The article, THE CONCEPT OF PEACE IN ISLAM AND ITS RELEVANCE TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS by Nursita and Ahmad, explains how the Islamic religion is often associated with violence and war. The article mainly analyzes the various factors that influence the spread of stereotypes against the religion and offers an explanation about the concept and idea of peace according to the perspective of Islamic religion (Nursita and Ahmad 211). Additionally, the authors explain the importance of the Islamic peace concept and its contributions to the research and study of conflict issues in International Relations (IR).
The arguments of the authors are reliable since they are mainly based on facts and real situations. Nursita and Ahmad describe how various factors, including the media, the terrorist attack that happened on September 11th and methodological issues, enhance the spread of stigma and stereotypes against the Islamic religion. The authors describe how several media platforms have played an important role in the development of stereotypes across the world concerning the Islamic religion. For instance, they explain how famous electronic media like BBC, CNN, and renowned newspapers intensively broadcast stories and news of the events that occurred in the Middle East region in the era of Gulf War I and II (Nursita and Ahmad 212). All these are attempts to illustrate how Islamic countries are associated with conflicts and war. Furthermore, the authors explain how the September 11th attack has had a significant impact on changes that have occurred in IR discourses. Nursita and Ahmad state, “It also has brought up a number of new terms in international relations, such as terrorism, terrorist” (Nursita and Ahmad 211). This illustrates how the peace concept in the Islamic religion impacts the study of war and conflicts in international relations. Furthermore, the authors also highlight how orientalists and western scientists, who are not familiar with Islamic practices and traditions often categorize and associate the religion with violence by quoting relevant hadiths and verses (Nursita and Ahmad 211). This illustrates how methodological issues aid in the spread of stigma against religion.
Moreover, Nursita and Ahmad have analyzed and reviewed various literature articles to gather the information that they have used to support their main points (Nursita and Ahmad 213). This method of data collection is relevant and applicable for their research since it provides the thoughts and arguments of other scholars concerning the war and peace concept in Islam religion. Similarly, the method has enabled the authors to research the gaps that other scholars have identified in the topic. For instance, through the literature review, the authors have been able to discuss the niches that occur in the debate between peace and war in Islamic traditions, the major assumptions of the Islamic religion on issues of peace, and their main contribution to the contemporary studies of peace.
Additionally, the authors refer to several religious books, such as Siyar, to explain how the concept of peace is viewed in Islam. For instance, the article states, “the book of Siyar contains a set judgments that guides Muslims interactions with non-Muslims” (Nursita and Ahmad 214). This shows that the Siyar provides guidelines on how Muslims should behave, whether they are in a state of war or peace, and how they should interact with other people, including those that believe in and practice other religions (Nursita and Ahmad 215). Furthermore, the article explains the contribution of other authors and scholars towards the significance of the peace concept in the research and study of IR. For instance, the article describes how, according to a research done by Karen Armstrong, the assumptions that the Islamic religion teaches jihad and violence cannot be separated and distilled from the pain and trauma that the West experienced. This was as a result of the wars that happened in the period of middle ages. Therefore, such assumptions have been used to classify Islamic countries as places of war in the studies of international relations.
One of the findings in the article is that two major mainstreams of international relations, classical liberalism, also known as idealism, and classical realism, cannot be separated from the assumptions and thoughts about the nature of mankind. Furthermore, realists have a skeptical and pessimistic view concerning peace and cooperation in IR (Nursita and Ahmad 216). On the other hand, liberalists believe that human beings are bound to possess virtues that act as guidelines for their interactions. The article explains how these views are vital in the discussions of IR from the perspective of Islamic religion. Another finding of the article is that the concept of peace in Islam can be viewed from both a negative and positive perspective. Positive peace is usually indicated by equality, dialogue, and cooperation. On the other hand, negative peace refers to a state where conflicts and violence are absent (Nursita and Ahmad 219). All the two types of peace are important since they help in the regulation of human relations, especially among various communities. Consequently, the article describes al-Quran as the main source of Islamic teachings. The al-Quran explains how human beings are prone to conflict and keen to cooperate. Furthermore, the three terms used to describe the different peace levels according to the Quarinic perspective include as-shulhu, al-manu, and as-silmu. The findings and descriptions of the authors are reliable since they contribute to the main purpose of the article.
Finally, the conclusion of the article is credible since it summarizes the main ideas and arguments of the authors. The authors explain how Islam is usually identified with war and terrorism since it has concepts such as jihad, which are associated with conflicts (Nursita and Ahmad 221). Furthermore, the conclusion demonstrates how Islamic stigma and classification, as a religion that mainly advocates for violence is primarily the outcome of gaps in Islamic debates. In addition, it explains how the issue of war and conflicts is given more priority compared to the peace concept in the perspective of Islamic traditions (Nursita and Ahmad 222). Lastly, the conclusion suggests that an intensive study needs to be done, to aid in the development of a conceptual framework that will illustrate a couple of systematic strategies, to facilitate the attainment of peace according to Islamic teachings.
Work Cited
Nursita, Rizki Dian, and Ahmad Sahide. “The Concept of Peace in Islam and Its Relevance to International Relations.” (2019): 211-224.
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