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In our world there are flowers, but there are also
thorns. It is therefore a common experience for
one who wants to engage in any positive activity
to feel that there are obstacles in his way, perhaps
by the very law of nature. This applies to the
individual as well as to the entire nation. Now
one way of addressing such a situation is for him
to set about removing all obstacles from the path
and only then beginning to work towards his
goal. This method is generally defined as
radicalism.
Radicalism greatly appeals to extremists or to
those who are guided by their emotions. But it is
impractical in so far as achieving any positive
goal is concerned. While radicalism may be
effectively used for the purposes of destruction, it
is worse than useless when it comes to
construction. Once the path of radicalism has
been chosen, not only does the prevalent system
fall apart, but in the process of what are
essentially ruinous activities, all those social
traditions which had taken centuries to build,
simply fall to pieces. Then as a result of
bloodshed and violent confrontation,
innumerable people fall victim to all kinds of
afflictions. While experience shows that the
method of radicalism is ideologically very
attractive, in terms of its practical outcome, it is
devoid of all merit.
Another method is that of avoiding confrontation
with the status quo and chalking out a plan for
possible action within possible spheres. By
temporarily accepting the status quo, current
opportunities may then be availed of. This is the
positive status quoism to which I referred at the
beginning of this chapter.
The method of radicalism invariably produces
violence: on the contrary, positive status quoism
fulfills its target by keeping the peace in society.
While the former invariably aggravates the
problem, the latter, by avoiding friction, proceeds
smoothly, without creating any problems. If one is
the way to perversion, the other is the way to
construction.
Ref -The Ideology of Peace
- by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
