Difference with accepting the other as a path to nonviolence

Difference with accepting the other as a path to nonviolence
Jamal Abdul Nasser – Daraa Al-Balad

If you don’t know war, ask the people, houses, and trees of southern Syria. Ask the sturdy black basalt, and it will tell you that there is nothing good in war except its end. War carries heavy burdens and significant losses.

Whatever the reasons and motives behind the actions that occurred in the country, the foundation of war originates from ideas and beliefs that have infiltrated the minds of those who have the authority to start it. They believe that violence and the use of force will achieve their goals by imposing these beliefs and gaining control over people. However, history attests that violence only begets more violence, leading to an endless cycle.

Many conflicts have erupted, and several nations have suffered despite the widespread media that rapidly informs us about events worldwide. Yet, most people still resort to violence, even though we have seen its results at all levels.

Promoting a culture of nonviolence in a society that has experienced various forms of violence has become an urgent necessity. The winds of war have swept through the youth, the middle-aged, and the coming generation, who grew up with the sounds of military machinery ingrained in their minds and feelings. Truth does not require the use of violence for its vindication. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Whatever is obtained by violence is a loss.”

Divine religions advocate peace, avoiding conflicts and violence, and accepting others despite our differences in opinions and beliefs. In the Quran, there are many verses emphasizing effective and better ways of dealing with everyone, including those who wrong you (repel evil with that which is better). Humans share the same feelings and emotions, but we differ in how we express and control them. We possess different thoughts, and this diversity, like the blending and harmony of colors, creates the most beautiful paintings.

We need to master the art of embracing differences as a natural phenomenon and a source of life’s beauty. Imagine if the four seasons were one, or if time were always day or night, or even if the Earth’s topography were uniform. How would things be?

Our differences in appearance, colors, languages, and thoughts contribute to the beauty of life. We urgently need to promote and raise awareness about how to manage intellectual differences. An idea might be wrong for one person but right for another, and what suits some may not suit others, such as differences in food tastes and color preferences. There is no wrong or right person; all parties may be correct in their thoughts. Here lies the need to learn how to conduct our dialogues.

The most beautiful ideas are those that result from a successful integration of two thoughts. The beauty of exchanging ideas is that each person ends up with two ideas, and perhaps a third idea emerges in the middle, more beautiful than the two original ideas.

Therefore, we urgently need to promote a culture of nonviolence and, along with it, the art of embracing and managing differences as a natural and healthy phenomenon and one of the pillars of life’s beauty.