Peace movement

Historically, a Peace Movement has always been associated with women. It was essentially thought as a feminist initiative. The method of decision making in such movement was intended to expand leadership rather than to narrow it. Most women groups in the feminist movement worked by consensus, the relationship among themselves has always been intimate and caring, and they often included a humanitarian concern for all people. The feminist peace movement has created a value system based on an ethic of caring, caring for each other and caring for the world as well. Women groups have dealt with issues such as motherhood, violence against women, citizenship rights, and oppression. World peace has been interpreted through women's eyes. Even the ecofeminist vision has peace rooted in nature, and the very essence of life and survival have been said as essentially female attributes. The ecofeminist position is that the Earth is our mother, and she is being ravaged by militarism and male-created toxic substances.

Ecofeminists have managed to bring into their groups all kinds of women because of their work in ecology. Women are organizing to save the environment. They have defended a large number of issues from the rain forests of Brazil, to the forests of India and to the toxic waste sites in America.

The women peace movement has been at work throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They have promoted a peaceful solution to all world problems. War has been their greatest challenge as it is a male thing. Nevertheless, they have promoted non-violent settlement to conflicts.

War is the greatest violation of human rights that one people can inflict on another. It brings deaths and injuries, starvation, diseases, millions of people losing their homes and livelihoods, and massive destruction of property. Children and teenagers are placed in internment camps, and several are often forced to serve as soldiers. War not only corrupts the morals of soldiers, it leads to a decline in the morality of the whole nation. Political and military leaders are always convinced that their particular war is justified. From their point of view, there are several reasons to go to war: loyalty to allies, religion, a thirst for power, greed, ancient grievances to be settled, or the desire to alleviate suffering among their people. A non-violent settlement to a conflict would always be more advantageous. War is self-defeating because it cannot secure what it sets out to achieve, protection against attack. The hatred for the enemy whipped up by war and the desire for revenge among the losers leads to an accursed vicious circle from which there is no escape. The difference between aggressive and defensive, or just and unjust wars, is ridiculous. They are tags each side adopted to suit its interests. War and militarism destroy civil liberties within a nation.

What happens to a person's conscience when he/she wears the uniform of the soldier? It is enslaved to the state. He must kill when ordered. No government, whether democratic or despotic, can allow the soldier to decide what to do according to his conscience. That would undermine discipline and the power to fight.

The Global Community claims that everyone on Earth should be able to live in peace. This peace movement is about courage. Not the courage it takes to go into battle but the courage to organize resistance to war when a bloody taste for it inflames the world, and the threat of prison in a nation where the human rights and freedom of expression have diminished significantly. It is about the courage to say NO to the war industry. It is an industry that destroys life on Earth, corrupts society, and violates morality. Military intervention in the affairs of other nations is wrong. There are other ways, there are peaceful ways, ways that are not based on profit-making and the gain of power for itself. We are conscientious objectors, "non-resistants". That word comes from Jesus, opposing the use of violence:

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."

The evil is the war industry. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus develops the ethic of non-violence and love of the enemies. Early Christians were probably the first individuals to renounce participation in war unconditionally. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." And he told Peter, "All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." Christ has taught us to show mercy, to forgive enemies, to put up patiently with oppression, to return only good for evil and love for hatred and, therefore, war is inconsistent with the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This shows that a Christian should take no part in war, never, in any way. This all means that violence is futile in the long run. To respond to violence with violence is only perpetuating a vicious cycle of violence.

God prohibits killing, and no exception at all ought to be made to the commandment that it is always wrong to kill. The sanctity of human life is unconditional. A short while ago God, Allah, has spoken to humanity once more. The New Revelations are His Word. His Revelations are to be added to previous ones revealed thousands of years ago. Together they are God's Word, and they will guide humanity for the thousands of years to come. His Word reinforce His compassion and love for humanity and His care for all living inhabitants on Earth and of Earth itself. God has said:

"Thou shall banish war as a solution to problems between communities. All Souls involved with war, directly or indirectly, shall face the Soul of Humanity to be purified. All Souls involved in the making of weapons, war product and equipment shall be facing the Soul of Humanity."

There are several reasons for objecting to war: religious, moral and political. People have different degrees of refusal to go to war. Absolute pacifists such as the Global Community will not cooperate with any preparation for war as decided by the war industry, let alone war itself. Others will accept some kinds of service so long as they are not forced to fight. And others are willing to fight in "just wars." The idea of the "just war" began with St. Augustine. Late in the fourth century he argued that the good Christian, barred from doing violence on his own behalf, could take arms in a war that was just. Several theologians now say that the standards for a just war are:

a) War must be the last resort and used only after other means have failed.
b) War must be declared to redress rights actually violated or for defence against unjust demands backed by the threat of force. It must not be fought simply to satisfy national pride or to further economic or territorial gain.
c) The war must be openly and legally declared by a legal government.
d) There must be a reasonable chance of winning.
e) The means used must be in proportion to the ends sought.
f) Soldiers must distinguish between armies and civilians and not killed civilians in purpose.
g) The winner must not required the utter humiliation of the loser.

It can be debated whether any war has ever satisfied all these reasonable conditions. There were always Christians who rejected violence. They believed Christ's way was the pursuit of peace. During the Crusades, from the eleventh to fourteenth centuries, Christians fought to recover the Holy Land from Islam, and the Church plunged into extreme violence and cruelty. Even then there were some who had the courage to criticize the theory and practice of their time. They were like the early Christians in denouncing war. Only now they were not rebelling against a heathen empire but against the wordily Church. In their opposition they formed sects, separate from the official Church. Their pacifist convictions found their source in a return to the Bible. These awakened Christians went back to the fundamental ideas of Christianity, to the New Testament, and took the Sermon on the Mount as their ideal.

The people of the Global Community are dedicated in using our resources to resolve conflict, promote democracy, and fight hunger, terrorism, disease, and human rights abuses. In order to bring about the event of peace, the Global Community is offering other good organizations around the world to work together to bring warring parties to peace. We can accomplish this task by concrete actions such as:

a) Tracking armed conflicts within and between nations around the world and offering assistance in dispute resolution;
b) Promoting human rights and democracy;
c) Monitoring democratic elections; and
d) Educating the public about the advantages of a peaceful solution to any conflict.

Global Community Earth Government has given back responsibility to every citizen on Earth. Everyone shares responsibility for the present and future well-being of life within the Global Community. We will work together in working out sound solutions to local and global problems. It would be wrong and dishonest to blame it all on the leader of a country. Most problems in the world must find solutions at the local and global community levels (and not assume that the leader alone is responsible and will handle it). There is a wisdom in the ways of very humble people that needs to be utilized. Every humble person deserves to have ideas respected, and encouraged to develop his or her own life for the better. Sound solutions to help manage and sustain Earth will very likely be found this way. Everyone can help assess the needs of the planet and propose sound solutions for its proper management, present and future. Everyone can think of better ideas to sustain all life on Earth and realize these ideas by conducting positive and constructive actions. When there is a need to find a solution to a problem or a concern, a sound solution would be to choose a measure or conduct an action, if possible, which causes reversible damage as opposed to a measure or an action causing an irreversible loss; that is the grassroots process. The Global Community can help people realized their actions by coordinating efforts efficiently together.

The responsibility of a peacemaker is to settle differences through compromise and negotiation before they erupt into violence. Conflicting views do not have to bring about fighting. War is an irreversible solution to a problem. War is never an appropriate solution to resolve a conflict.

The worst environmental degradation happens in wars. Farm products in fields and livestock are abandoned, there is no more control on toxic wastes, and water, air, and land are polluted. People are displaced and feel no longer responsible for the quality of life in their communities. Historically, the industrialized nations have caused the most damage to the environment, with their careless technology and policies. Emissions from factories and vehicles have caused ozone depletion and acid rain. Leaders of the wealthier nations must be willing to accept responsibility for past mistakes and to help pay the financial burden for environmental protection of the developing nations. This is the most damaging conflict of interests between the rich industrialized countries and those that are poor and struggling just for existence. The Global Community must help wealthy and poorer nations reach a better understanding of each other's needs. All aspects are interrelated: peace, human rights and the environment. The poor is more concerned with ending starvation, finding a proper shelter and employment, and helping their children to survive. Environmental issues become meaningless to the poor. In reality, all concerns are interrelated. As soon as the environment is destroyed beyond repair, human suffering is next. Ecology has no boundaries. All nations suffer the effects of air pollution, global warming, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, acid rain, ozone depletion, silting of streams, and countless of other environmental problems. This was the reason for proposing to the Global Community the Scale of Human and Earth Rights.

The Global Community wants to provide a forum where international conflicts could be argued and resolved peacefully. Because of hatred and mistrust, disputing parties always find it difficult to express constructive ideas or proposals. A face-to-face meeting may not even be possible. The Global Community offers to be a trusted third party that would carry ideas back and forth, put forward new proposals until both sides agree. When both parties feel they have gained more than they have lost from the process, the outcome is a win-win settlement for peace.

Declaration of Beliefs of the Global Community

We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fighting with outward weapons, for any end or under any pretence whatever, and we do certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the Spirit of Allah, God, which leads us to all truth, will never move us to fight and war against any human being with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Allah, God, not for the kingdom of this world. The Will of God is for life to reach God in the best possible ways. Life is the most precious gift ever given by God to the Universe. Life allows Souls to be conscious of God in as many different ways as possible. Life is the building block through which Souls can have a meaningful relationship with God. By observing the Universe, the galaxies, we are observing and studying God. We are seeing His magnificence, His greatness, and His complex making. There is more to the Universe we observe today, that is there is more to God, much more. God is self-existent, eternal and infinite in space and time Follow God's Word. God's Plan was revealed to humanity a short while ago. The Divine Plan for humanity is:

a) for everyone to manage Earth responsibly, and
b) about to reach the stars and spread Life throughout the universe and thus help other Souls to evolve and serve God in the best possible ways.

The Soul of Humanity is helping to bring about the event of Peace in the world. Knowing that Earth is a spiritual entity as well as a physical entity in space and time in the universe we begin to have a better relationship with Earth and with all its living inhabitants. This way Earth management will become a spiritual and a natural process whereby each person is responsible and accountable for its management the best they can. Peace in the world and Earth management have for too long been in the hands of and affected by government and business leaders, in the hands of a few people on the planet, as opposed to being in the hands of all of us (6.157 billion people on Earth) working together to keep our planet healthy. We are the keepers of the Earth.

The Soul of Humanity will help us:

* resolve problems, concerns and issues peacefully;
* reinstate the respect for Earth;
* work with humanity to keep Earth healthy, productive and hospitable for all people and living things;
* bring forth a sustainable global society embracing universal values related to human rights, economic and social justice, respect of nature, peace, responsibility to one another; and
* help to protect and manage the Earth.

We have the responsibility of managing Earth. Everyone shares responsibility for the present and future well-being of life within Earth Community. When there is a need to find a solution to a problem or a concern, a sound solution would be to choose a measure or conduct an action, if possible, which causes reversible damage as oppose to a measure or an action causing an irreversible loss.

Life exists on millions of other planets in the universe, and our species got to be who we are today through the evolutionary process. Other lifeforms in the universe may have evolved to be at least as advanced as our species. Their Souls may even be more complicated than ours. They may have merged a trillion times more than our Souls. They may have evolved as well.

The Divine Plan for humanity is:

a) for everyone to manage Earth responsibly, and
b) about to reach the stars and spread Life throughout the universe and thus help other Souls to evolve and serve God in the best possible ways.

The higher purpose of humanity is to serve God by propagating Life throughout the universe. Humanity will evolve spiritually to fulfill God's Plan.