Christianity and Islam have similar teachings on peace and it is evident that there is a strong relationship between these fundamental teachings and the ways in which the religious traditions and their organizations actively strive towards world peace. World peace is understood in both faiths, not just as an absence of violence and conflict, but also as an overall sense of wellbeing and social cohesion. Inner peace is essential in achieving world peace, and must be attained in order to work towards peace at a higher level.
Christianity teaches that peace is Christ’s parting gift and a concept that begins with Him, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you” (John 14:27). The Catholic peace movement “Pax Christi” stands for the ‘peace of Christ’ and has launched a policy for a culture of peace and non-violence. “Pax Christi” uses the teaching of the peace of Christ to guide them, calling adherents to state that they are recognizing their responsibility to “respect life…practice active non-violence [and] defend freedom” (Pax Christi International Manifesto for a Culture of Peace and Non Violence 1999) in order to contribute to the achievement of world peace.
Islam teaches that peace can only be attained through the submission to Allah’s will. One is able to submit to Allah through the process of jihad, which is to struggle to overcome the obstacles in the way of submission, or the process of Shahada. The Sufism movement provides Muslims with a path to follow in order to contribute to the attainment of world peace through 3 stations. These mirror the teaching that peace can only be found in Allah, encouraging the submission as the initial step in moving towards world peace, “Submitting our…bodies to Allah is Sufism” (Sufism Equals to Islam). The teaching of submission and anticipation of pleasing Him, establishes a Muslims role in actively working towards achieving world peace.
The Quakers are a Christian denomination that follows the principal...
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