Religions and Faiths around the World teach the importance of peace and

compassion. From the Hindu Vedas texts teaching its followers to fight
injustice without physical force to Sikhs belief that equality and
compassion are essential to the Spiritual life. At Poole Grammar many
beliefs and cultures are represented, today were presenting Islams and
Christianitys inherent importance of peace and compassion. It highlights
how no matter what may divide people, striving for the greater good of
mankind is at the core of many peoples beliefs.
Jesus sets the example that all Christians, regardless of denomination,
strive to follow. Christians believe that since Jesus was the son of God he
showed all of Gods attributes. He chose to spend his life helping the
people around him and eventually, according to the Bible, made the
ultimate sacrifice for everyone on Earth.
In 1 Peter 2:24 it says:
He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid
of sin, free to live the right way.
Christians are called to love everyone around them, even their enemies,
as Jesus taught.
In Matthew 5:43-45 it says:
Youre familiar with the old written law, Love your friend, and its
unwritten companion, Hate your enemy. Im challenging that. Im telling
you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the
worst.
Many examples of Jesus teachings are in reference to leading a life of
peace with everyone around us- such as the parable of the Good
Samaritan. He led by example too.
To have compassion means to have mercy, to feel sympathy and to have
pity. Christians do this through their local Churches- such as with
community projects, through missionary and charity work and individually
in their everyday lives. In our own school the Christian Union meets with
this purpose in mind too.
In Matthew 25:35 it says:
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you
gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.
Here Jesus says that by showing mercy to a stranger you are in turn
showing mercy to Him. Christianity is all about showing our faith by our
actions and asking for forgiveness when they dont show it.
In a lot of cases Religion as with many other topics can be misrepresented
by some media outlets. The only way to really find out what theyre all
about is to ask their followers- not their opposition.
In the Quran out of 114 Chapters, 113 begin with Bismillah-ar-rahman-arrahim. The one chapter where God has not introduced it in this manner is

Surat-at-Tawba, where God is warning the Pagans of Arabia who were

stealing from and killing the Muslims at the time

God has said that Torah, Gospel and Quran are all mercy.
We send down in the Qurn that which is a cure and mercy

Therefore any interpretation that does not exhibit the merciful nature of
the Quran cannot be a correct interpretation of the Quran.

We did not send you but as a mercy to all the nations.1

It is by Allahs mercy that you are gentle to them;


And had you been harsh and hard-hearted, surely they would have
scattered from around you
In Islam, the Quran is considered the criterion by which man can
determine whether or not his moral values are upright or not. How can a
person claim to be following Islam without implementing the moral values
of the Quran?!
The sign of spirituality in Islam therefore is that a person is gentle to other
people. This is how the Prophet behaved with a society who were not even
soft and gentle with their children- they used to bury their daughters alive
due to their prejudices. In this society it was not acceptable for fathers to
kiss their children. In this society it was normal to settle a dispute with
murder and pillaging. Yet the Prophet managed to change these people
into those who managed to exhibit a great deal of mercy to all mankind. .
How is this possible? It is solely through the Prophets kindness and mercy
to all these people.
The only way to bring people together and get them to exhibit kindness is
by showing mercy.
The most important point is the Prophet was only able to achieve what he
did by being kind to people, showing them respect and listening to them.
Despite being followed by many followers and being a prophet of God, he
always listened to people. He never used to say I am busy.
Among them are those who torment the Prophet, and say, He is an ear.

When those who wished to hurt him would insult him they would make fun
of him by criticizing his nature of valuing the views of other people.

We should take this as an important lesson of valuing the opinions of

others. This is especially so or those in authority such as our politicians,
teachers, civil servants.
We hope and pray that the true teachings of the prophet are made clear
to all of us and that we can learn from them and implement them in our
lives. Today we see a number of individuals who try to hide under a cloak
of outward Islam without implementing the moral values of the faith. We
wonder how it is possible for these people to claim to be followers of the
teachings of the Prophet whilst their actions are in the completely
opposite direction to the Quran and His message.

We wonder why many media outlets love to project an image of this great
religion in a way that tries to tarnish the reputation of Islam and Muslims.
We ask why it is that the true teachings of Islam are not publicized. Why is
it that there is a great deal of public misinformation about this faith? We
hope and pray that all of us, rather than relying on a skewed image
provided by many media outlets, perform our own research and find out
the realities of Islam from its original sources, referring to the ethical
teachings of its Prophet and the words of the Quran.
In a lot of cases Religion as with many other topics can be misrepresented
by some media outlets. The only way to really find out what theyre all
about is to ask their followers- not their opposition.
A short prayer: We have based the first part from a psalm from Imam
Sajads Sahifa Sajjadiya. Imam Sajad was Prophet Muhammads grandson
and is well known for his supplications:
Dear Lord:
Let good flow out from my hands upon the people and efface it not by my
making them feel obliged!
Give me the highest moral traits and preserve me from vanity!
Raise me not a single degree before the people
Without lowering me by the same degree in my own viewpoint
And bring about no outward exaltation for me
Without an inward abasement in myself to the same measure!
Oh Lord, grant peace wherever there is war
Happiness wherever there is sadness
Freedom wherever there is tyranny
Cure all those who are sick
Grant all of mankind your benevolent guidance
And give all of us your forgiveness

Do all of that in the name of your mercy, for it has enveloped everything
in existence.