The Concept of Peace

To appreciate how Islam approaches the question of peace, one has only to consider a few elementary facts about Islam. Peace and Islam are derived from the same root and may be considered synonymous. One of God’s names is Peace. The concluding words of the daily prayers of every Muslim are words of peace. The greeting of the Muslims when they return to God is peace. The daily salutations among the Muslims are expressions of peace. The adjective “Muslim” means, in a sense, peaceful. Heaven in Islam is the abode of peace.

This is how fundamental and dominant the theme of peace is in Islam. The individual who approaches God through Islam cannot fail to be at peace with God, with himself, and with his fellow men. Taking all these values together, putting man in his proper place in the cosmos, and viewing life in the Islamic perspective, men of good regain human dignity, to achieve equality, to enjoy universal brotherhood, and to build a lasting peace.

The Concept of Community

The word community has acquired certain connotations, some of which are romantic and nostalgic, some derogatory and reactionist. But since we intend to deal with the basics, we shall confine our discussion to the most fundamental meanings of the word community.

In one basic sense, the concept community means “all forms of relationship that are characterized by a high degree of personal intimacy, emotional depth, moral is commitment, social cohesion, and continuity in time ..... It may be found in ..... locality, religion, nation, race, occupation, or (common cause). Its archetype ..... is the family” (Robert Nisbet, The Sociological Tradition - New York: Basic Books, 1996, pp. 47-48) In another basic sense, a community is a comprehensive group with two chief characteristics: (1) it is a group within which the individual can have most of the activities and experiences that are important to him. (2) The group is bound together by a shared sense of belonging and a feeling of identity (L. Broom & P. Selznick, Sociology: A Text with Adapted Readings New York: Harper & Rowe, 1968, p.31). The Historical master trend has been a movement from those intimate, deep, moral relationships of community to those impersonal, formal utilitarian relationships of mass society. The movement has been designated by different phases and marked by far-reaching consequences.