Islam and Peace
Limits of Tolerance
~ 122 ~
The intellectual development of the members of this
society will be frozen, because personal evolution
takes place only where the interaction of divergent
thinking provides the requisite mental stimuli.
The adoption of a policy of tolerance in the midst of
controversy and in the face of opposition is not a
negative step. It is undoubtedly a positive course of
action.
Divergence of views plays an important role in the
development of the human psyche. It is only after
running the intellectual gauntlet that a developed
personality emerges. If, in a human society, this
process ceases to operate, the development of
character will come to a standstill.
Nobody in this world is perfect. If a man is
endowed with some good qualities, he may be
lacking in others. This is one of the reasons for
differences cropping up between people. But, for
life as a whole, this disparateness is actually a great
blessing: the good points of one man may
compensate for the shortcomings of another, just as
one set of talents in one man may complement a
different set in another. If people could only learn to
