social life? Far from it. The diversity of Indian society has been a rich source of strength and resilience of the community. Though it is true that kings fought amongst each other for larger control of territories and the clergy (Ulemas and Brahmins) looked down upon others mode of worship. The average people, the toilers, the downtrodden of both the religions celebrated the interaction with each other. While the kings had bigger preoccupations with expansion or preservation of their kingdoms for their material benefit, the large chunk of society derived the pleasure from their social and community life.
RELIGION: Biggest synthetic trends are discernible in the popular religions, Bhakti from Hindu side and Sufi from the side of Islam are the major religious trends to have come up in this period. Kabir, Nanak and Tulsidas reflected the synthetic trends and the influence of both religions in their lives and works. Kabir, rejected Sanskrit, the language of elite Brahmins and communicated with people in simple Hindi and reflected the building of bridges between the two communities. In one of his Sabda he goes on to say that just as ornaments are different manifestation of some basic product, gold, so Allah, Ram, Rahim, and Hari were all different names of the same god. Puja offered by Hindus and Namaz offered by Muslims are just different methods of adoration of the same God. Kabir was a harsh critic of institutionalised religions and the religious traditions which divided people.
He was a critic of the mullahs and pandits in equal measure, and the social evils which had infested the society in the name of religion like caste system and untouchability: his teachings spread amongst vast followers of major religious trends to have come up in this period.
Tulsidas another poet sage of this time in an autobiographical couplet shows how the religious synthesis was operating at this time:
A slave of Ram is Tulsi,
What ever they say let them say.
On alms I live, the mosque is my refuge,
my give and take with the world is done.
(Tulsidas: from Kavitavali)
One of the greatest Ram bhakts of the time was living in a mosque, from where most of his devotional works for Lord Ram emanated. Guru Nanak was for peace in the society; he was influenced by the ideas of Kabir and was a strong proponent of syncretism. He tried to unite Hinduism and Islam by adopting beliefs from both these religions. Borrowing from Islam, it believes in one God and prohibits image worship. From Hinduism it adopted the theory of reincarnation and karma according to which a person’s actions determine his fate in future incarnations. It was against the caste system. Their holy book - Adi Granth - quotes exclusively from Kabir and Sufi saints, like Baba Farid. Also one of the Sufi saints Mir Miyan was requested to lay the foundation stone of the Golden Temple.
Sufis attracted a large following among the lower classes and castes. It was their unorthodox and simple lifestyle which attracted large number of low castes to convert to Islam. Their mazars (holy places) were open to all irrespective of their religious following. One of the great Sufi saints Muhiuddin Ibn Arabi founded the doctrine of Wahahdat-al-wujud i.e. Unity of being, which promoted spiritual universalism, in turn demolishing the barriers of caste and creed. This doctrine states that the real being is One and we are all its manifestations, this brought in harmony amongst followers of different religions.
It is interesting to note that the Sufi saints writings were very close to the people. Baba Farid wrote poetry in Punjabi and his writings are a part of Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs. Baba Farid’s most distinguished follower was Nizamuddin Auliya, who proudly used to say that there were as many ways of worshipping God as there are particles of sand. He was very fond of listening to bhajans, being touched equally by bhajans and quawallis. His respect for local traditions was tremendous. One small story will illustrate as to how he was away from Islamic orthodoxy and had great respect for local traditions. “One day he was passing through the bank of Jamuna in Delhi, along with his disciple, the famous poet Khusrau, and saw some Hindu women bathing in the Jamuna and offering prayers to the sun. To this Hazrat Nizamuddin said, O Khusrau, these women are also praying to Allah; they have their own way of prayer; and then he recited a verse from Quran: “And every one has a direction to which one turns, so vie with one another in good works” (from A.A Engineer, Sufism and Inter-faith Harmony: Institute of Islamic Studies, March 4, 95)
Similarly Mazhar Jan-I-Janan was a Sufi theologian of repute who was again a great upholder of respect for others traditions. Dara Shikoh, the heir of Jahangir’s throne, who was murdered by his own brother for the sake of power was a great Sanskrit scholar who had studied the Hindu scriptures at depth and had written a book called as Majmaul Baharayn (The meeting of the two great oceans, Hinduism and Islam). In this book he compared the Islamic and Sufi Phraseology and that of Hinduism and shows that there is much in common between the two.
The interaction of the practise of these two religions has been very well summarised by well known scholar Dr.B.N Pandey, “Islam and Hinduism which appeared at the start so anti-thetical, at last intermingled, each one stirred the profoundest depth of the other and from their synthesis grew the religion of Bhakti and Tasawwaf, the religion of love and devotion, which swept the hearts of millions following different religions and sects in India. The current of Islamic Sufism and Hindu Bhakti combined into a mighty stream which fertilised old desolate tracts and changed the face of the country. It was this spirit of India which achieved apparently an impossible task of reconciling the puritanical severity and awe inspiring transcendence of Islam into luxuriant fullness and abundance of form and the intuitive perception of their immanent unity with Hinduism, and created those monuments of art, literature, painting, music and poetry and love inspired religion which are the heritage of Indian History, during the middle ages”.
CULTURE: Due to the interaction of the Muslim kings, Islam and local culture there developed a whole stream of synthetic culture in all walks of life, in music khayal, ghazal and thumri are outstanding contributions of these interactions. North Indian classical music, as known today, is a thorough blend of Hindu and Muslim elements achieved over 500 years. Ibrahim second Adishahi of Bijapur (1580-1626) had 300 Hindu singers in his court. To popularise this music among Muslims he himself composed Kitab-e-Naurang in Urdu (a book containing 59 poems) and of those the first one is an invocation of goddess Saraswati). Chaitanya Maha prabhu and most of the Vaishnav saint poets influenced many Muslims to write in their idiom.
Rahim and Raskhan are among the very popular Hindi poets who have written in Brij-bhasha in praise of Lord Krishna. Syed Wajid Shah wrote ‘Hir and Ranjha’ the greatest classic of medieval times. Sheikh Mohammed has greatly contributed to Marathi literature and Shivaji’s guru (saint teacher) Ramdas had special words of praise for him.
Mixture of Persian dialect with Western Hindi spoken in and around Delhi produced a new language which later on came to be called as Urdu. There were great Hindu scholars who took to Urdu not only as administrative language but also wrote and contributed to Urdu literature. Hindu architecture was masked by profusion of intricate sculptured detail, while Islamic architecture was notable for elegance and lightness. The fusion of the two manifested in different architectural marvels which came up during this phase. This fusion is seen in Jodhabai’s palace in Agra fort, in Fatehpur Sikri, and in arches of Kuwat-ul-Islam mosque. The influence of this mixture is discernible far and wide in the haveli’s of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and the Indo-Saracenic architecture of Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer. Similarly fusion of Persian techniques and brilliant Hindu colours resulted in the type of miniature painting marked by beauty and lyricism.
One of the most valuable relics of the harmony of mediaeval society which has survived the onslaughts of different communal forces is Sufi dargah (shrine). These dargahs are scattered in many a cities, managed by Hindu or Muslim families and visited by people of all religions, unmindful of the communal venom being poured by practitioners of communal politics. Right near Mumbai, Haji Malang shrine is a very good ex-pression of syncretic ethos of medieval times. The hereditary trustee of the shrine is the Kailashnath Gopal Ketkar (a Brahmin). The offerings given at the shrine are a mixture of Hindu and Muslim traditions. Devotees offer chaddars, coconuts, flower and sheets of flower.
Such examples are numerous and scattered all over. Today there is a conscious attempt to downplay such a valuable tradition and to harp upon the differences of the elite and the rulers. There is a need to look at the truth as a whole. There is a need to observe the richness of these syncretic traditions, which are a rich tribute to our communities love, respect and tolerance for each other.

(Ram Puniyani; Writer is recipient of National Communal Harmony Award 2007)

Interfaith in Islam

The opening line of the holy Quran describes God as Rabbul Aalameen, i.e. the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds. He has not described himself as community or region specific. Immediately thereafter, it moves on to clarify that Quran provides guidance to those who fear God and “those who belive not only in this revelation but also in the earlier series of revelations.”
The basic purpose of human creation has been amply clarified by none other than God Himself in verse 11.7 of the Quran. He says that He created the heavens and the earth so that “He might try the human beings as to which one of these is best in conduct.” God’s purpose is to encourage a mutual human competition for doing good works so that the humanity makes this world a better place for itself.
Islam amply clarifies God has appointed prophets and messengers in every part of the world and in all phases of the world’s evolution. It also records that God has been revealing His message to different prophets in the past even before Mohammad came on the scene. Islam further emphasizes that it equally recognizes all the messengers, prophets and books. It is also vital to note that God repeatedly tells us through the Quran that in this book He has told us about only some of His messengers, prophets and books. There are many others under each category that have not been mentioned by God in the Quran. Having said all this God still says that a true believer is not supposed to differentiate among the prophets, messenger and books – both named and not named by Him in the Quran. In this context, Quran’s teaching is very important:
“They (the believers) all believe in God and His angels and His books and the conveyors of His message, not differentiating between any of His conveyors.”
We are also aware of the incident when a delegation of a different faith came to his mosque in Madina and, before meeting hi, wished to offer its own prayers there while the Muslim prayer time was running out. The Prophet said that they should pray first and the Muslim prayers could wait. Similarly, on another occasion, showing respect to the funeral procession of a non-Muslim the Prophet rose on his feet and told his companions that in matters of mannerism faith does not make a difference.
In our twenty first century, it is all the more important to highlight the interfaith aspects of all faiths. In verse 3.64 of the Quran, God exhorts the human beings to invite each other to join hands, shoulder to shoulder, in pursuit of “Kalimatin sawaaim baeenana” i.e. Truth and Commonality. Every soul is God’s creature. His or her faith is a matter that rests between the individual and the Creator. A believer’s mandate consummates at following the message, conveying it and behaving well with fellow citizens of the nation and the world.
Let us seek mutual help and friendship and stand firm in constancy and patient perseverance.

Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood, President, Interfaith Coalition for Peace

Contribution of Islam to Peace

Islam means peace, unconditional submission to God. According to the doctrine of Islam, religions are not the product of human imagination. As misunderstood by many, Islam is not a religion which was established by Muhammad, the Prophet of Arabia. Islam menas the religion of God, revealed to the humanity at various stages of history through his chosen apostles and Prophets. The Quran tells us, “There is not a nation but a warner hath passed among them.”
All the Prophets came to this world as messengers of God to preach the gospel of truth and faith and they left their footprints of righteousness to be followed by coming generations.
It follows from what I have stated above that Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, and the Buddha, Vardhamana Mahavira and many Rishis and Munis of our great motherland who made their appearance when humanity suffered from degenation and degration might also have been Prophets of God, though their names have not been specifically mentioned in Quran.
Similarly the names of founders of religions of China and other eastern religions have not been mentioned in Quran. In all probability Confucious must also have been Prophet sent by God to China.
In that view it has to be considered that not only the followers of Abrahimic religions, namely Judaism, Christianity and Islam but also the followers of other eastern religions as people of the Book (Ahlul Kitab). Islamic scholar Shah Abdul Azeez son of Shah Valiyullah Dahlavi has opined that Hindus are people of the Book (Ahlul Kitab).
According toe the Islamic perception, Muhammad is the last link in the chain of Prophethood. Islam recognizes all Prophets and scriptures. It is not open to a Muslim to deny the truth preached by any of the Prophets. He cannot make any discrimination between these Prophets. This concept of Islam itself goes a long way in bringing unity and harmony among followers of different traditions.
Islam denies all kinds of discrimination and declares the common brotherhood and equality of all human beings. The Quran says: “O, human kind, we created you from a single (pair) of a male and female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you.”
Prophet Muhammad in his famous farewell sermon said, “An Arab is not superior to a non-Arab and non-Arab is not superior to an Arab. Nor does a white man have superiority over a black man, nor has black man superiority over a white man. You are all children of Adam, and Adam was created from Clay.” (Bukhari, Muslim).
The universal brotherhood preached by Islam was acknowledged by Swami Vivekananda as well. In a letter written by him from Almora on 10th July, 1898, to his friend Mohammad Sarfaraz Husain of Nainital, he says: “…My experience is that if ever any religion approached to this equality in an appreciable manner, it is Islam and Islam alone. Therefore I am firmly persuaded that without the help of practical Islam, theories of vedantism, however fine and wonderful they may be, are entirely valueless to the vast mass of mankind.”
Violence always leads to breath of peace and is a crime against society. The Quran says, “if any one slew a person, unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land, it would be as if he slew all people and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all people.”
Islam considers that killing a human being is crime against the entire humanity and saving of a human being is saving of entire humanity.
The Prophet Mohammad said:”Do not initiate or reproduce the treatment that you receive. You say that if people do good to you, you will do good to them and if they injure you will injure them. That is not right; remain self-possessed and undisturbed. If they do good to you do good to them; if they treat you badly, even then do not return evil for evil.”
Islam also commands that you should uphold justice in all circumstances. We know that denial of justice often leads to violenc.
See what Quran says, “O Ye, who believe! Standout firmly for justice as witnesses to god even as against yourselves or your parents or your kin.”
The Quran further says, “And when Ye judge between man and man that, ye judge with justice. Verily how excellent is the teaching which he giveth to you. For God is he who heareth and seeth al things.”And says, “O, ye, who believe! Stand out firmly for God as witnesses to fair dealing. Let not the hatred of tohers make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just, that is next to piety. Fear God. For God is well acquainted with all that ye do.”

Justice P.K. Shamsuddin