Religions could serve peace and prevention of conflicts or even abolish wars. But our religions have been subordinated by political leaders to their own individual interest. Moreover, the possibility to establish universal peace probably harms the business of weapon manufacturing and trafficking. It is therefore not an easy task to prevent some conflicts and completely stop wars. It should be clear that there is no real winner of war. After that Iraq , Syria, Libya and many other countries were devastated by war, the promises to rebuild the countries vanished from day to day and most of these countries still plummet in the destructive consequences of those wars. The western countries had to face the rise of Asylum seekers from those countries. It is therefore clear that there is no winner of war.
One effective way to prevent wars will be through enhancement of religious tolerance with comparative religious studies,
It might be difficult to find a common point or intersection in the ancients or cultural religions but still, whether we are religious or not, there is a golden ethical rule that has been acknowledged since the cradle of civilization. In Hinduism, it is expressed in Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva 113.8 that “ One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself. This is the essence of morality. All other activities are due to selfish desire.”
The same golden Rule is expressed in the Budhist Sutta Nipata 705 in other words: “Comparing oneself to others in such terms as “Just as I am so are they, just as they are so am I,” he should neither kill nor cause others to kill
Moreover religions teach us that we have account for our actions and deeds. We are even accountable for what we have failed to do. And remembering the golden rule will always help us behave in such a way that the consequences of our actions will have a less negative effect, This golden rule is universal, whether you are a Kalahari hunter or a banker in Manhattan. Thus it is expressed clearly even in African wisdom:
“One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts. “ Yoruba Proverb (Nigeria)
In Confucianism when Tsekung asked, “Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?” Confucius replied, “It is the word shu–reciprocity: Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you.”(Confucianism. Analects 15.23)
And if you are a believer in monotheistic religions, you are obviously rooted in the principle as it is one the core teachings of the prophets, from Moses to Jesus or Muhammad(pbuh). Thus when a man asked Jesus: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.” (Christianity. Bible, Matthew 22.36-40)
Islamic monotheism is no exception. Not one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself. (Islam. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi: 13)
Moreover, we have already seen in our previous publications that the Abrahamic monotheistic religion share a lot in common.
From their origin Abraham was the one who challenged his tribe with the worshiping of the unique one God creator of heaven and earth and all that it encompasses. And Abraham is recognized by the Jews as Jewish, by the Christians as Christian and by the Muslims as Muslims.
That the same figure is portrayed in all these religions and that there is no major contradiction in time and space of the events that gave rise to these religions is a proof that there is a core authenticity in the revelations, that goes beyond the organization and deployment of religion by the leaders of the societies.
The difficulty to find a common point in the three major monotheistic religions lies in the condition for salvation. While ignoring the internal divisions in each of them we can basically recall that the condition for salvation in Judaism is individual. The Jews believe that they can master evil impulses through the implementation of the Torah and there is no need for a savior . Man has the ability to choose to do what pleases God and repentance is opened to him. According to Christianity, Jesus is the savior and salvation is by God’s grace through the believe in Jesus Christ, who died as a ransom for sins. The condition for salvation in Islam is through the firm believe in Tawhid, the oneness of God and the performance of good deeds as recommended by the quran. Fragile youth with less understanding and less time to do their own research and easily wrapped into one these opposing views and can be manipulated for political and economical purposes by some leaders.
Keeping these ideas without setting up the intersection and excluding some contradictions leads to endless debates. We have witnessed in period of wars that each group can be manipulated politically and even within the same group there is a possibility to create division due to various ways of understanding
