Islam has, especially in the years since 9/11, been eager to promote its faith as a religion of peace. They're not alone in this endeavour, as most religions wish to show themselves the standardbearers of peace.

But what, precisely, does it mean to be a "religion of peace"? To my thinking, it means a religion that is active in trying to ease conflict throughout the world and to heal those affected by conflict. It is not enough, then, to ideologically align onesself against war and cloister onesself in an idyllic surrounding; to practice a religion of peace, to my thinking, you must be working to help OTHERS know the joy of peace. It is in this arena that the majority of practitioners in most world religions fall short.

Peace is not a franchise exclusive to one faith. It respects the faith of others. This is not to say that to be a practitioner of peace, you should be unitarian or even ecumenical. There is nothing wrong with holding your own faith, but you should be willing to swallow your pride when your faith is challenged by an opposing view. To spread peace, you must realize that the needs of the individuals override your own agenda.

The Catholic church is an organization with abundant resources. The same could be said for the Islamic faith, the LDS church, many Baptist and Methodist churches within the US, and many more I could probably mention if I were inclined to research them. If these churches were to apply their resources to feed and clothe the hungry, and to minister to their basic health care needs, it is quite possible that we could be a world that could truly know peace.

Just a thought.