Although I usually avoid commenting and posting on Nairaland, I felt the need to create this thread especially after reading through some recent threads.

There are two things I firmly believe we need in today's world to live in peace. That is respect and tolerance.

Respect

Respect in terms of understanding that we as humans are not a 100% same and would never be the same. We differ in terms of beliefs,values, morals and RELIGION. Even in Islam there are differences in scholarly opinions- for example wearing the niqaab (face veil), raising hands to the ears or shoulder during prayer, taking pictures, divorce etc. I think we need to understand that these differences are okay! We can never all agree on the same thing and we never will! There is beauty in diversity.

Similarly, we as Muslims need to respect people of other religion as well. This is something encouraged by Allah and the prophet Muhammed ( peace and blessing be upon him).
In surah al kaffirun which was revealed at a time where the idol worshipers wanted periods where people would practice Islam and then periods of worshiping idols. The surah was revealed to tell the people- no! you can practice your religion and I can practice mine. Your beliefs and my beliefs are different and that is okay! We would all agree as Muslims that Islam forbids the cursing of other peoples' gods. I cannot see an idol or ifa worshiper and curse their gods! That's haram! Neither can I see a Christan or Hindu and curse their as god well.

Let's keep in mind that respect goes both ways as well. One cannot always disrespect and not expect a reaction. Regardless, one should always strive to remain respectful towards others.


Tolerance

This goes both ways as well! Everyone needs to understand that something people will act in a manner that we perceive as offensive. Most times they might not do it intentionally and even if they do, we still need to remain tolerant.
Islam teaches good manners- part of that is the emphasis on controlling anger, being just and honest. It saddens my heart really to see how people are intolerant of others.Without generalizing, I've noticed that some people cannot make reasonable comments without swearing at others! This is plain wrong. There are diplomatic ways of dealing with issues. We should ALL try to be tolerant of other people. The world would be much more peaceful this way.

Lastly, I would like to use this opportunity to ask people who use the unfortunate cases in Syria, Yemen etc to argue.
Please stop doing that! I understand it's human nature to want to prove that one in right but it's completely insensitive to mock people who are going through extreme hardship. Theses are human beings like US that are in unfortunate situations they didn't ask for. It could be anyone of us!
I could have been created Syrian or Yemeni or Iraqi and so could you.
The little peace that we enjoy is really mercy from God. We are living in end times where people are killed for nothing. We could suddenly decide to protest and the entire country is turned to ruins.

I guess my take away message is always be respectful and tolerant while keeping in mind that we all differ.

The prophet Muhammed (peace and blessing be upon him) said “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak a good word or remain silent. And whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should show hospitality to his neighbor. And whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should show hospitality to his guest.” [ Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]

God Bless you sis


JazakAllah Khaeran

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Reviving the thread