Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 57
Social Peace 57 The modern world seems to be far more aware and conscious of the rising level of pollution in the material atmosphere than the rapidly rising level of pollution in our social environment. The Holy Quran, obviously speaking of such an age, declares: We bring to witness that age when man as a whole would be in a state of loss, except for those few who believe and do good deeds and exhort others with truth to accept truth, and admonish others with patience to be patient. 2 Exploitation, duplicity, hypocrisy, selfishness, oppression, greed, the mad pursuit of pleasure, indiscipline, corruption, theft, robbery, violation of human rights, fraud, treachery, lack of responsibility, and want of mutual respect and trust have become the hallmark of the modern societies. The thin veneer of civilization can no longer hide the ugliness, which is becoming more and more apparent. However, it would be wrong to say that these threatening signs of human failings were absent in past ages. In fact, many civilizations in the past had also suffered the same maladies before their chapters in the book of human history were finally closed. It would be wrong to single out any one particular region of the world, which had been beset by moral evils. Societies are beginning to crumble everywhere alike. As against the countries governed by totalitarian philosophies, the rising consciousness of individual liberty in the so-called free world is in itself becoming a lop-sided trend, which is largely responsible for growing social misbehaviour.