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Ensuring peace an indispensable role
Tesfaye Lemma
It is evident that the people in every corner of the world love peace. But politicians and other groups of different interest, accumulating wealth and taking power, have been exerting unreserved efforts to maintain the destabilized world in general and Africa in particular.
However, there should be a fundamental change in enhancing peace to the world. A change that could give power to cessations of war and achieving world peace as past experiences have failed to do so.
One crucial fact I want to mention here is the fact that all countries and states have never worked in unison for peace. In this regard, there is even a contradictory experience. One simple example is the peace cooperation with Ethiopia and America. These two countries have been cooperating to fight terrorism. We all know that terrorism, apart other issues, is the bone of contention to their bilateral relations.
But America harbored those terrorist groups that have been working to destabilize Ethiopia. The Ethiopian House of Representatives had already categorized Ginbot 7, OLF, ONLF and al-Shabab terrorists that were endorsed following a comprehensive study of the terrorist activities of those groups.
But if we ask who harbor these groups? The answer is obvious. They live comfortably in the United States and its ally countries. Here is the tricky concept of the cooperation for peace, the solidarity against terrorism.
Nowadays, there is no peace across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the like. The glob is full of turmoil. These have direct or indirect impact to the countries even with a relatively better situation.
It is time to think a new approach in bringing peace to the world other than the approach the international community has been utilizing so far to bring and maintain peace. There is need to have a binding law that could help for the cessations of war and achieving world peace.
Unless there is a strong public participation, efforts to ensure peace might end up being fruitless; and no one could breathe peaceful air.
In fact, the participation of the people in general and that of the youth, women and religious leaders in particular could play an indispensable role in bringing lasting peace to this world.
Past experiences indicated that almost 80 per cent of conflicts in the world emanated in connection to religion. If we look at the religious historical documents, many wars have been fought in connection to religion despite the rules in their doctrine. Now, although conflicts are not basically religious, they take place under the pretext of religion.
Groups with such a hidden agendas considered war as something holy. They intentionally use it to win the hearts and minds of religious people so that they could scarify for their interests. They named it a ‘Holy War’ and command followers to make war on those who do not believe in that religion or don’t accept and follow their ways. Absolutely, anti-democratic action.
When we realize the reality in this regard, it is of paramount importance to study what any religion does emphasize about war and peace.
In all kinds of religions, peace is the central idea of their doctrine then accompanied by love and hope. It denounces war, violence and hatter to one another that all world major religions share this idea.
In the Bible it is vividly emphasized that making peace and working for peace is one of the best things people who love their God would do. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God …” (Matthew 5:9). It is almost the same in the Islamic religion as well. The word ‘Islam’ by itself means ‘submission to the will of God (Allah)’.
Despite the understanding and interpretations given by groups who have been using Jihad for waging holy war, Islamic forefathers have underlined what Jihad means? One scholar wrote: ‘Jihad means to strive in the way of God.’ It is the duty of all Muslims, as individuals and as a community, to exert them to realize God’s will, to lead good lives. This is quite different from using it to kill people.
It is vivid that religion is the most sensitive issue and although every religion encourages the idea of peace and tolerance, almost no one remains in peace or tolerates anything when it comes to their religion. History is full of religious wars and some of them have continued for years and killed many.
For instance we can mention some of the catastrophic religious wars in the world. The War between Catholic cantons and Protestants took place in the land of Switzerland in 1531 and resulted in the death of about 7,000 Protestants and 2,000 Catholics.
Lebanese Civil War fought between Sunnis and Shiites at the land of Lebanon could be taken as one of the religious war. It started in 1975 and ended at the end of 1990 with estimated deaths of more than 150,000 people.
Crusades could also be mentioned as one of those wars. It is just a title for the multiple religious wars and fights that were fought between the Muslims and Christians due to the religious disputes and controls over land in the Jerusalem in 1095 resulted in more than half a million civilians in the fight.
Another religious war took place in Nigerian between Igbo of Southern and Hausas of Northern people of Nigeria. That disastrous religious war resulted to the death of more than 1 million.
The aforementioned examples took place in the past. But conflicts related to religion have continued. Nowadays, many conflicts and wars have been taking under the pretext of religion. In the contrary, little has done so far by religious representatives to overcome this grave problem.
If we go deep to the doctrine of all kinds of religions, obviously their theme is peace, love and hope. No more no less! However, religions have now been abused by certain groups or individuals for hidden interests. These groups with various motives have been interpreting religious concepts wrongly to make matches with their very interests.
If this is the case, bringing all religions together for peace is so crucial in attaining lasting peace in the world. It is therefore mandatory to mobilize the youth, women, media parishioners political leaders and religious fathers to work in collaboration for the end of wars and the thieve of world peace. Religions should come together to work for peace to end wars that have been devastatingly affect the lives of mankind. As Buddha put, “Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace”.
