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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books War,peace and Non-violence Part Two : Islamic Movement and Peace In this paper the author addresses the Islamic movement in particular because of the difference of opinions there is amongst the various groups and sects of the movement. Otherwise he calls upon all Muslims, and upon all mankind for that matter, to adhere to peaceful and non-violent means in all as pects of life.

In line with his political views, Imam Shirazi calls for the creation of an international Islamic reform movement in order to help attain the salvation of the Muslim Community, as this can be seen in many of his works. Subsequently this in turn would then fac ilitate the salvation of mankind in general. In this work he emphasises on the Islamic movement although his discussions on peace and non-violence usually take up a more general tune. Imam Shirazi 5 4 The Holy Qur'an: The Cattle (6): 124.

then goes on to emphasise that such a movement must adopt peaceful policies in all aspects and domains . . . This paper is an extract from Chapter 4 of Imam Shirazi's book Towards Islamic Revival pages 141 - 174. Chapter 4 of this book discus ses Axiom 4 of the 6 axioms the author envisages for the Islamic movement. The Movement Must be Peaceful The motto of Islam is 'peace'.

Hence when one Muslim meets with ano ther he will say to him: 'al-Salam Alaykum' meaning 'Peace be upon you' and the other will answer: 'Alaykum al-Salam' 'Upon you be Peace.' And in the same way that he begins with a greeting of peace upon his brother, he will end his meeting with a farewell greeting of peace, saying when he wishes to leave: 'Peace be upon you.

' Islam then is the religion of peace, hence Allah, Exalted is He, says in the Holy Qur'an: {Enter into a state of peace one and all.} (2:208) Wars, blockades, and other forms of violence are only emergency measures and not the norm and they go against basic Islamic principles. Their nature is that of d ire necessity as in the eating of 'unlawful meat' or the like and the basic principle is that of peace. Hence in Islam, war is taken at face value.

However, despite this, Allah Almighty says: {And whoever assaults you then assault him in the same way that he assaults you.} (2:194) Then in another place He says: {But to forgive is closer to piety.} (2:273) The way of the Prophet (S) and Fatima (A) and the impeccable Imams (A) was thus.