At the time of writing, there are a number of awful conflicts in the world. There are several civil wars in progress, mostly in countries which have already had civil wars in the past, but which have never achieved a harmonious sense of unity. Myanmar, Sudan and the Yemen are examples. Meanwhile, one European country has invaded another one – the first time that this has happened since the Second World War. And once again the seemingly endless problem of ethnic rivalries in the Holy Land has erupted into open armed conflict, the tragic results of which are displayed in all their upsetting detail on our screens.
Many thoughtful people, looking at the state of the world, might ask themselves, “What terrible events will happen next? Things seem to be going from bad to worse!”. As the world was unwilling or unable to prevent large-scale destruction and death in Syria, or in Ukraine, and has now proved unwilling or unable to curtail the actions of either party in the Middle East, won’t more countries, whose regimes feel the need to show their strength, follow the same path? In the Far East there is one country which is openly talking about its need to re-establish control over lost territory. Another country is openly and belligerently testing ever-more powerful missiles, with the express intention of attacking anyone whom it does not consider friendly. In South America, one country has now decided that it has a claim to over 60% of the territory of its neighbour! Apart from these threats, there is also the ever-present possibility that either the war in Eastern Europe or the war in the Holy Land could yet drag other countries into the conflict, provoking something which could develop into a disastrous third world war, with terrible consequences for the whole of humanity.
Shouldn’t we be doing something to stop all this? Shouldn’t we, as mankind, be growing past violence and conflict as a way of achieving our aims? Doesn’t it seem somewhat primitive? Aren’t we a caring species, capable of reason, empathy and spiritual values? On the subject of war, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of Bahá’u’lláh, said: “How is it possible for men to fight from morning until evening, killing each other, shedding the blood of their fellow-men: And for what object? To gain possession of a part of the earth!... Land belongs not to one people, but to all people. This earth is not man’s home, but his tomb.”
To argue that war should be abandoned as a method of settling disputes should not mean that the well-meaning people of the world should stand aside and let bloodthirsty tyrants and psychopaths slaughter the innocent. Surely the nations of the world should be able to construct an army of peace-keepers to be inserted into trouble spots as soon as a situation begins to get out of hand, instead of after the fighting has finished, which is what often happens now. In various parts of Africa, this approach has already been tried, although the lack of a common language restricts its effectiveness somewhat.
However, the real answer, which will bring a lasting peace, is unity – that people should feel a loyalty to mankind, to the planet, to the human family, rather than to one ethnic background or to the leader of some fanatical group. Bahá’u’lláh said, “The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.” At some point, everyone will see the sense of replacing war with peace. A world peace conference, as suggested by Bahá’u’lláh, should fix the boundaries of each country, and produce a universal treaty to which all of mankind can give its loyalty. The world would be united in promoting this world peace treaty.
In the present circumstances, this seems to be a distant prospect, and it is easy to be despondent, but we need to have hope – hope for the future. Bahá’ís have that hope. We know that there will be more dark days ahead, but we also know that the future will ultimately be bright. Humanity will eventually see sense, and will realise that the only solution is to make the world peace conference a reality. This will then lead to the end of war. After that, we will continue to build unity until we have real peace at last. As Bahá’u’lláh promised: “…so it shall be; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away and the most great peace shall come.” A bright future indeed.
