Islam a religion of peace

Islam Prohibits Violence and Aggression, and stands for Peace and Justice.

Islam clearly prohibits all kinds and forms of aggression and violence against anyone, except in self-defense. Islam is a practical religion, meant to be implemented in every aspect of our life. Therefore, it realizes the fact that a person who commits aggression and violence against others will not cease these actions unless they are deterred by similar actions taken against them.

Islam also places very high importance on justice, and allows for aggressors and unjust people be punished accordingly, unless they repent before they are brought to justice. At the same time, Islam encourages people to forgive those who have wronged them whenever possible.

Evidence of these ideals can be found in the Holy Qur'an, which is the word of God revealed to the messenger of God, Mohammad peace be upon him. It can also be found in the Hadith, the sayings of Mohammad peace be upon him, and in his teachings to Muslims. A few examples of this are shown below from the Holy Qur'an:

• "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, and do not transgress; for Allah loveth not transgressors." (Surah 2, Verse 190). 
• "But if they cease (fighting you), Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Surah 2, Verse 192). 
• "But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in Allah: for He is the One that Heareth and Knoweth (all things)." (Surah 8, Verse 61). 
• "The prohibited month, for the prohibited month, and so for all things prohibited, there is the law of equality. If then any one transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him. But fear Allah, and know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves." (Surah 2, Verse 194).  
• " ... and let not the hatred of some people in (once) shutting you out of the Sacred Mosque lead you to transgression (and hostility on your part). Help ye one another in righteousness and piety, but help ye not one another in sin and rancour: fear Allah: for Allah is strict in punishment." (Surah 5, Verse 2). 
• "Nor can Goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were thy friend and intimate!" (Surah 41, Verse 34). 
• "O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do." (Surah 4, Verse 135). 
• "God advocates justice, charity, and regarding the relatives. And He forbids evil, vice, and transgression. He enlightens you, that you may take heed." (Surah 16, Verse 90). 
• "And if ye do punish them, punish them no worse than they punished you: but if ye show patience, that is indeed the best (course) for those who are patient." (Surah 16, Verse 126).

The first three verses above instruct Muslims to fight those who fight them, and not to commit aggression first, as God does not like transgressors. They also instruct Muslims to stop fighting those who wish to cease fighting them, and to accept peace with the enemy who becomes inclined towards peace.

The fourth verse mentioned above instructs Muslims that if someone transgresses against them, they should respond to them likewise, and it reminds Muslims to fear God and to restrain themselves to this limit.

The fifth verse reminds Muslims not to let hatred of some people for past reasons to lead them to transgress against those people or be hostile towards them. It also instructs us to help each other in good and righteous actions, and not to cooperate in aggression and sin, and it reminds them finally of the strict punishment of God to encourage them to abide by these principles.

The sixth verse reminds us that goodness and evil are never equal, and that we should repel evil with good actions. This means that when someone is unjust to us or commits evil against us, we are encouraged to respond with kind and good actions, so that the hatred between us and that person will evaporate and will become an intimate friendship!

The seventh verse mentioned reminds us to stand up for justice, even if it is against ourselves or our family, and even if it is against those who are rich or powerful, because justice applies to everyone. It also reminds us that God knows everything we do, and so if we act unjustly even in our hearts, God knows what we did and we will be accountable for that.

The eighth verse informs us that God enjoins us to follow justice, and that God forbids us from committing evil, vice and transgression.

The ninth and final verse reminds Muslims that if they are punished, that they may only respond with the same punishment and not to go over this limit. However, they are reminded that forgiveness and patience is the best course of action.

These are the wonderful ideals of Islam:

• To pursue peace with everyone including past enemies, except when they fight the Muslims and refuse peace, then Muslims are allowed to fight in self-defense.
• To ensure that we always apply justice and never transgress against others even if they are our enemies. 
• To repel evil actions with good actions, in order to replace hatred with an intimate friendship. 
• To respond to punishment with the same punishment, but that forgiveness and patience is even better than retaliation.

When are Muslims Permitted to Fight a War?

As stated earlier, Islam is a very practical religion. It is not just about fake ideals that do not work. It is a religion that is meant to be implemented 100% in all actions of the Muslims life, and it is meant to promote peace and justice in the world.

Therefore, Islam does allow Muslims to go to war, as mentioned earlier, in certain circumstances. This includes self-defence, and to remove aggression and injustice that has befallen people and to save them from their oppressors. The verses that tell Muslims to fight those who fight them were mentioned earlier. Below is the verse in the holy Qur'an that allows Muslims to fight against injustice.

"Permission [to fight] is granted to those who are being persecuted, since injustice has befallen them, and God is certainly able to support them [with victory].

They were evicted from their homes unjustly, for no reason other than saying, "Our Lord is God." If it were not for God's supporting of some people against others, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques - where the name of God is commemorated frequently - would have been destroyed. Absolutely, God supports those who support Him. God is Powerful, Almighty." (Surah 22, Verses 39-40).

This verse gives permission to those Muslims who fall under oppressive, unjust rule, and those Muslims who are being persecuted to fight to remove this oppression.

Does Islam Permit Killing Civilians?

Even in times of war, the Muslim must respect his adversaries? humanity. Brutal and barbaric atrocities are prohibited in Islam. Islam condemns barbaric killing of any human being. Therefore, Islam does not permit the mutilation of the bodies of the dead enemy soldiers.

Also, Islam prohibits the targeting and killing of all civilians, especially women, children, the elderly, and religious clergy. Enemies, even at time of war, must be treated justly. Prisoners of war have basic human rights, as stated in the Shariah (Islamic Law), and must be provided and cared for and not humiliated in any way.

The following verses touch on some of these issues:

• "O Prophet! say to those who are captives in your hands: If Allah findeth any good in your hearts, He will give you something better than what has been taken from you, and He will forgive you: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Surah 8, Verse 70).
• And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive, (Saying), We feed you for the sake of Allah alone: no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks." (Surah 76, Verses 8-9).

In addition, the following were the instructions of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) to Muslims who are forced to fight a war:

"Do not kill women or children or non-combatants and do not kill old people or religious people,'' and he mentioned priests, nuns and rabbis. And he said, "Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees and do not poison the wells of your enemies."

There are many more sayings and teachings of Prophet Mohammad that instruct Muslims on these issues.

In addition to all this, Islam prohibits oppression, revenge or injustice to the people of the enemy in case of victory against them. Nor must there be control over the sources of the wealth of the nation or people, or even establishment of colonial regimes. Justice and freedom must be established. Tolerance towards cultures and peoples is to be respected at all times.

And finally, we greet everyone with the greeting of Islam:
Assalamu Alaikum (Peace be upon you!).

yes it's , early Muslims and Muslims today have lived alongside non-Muslims in peace , that doesn't mean however that a Muslim can't defend himself like any other man, a Muslim should defend his rights and also respect the rights of others .

Industrialists of Karachi demand army intervention

KARACHI: The traders and industrialists of Karachi have demanded army intervention to stop bloody violence in city. The demand has been made by Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Korangi Association of Trade & Industry and Traders' action Committee in separate statements on Friday.

"Given the grave circumstances, where civil law enforcement agencies have failed in restoring peace in Karachi, which has now become hub of bloodshed hub, the Army must be called in, being the last resort to enforce peace in the city of 17 million," Khalid Tawab, President of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce, suggested.

Similar demand was made by KCCI president Saeed Shafique saying that the police have miserably failed to restore peace in Karachi.

 

Chairman of Karachi Traders Action Committee (KTAC), Siddiq Memon also demanded of Pakistan Army's chief to take immediate notice of the grave condition of Karachi.

KTAC's chairman demanded that the city should be immediately handed over to the army as all trading activities have ended and the economy has been devastated.

Memon added that the police and rangers both have failed to maintain law and order in the city while the ongoing unrest and violence in the city has caused more than Rs.100 billion worth of losses to the local traders.

"More than 300 Eid bazaars and markets are closed while more than 35,000 workers of those bazaars and markets have lost their jobs," KTAC's chairman added.

Patron-in-Chief Korangi Association of Trade and Industry, S M Muneer, Chairman, Syed Johar Ali Qandhari, former Chairman, Mian Zahid Husain and Vice Chairmen, Saleemuzzaman and Shahid Jawed Qureshi besides members of KATI showing their grave concern on prevailing law and order situation of Karachi said that it seems that law and order is getting out of control of the local administration and the law enforcing agencies and it's now inevitable to call Pak army to control the law and order situation in the city.

"For the greater interest of the country and save precious lives of the citizens, we appeal to the government to ask army to take over law enforcement of the city for the time being and return to the barracks soon after cleansing the city from illegitimate arms and weapons which seems beyond control of the Police and Rangers", Qandhari said.

He said that the ongoing strife between various groups and gang war has destroyed Karachi's peace and traders and industrialists are so frightened to go to their business. The old city area has totally disturbed while industrial production has severely affected. He warned that in such a situation government cannot run the country's affairs as Karachi being the backbone of the economy may not be able to feed the entire country anymore.

"This is worst ever economic situation in the city during last three years and due to, which entire country is suffering. People are feared of their lives and reluctant to come out of their homes. How the country's economy could be run in this extremely fragile situation", Muneer asked the government.

He further asked the apex body of the business community - FPCCI to immediately call an emergent meeting of the stakeholders and decide line of action in order to save the country's economy.

The business leaders were of the view that killing of innocent people in almost every area of Karachi is becoming a routine and it appears law enforcing agencies were not enough capable to control the situation. How can police control the situation when almost 5,000 policemen were deputed to give escort and security to around 100 VIPs in a city of over twenty million people, they questioned.

Chairman, Pakistan Tanners Association (S.Z), PTA, Aziz Ahmed also strongly appealed the government to take stringent measures to restore and maintain law and order of the city to save precious lives of the citizens. He said in a statement that exports shipments are badly affected due to worsening law and order situation due to which industrial activities have crippled severely. He mentioned that labor force is not coming to work due to massive target killing in almost every corner of the city.

He said that all the foreign buyers have also cancelled their visit to Pakistan due to the reason and exporters are extremely worried over cancelling of orders. He asked the government to take every necessary action to restore law and order instead of sitting idle.