World Peace Through Law
See our Commentary titled as Islaam – 303 – Jihad is no road to Peace which is the hub-post and refers to about a dozen other Commentaries related to different aspect of Jihad.
On February 28, 2008, I wrote a note in a hurry for three eminent Pakistani lawyers visiting Philadelphia that day. The note was very personal as it laid out a brief synopsis of the history of Pakistan from 1947. Military generals periodically were supported by some civilian henchmen to run all affairs. They imposed martial laws abrogating and crucifying one Constitution after another, enforced regulations like the 1974 amendments, enacted laws like Goonda Ordinances, Ordinance XX of 1984 and Anti-terrorist Act of mid 1990’s providing inter alia the following.
- §5 – Use of force against who … in all probability is likely to commit a terrorist act or scheduled offense.
- §5.2- Arrest without warrant any person against whom a reasonable suspicion exists … to commit said offense.
- $5.3- Enter and search without warrant any premises to make any arrest and to take possession of any property, ammunition etc… An American’s comment on this law: “Briefly the Act replaces one kind of terrorism with another and gives the Police (notorious for its corruption) and the trigger-happy soldiers the license to kill.” A federal minister publicly talked of applying the provisions of this act to implement a Master Plan aimed at a specified group (name intentionally withheld).
What did not work this time was the loud-mouth, 24/7 rhetoric’s on solving country’s problems by the Military men with show of force, guns and uniforms who did their utmost to set up their legacies and perpetuate dynasties. They used the bubbling lava of religious fanaticism and intolerance to martial majority’s support and oppress the minorities while under the table making as much money as fast as they could. Little peace or comfort came to ordinary citizens. So brewed the 2007 nationwide protest for violating the judiciary. Commentator Chris Mathews said “well-dressed middle-class intelligentsia” of the suited booted lawyers protesting in streets and being brutalized by the police was what the world had not seen before on TV. The protest succeeded. The course of events in Pakistan was changed. Indeed the good lawyers, judges, juries and jurists can lead to peace anywhere by enacting fair laws and enforcing them equitably.
What did not work in the past was bad unjust laws fabricated to oppress a segment of the people. The earliest known example is when after Abraham his followers legalized and clergy anointed a division of their society. Brahmans were sanctified to only worship. Kashutries or Chuttries were reserved to only earn money by doing business. Warriors or Vaish were glorified to only fight and enforce law and order. And the remaining dubbed as Untouchables Achoot or Chooders were condemned eternally to serve menially all upper classes, perpetually, generation after generation without ever breaking the cycle. East India Company followed by the British enacted laws in establishing a worldwide empire on which ‘Sun never set’. Adolph Hitler made laws to burn alive many for just being born to Jewish parents.
What will never bring world peace is the patriotism shown by world powers by enacting laws similar to Pakistan’s Anti-terrorist Act that was used against its own justice-seeking judges and jurists. All such attempts towards that goal by war-mongers, super conquerors, religious zealots, clandestine organizations or dollar-doling super-powers seeking world-domination through lawlessness, brute strength, invading sovereign nations, establishing empires or establishing overseas-bases have failed and will always fail. One does not have to be a genius or rocket scientist to recognize that a law is bad when it mandates doing something bad or prohibit doing something good.
What will work are laws which are fair, just and equitable for everyone. Some good rules recognized as the ‘complete, perfect’ or apex in the arena which I advocate are as follows.
1. The Holy Qor-aan (002:214) provides that God sent messengers bearing good news and warnings and revealed to them the Code with sound reasoning and for people to decide issues and that He guides to right road whomever He chooses. All men are created equal and their affairs get resolved the best when they bring them to the table to analyze, compare, dissect, discuss, negotiate settlements and just decisions without being unfair to anyone. The rights, obligations and privileges of all persons, groups and communities merit equal protection under the law.
2. Be good ourselves if we want good leaders to rise and ‘serve’ us. Hilakoo Khan ravished Baghdad in 13th century. To humiliate the conquered even more he ordered to tie the invaders’ horses in the courtyard of the biggest mosque. Moslems came to the their Imam asking for prayers to destroy enemy. The Imam said, “He is God’s wrath.” When the report reached Hilakoo with the recommendation to kill that Imam, he said, “No. Let him keep saying that. Frightening people is good; that way they won’t rebel against us.” Scaring people keeps them subdued, doing wrong perpetuates wrongdoing, and history goes on repeating itself. We the lawyers must do what we can and bear in mind that the biggest of the criminals reach the top to make schemes (006:124) and it is the wrongdoers who gain control over others of their own kind (006:130).
3. Laws must be made to protect and not usurp others’ rights in their family, friend and fortunes. When a lower class Pakistani woman was ordered to be gang-raped in punishment for her brother’s alleged love for an upper class girl, we saw injustice. When an Afghan’s killing his wife entailed freedom after a few month’s jail-time but an Afghan woman was publicly executed with a bullet in her head for alleged immorality, everyone saw the dual standards applied. When an Arab rape-victim was sentenced to flogging and jail-time, it showed the local judiciary’s unfairness. When a judge posted as Attorney General justified water-boarding, it showed serious erosion of fairness and justice. When millions in jails were executed regardless of their post-conviction or Pendente Lite status, it showed Chinese sense of justice differed from that of the west. Peace in one world will come when we abide by the same one set of fair rules and a uniform standard of justice.
4. Are the hunger, poverty, disease, nationalism and greed for more, the biggest problems the world faces today? Empirical designs demonstrated by grabbing riches and resources of other nations led to WWI. Disregard for other nations’ sovereignty precipitated WWII. Some world leaders have often threatened to start WWIII. The problems emanate when big powers at their whim ignore plebiscites, at their choice label others as rogue nations, and with their jaundiced eyes see their citizenry entitled to more than other countries’ citizens who grow food, produce oil or dig out minerals. What caused the demise of League of Nations and is undermining UNO today are not the bad rules and regulations; it’s the lack of respect for and adherence to them. And laws must be amended when poor results of a prior law necessitate a change.
5. In 1975, Lahore High Court Bar deputed me to attend the World Peace through Law Center in Washington, DC. Thirty-three (33) years later the progress is that the world is still clamoring for those lofty goals. Disease, poverty, education, jobs and economic imbalances that used to be the slogans in the developing countries are the main kick balls in the elections of world powers such as in USA right now. Clergy of leading world religions has moved their congregations to more conflicting, clashing and crushing environment. Natural clematis whether cyclical or man-caused have created unique situations like the Lake Oral that has shrunk at places 70 miles away from its former shores in just one-half century. After oil, is the water shortage going to be the next big thing for nations to strike at each other and destroy life by the millions, may be billions? At least one magazine the “Wired” did state so in early 2000’s. And I cite the Holy Qor-aan (067:031) to ask: ‘Who will bring you fresh water if the water you have is gone?’
6. We have two alternatives before us. We continue to abstain from getting together to make fair and just laws protecting all conflicting rights and obligations. And we continue to flagrantly violate the few sets of rules that we have in the form of Geneva Conventions, United Nations and their affiliates. And we continue to add new problems to the old ones like the atomic energy discovered in mid 1940’s, computer technology harnessed in mid 1970’s and instant communications we now enjoy worldwide. And we continue to shut ourselves from talking and settling with others whom we assume to be our enemies or friends of our enemies. And we continue to multiply international, national, local and tribal conflicts not by facing but fanning them, not by diffusing but by dispersing them all around in wider circles. And we continue to sidestep taking concrete steps to co-exist. And we continue to let western media use “Islamic fascism” or “Islamic terrorism” as the root of all evil and with that infuriating label insult and anger 1.5 billion Moslems in the world. And we continue letting the East decry western capitalism while an out-of-control greedy maniac there tries to dominate world with its vision of democracy. And we continue to ignore Israel, Kashmir, Palestine, Taiwan and hundreds of other regional cancerous situations and warring elements. And we continue to allow religious fanatics in almost every country to pollute politics by buying politicians begging for votes to get and stay in power. And we continue to let mighty multi-national corporations cross national borders to make more profits by cigarettes breeding diseases, munitions multiplying crime, sub-standard manufacturing spreading disease and offer luring short-cuts to man’s destruction. And we continue to suffer from suicide bombings like the one that killed Benazir Bhutto a few weeks ago, killed 25 mourners in a funeral this morning in Pakistan and thousands others in Israel, Iraq and World Trade Center. And we continue to wait for some Messiah to descend from the skies and fight our battles in the Apocalyptic.
Or should we take steps for fairness on all individual, geographical, national and international levels? I believe this alternative is better and we can pursue that. Because if we don’t, the world we leave behind for our children and grandchildren will be far, far worse than the one we inherited from our forefathers. Good laws in the hands of good lawyers is what we need. Let’s give it to the world.
002:084
The Holy Qor-aan 002:084
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وَاِذۡ اَخَذۡنَا مِيۡثَاقَ بَنِىۡٓ اِسۡرَآءِيۡلَ لَا تَعۡبُدُوۡنَ اِلَّا اللّٰهَ وَبِالۡوَالِدَيۡنِ اِحۡسَانًا وَّذِى الۡقُرۡبٰى وَالۡيَتٰمٰى وَالۡمَسٰکِيۡنِ وَقُوۡلُوۡا لِلنَّاسِ حُسۡنًا وَّاَقِيۡمُواالصَّلٰوةَ وَاٰتُوا الزَّکٰوةَ ؕ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيۡتُمۡ اِلَّا قَلِيۡلًا مِّنۡکُمۡ وَاَنۡـتُمۡ مُّعۡرِضُوۡنَ
Wa-iz-aa-khuz-naa-mee-thaa-qa-ba-nee-is-raa-ee-la
Laa-tau-bo-doo-na-il-lul-laa-ha
Wa-bil-waa-lay-dai-nay-aih-saa-nun
Wa-zil-qoor-baa-wul-ya-taa-maa-wul-ma-saa-kee-nay
Wa-qoo-loo-lin-naa-say-hoos-nun
Wa-aa-qee-moos-sua-laa-ta-wa-aa-tooz-za-kaa-ta
Thoom-ma-ta-wul-lai-toom-il-laa-qa-lee-lunm-min-koom
Wa-un-toom-moe-ray-dzoo-n.
And recall when We took the Pledge from all children of Israel
“You worship none except Allah.
And treat with kindness the parents
And the kindred and the orphans and the poor.
And speak to the people of good things.
And establish the prayer and bring about the purification of earnings.”
Then you turned away except a few of you.
And you were averse to fulfill the Covenant.
* Note 002:084a. The first 5 words وَاِذۡ اَخَذۡنَا مِيۡثَاقَ in verses 002:064, 002:085 and 002:094 are the same. They remind the addressees of a Covenant whereby the Almighty God conferred certain special favors upon the Children of Israel and mandated on them specific task to perform. Nearly 2,600 years history as of today shows that the House of Israel has been blessed time and again even after their violating their Covenant and not doing the assigned tasks. Some terms of the pledge with added perfections (005:004) are mandated on Moslems (002:178, 031:015/016).
** Note 002:084b. Two of the tasks اَقِيۡمُوا الصَّلٰوةَ وَاٰتُوا الزَّکٰوةَ mentioned in verse 002:044 and repeated and repeated several times (See Note to verse 002:044 and our Commentary “Islam – Zakaat“) are to establish the prayers and purify one’s earnings by paying a part thereof for good causes. Jews were commanded that way first. Moslems are commanded exactly that way too. The logical question raised in our Commentary Are Jews and Moslems alike, therefore, is that should not Moslems be also subject to similar rewards and retributions. Our answer is a big YES.
The Covenant besides the above-mentioned two components included the following.
1. Worship none except Allah.
2. Treat with kindness the parents, relatives, orphans and the poor.
3. Speak to the people of good things.