In the light of the recent global events that have thrown shadows on the philosophy of Islam as a religion of peace, clerics, free-thinking Muslims, and social activists held a discussion on the Islamic thought in Agra, where they claimed that the root word 'Silm' in 'Islam' itself means 'peace'.

Speaking on this occasion, Islamic cleric Hafiz Naeem said that another name of Allah is 'As-Salam', which also means peace. So, Allah Himself is peace and, also the source of peace. He said that in the Holy Quran, Paradise is called 'Dar-us-Salam' or the home of peace, while the Prophet is referred to 'Rahmat-ul-Alamin' meaning 'mercy to all mankind'.

He said that all the verses of Quran have a connotation of peace, either directly or indirectly. For instance, the Holy Quran says 'Sulh Khayr', which means 'Reconciliation is best'. It means peace is best which has been adopted by Sufis as 'Sulh-e-Kul', an ideology which was born out of Agra, meaning 'peace with all'.

He said the very first verse in Quran has a connotation of peace. It says 'Alhamdullillah Rabbil Alameen', which means 'All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Universe'.

"We express acknowledgment to God's mercy by saying Alhamdulillah. If anyone lives in the atmosphere of hate and violence, he cannot say Alhamdulillah, which is a spirit of thrill and should be free of any negativity, hate, and revenge. Thus there is no place for violence in Islam."

Social activist Syed Irfan Salim said that, "A tale that has been told in the Holy Quran which gives a clear indication of what Allah wants from all mankind. Once, a companion of the Prophet asked Allah, "O Prophet, give me a master advice by which I may be able to manage all the affairs of my life." And, the Prophet replied, "Don't be angry".

He said that every true believer or 'Momin' is a positive personality in every sense. All the Islamic requirements Kalma, Salat, Roza, Zakat, and Haj could be performed property only with a positive mind. Mohd. Ashfaq Khan, exporter and free-thinking Muslim said that The 'One God One Religion' philosophy aims to spread love, harmony and peaceful co-existence among human beings belonging to different religious beliefs, in the core of which is the welfare of human race. God has sent Prophets to purify the hearts of human beings, besides rekindling humility, humanity, faith, and compassion in them.

All Prophets endeavoured their lives towards attaining the above mandate of God through their teachings and many of them even sacrificed their lives towards their objectives.

He said that while dwelling on different eternal spiritual teachings, human beings need to institute laws to meet the exigencies of a rapidly globalizing world to establish and secure peace and harmony among nations, education based on tolerance, an end to exploitation and restoration of peace, harmony in the world.

Gyas Qureshi, a businessman, and social activist said that often, nefarious elements promote bigotry, fanaticism, violence, hatred, terrorism, radicalization and prejudice through dubious interpretations of scriptures, which should collectively and intensely be condemned and countered.

In current times, when divisive and evil elements are often putting the world on the brink of collapse, through their rabid ideology and divisive narrative, people around the world should pursue to ensure humility, humanity, and harmony among human beings to fulfil the wishes of God and the objectives of the Prophets.