People generally hold that so and so community or
nation is their enemy. Then, for most people,
enmity becomes both the cause of and justification
for taking to a course of violence. They take up an
aggressive stance, openly or covertly, ostensibly to
put an end to the enmity. But this is as
misconceived a plan of action as any could be
which has been devised on the supposition that war
can be any kind of solution.
They fail to realize that the best solution to the
problem of enmity lies in the way of positive status
quoism, which facilitates dealing peacefully with
the enemy. This is possible because positive status
quoism is a psychological condition which enables
us to deal with the enemy in such a cool-minded
way that all animus will of itself disappear once and
for all.
It is imperative that we regard enemies as
superficial rather than as integral parts of our
existence, and we should recognize that the hostility
of any foe can be brought to an end by positive
strategy. The enemy can be likened to the dust
sticking to glass. Such dust can easily be washed off
with water. The real problem will arise only when
we have no water (i.e. a positive strategy) to wash
off the dust.
It takes two hands to clap. One hand on its own
cannot clap. Similarly, enmity is a two-sided matter.
If someone turns your enemy, you should not
respond to this with hostility. Not returning enmity
for enmity is the most successful solution to the
problem. Adopting positive behaviour towards the
enemy can yield such beneficial results that your
former enemy could one day turn out to be your
friend.
Ref -The Ideology of Peace
- by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
