Ideological curses—or: from hell comes War

I still can’t understand it—not after all these years: why do we humans do so much harm to one another? It remains a mystery to me, something deeply at odds with what I dream for this world.

What first drew me, and still draws me, to the Muslim world is the idea within Islam that all of humanity is touched by prophecy. I was moved when I first heard the Islamic belief that prophets have appeared at all times and in all places, shaping the beauty of cultures across the world. It was one of the first things I learned about Islamic thought—and it took my breath away.

Coming from a closed Catholic background myself, this insight struck me like light through a window: to realize that already in the 7th century, a religion had developed such an advanced vision of intercultural understanding. It surprised me even more because of the narrow and distorted image of Islam so often presented in the West.

But not everything is beautiful. The world turns, yet it turns unevenly. “It’s all political,” people say—“all that stuff with religious fanaticism.” And, as so often, the people are right.

In the Islamic world, as in other religious or ideological movements, divisive forces too often take control. Power and money—two of the oldest Death Eaters—still thrive on hatred and division.

I am not alone in my bewilderment at how easily some believers condemn others to hell. It never ceases to pain me. There are still those who insist that anyone outside their circle is eternally damned—destined for hell, or something that passes for it.

Even secular ideologies have their versions of this. They, too, condemn those who are not “with them.” Their followers are urged to separate from others, to push them aside. That, too, is a kind of totalitarianism—the rule of domination built on division.
And in that law, there is always war.

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The world keeps revolving, moved by a fire deep inside. That same fire lives within us—we are part of its power.

What we need are not preachers of hell, but prophets—the kind who have always existed. Even today, they are among us, both great and small. Their hearts burn with the desire to bring peace by uniting people, by creating harmony. They carry within them the fire of love, and many come to their warmth to be comforted and renewed.

Let us wish each other this: that we, too, may offer a warm heart to every person on this earth—especially to those who are struggling.

Far too little is done for the children of this world who live in fear, surrounded by war and destruction, not knowing whether they will still be alive tomorrow.

Let our hearts speak. Let us pass on the torch of boundless love to these children—for one day, they will do the same.

The world keeps turning because a fire burns deep within it.
We, too, are part of that power—though we so often forget.

When we remember it, we awaken our visionary power—the quiet strength that turns compassion into action and makes love the most enduring form of resistance.

— Thierry Limpens