Violence Begins as an Idea

Can a human being kill another without ever touching him?

The short answer: yes—when violence ceases to be a mere physical act and transforms into an ideology that destroys minds.

Academically, violence is nothing more than the deliberate use of force—whether material or moral—to inflict harm, be it physical injury or serious psychological damage. It is a beast with many faces: beginning with a hidden slap at home (domestic violence), passing through a harsh word that shatters the spirit (verbal or psychological abuse), and culminating in its most dangerous form—intellectual violence. This latter type fuels fanaticism, legitimizes hatred, and arms the killer with false conviction, turning differences of opinion into grounds for annihilation. It is the poison that assassinates the very concept of coexistence.

Intellectual Violence

In the corridors of modern history, the greatest tragedies were not born of fleeting anger, but of seeds of extremist thought. Terrorism that shook the world was the bitter harvest of brainwashing stories that began with hate speech in gatherings. Such narratives show how reducing human beings to mere “enemies” or “infidels” within an ideology grants perpetrators the false right to kill without conscience. Intellectual violence is the operations room where major crimes are prepared.

No religion calls for peace and justice as authentically as Islam, which made the preservation of life one of its highest objectives. In confronting violence and aggression, the Prophet’s biography offers an eternal model of conflict management without descending into destructive vengeance. The pinnacle of this approach was seen in the Conquest of Mecca: after years of harm, exile, and battle, the Prophet ﷺ entered the city victorious, fully capable of settling every score, yet chose instead to record history’s greatest act of human pardon: “Go, for you are free.”

This was not mere forgiveness, but a triumph of values over anger, establishing the principle that true strength lies in mercy, and that the goal is not revenge but the building of a safe and stable society.

Digital Violence and Stark Statistics

Today, the battlefield has shifted. Our phone screens have become new arenas of violence: cyber extortion and online bullying represent the latest and most insidious forms of aggression. Here, victims are stripped of their dignity publicly, often driven to the brink of despair by this silent assault.

Globally, the statistics are staggering: one in three women worldwide experiences some form of violence. In our Gulf and Arab region, specialized—though not fully official—reports point to a sharp rise in cybercrime complaints involving threats and extortion, particularly among youth in countries such as Kuwait. This confirms that terrorism can emerge from a computer screen, threatening privacy and life itself.

Prevention Begins Within

The prevention of violence begins from within—by mastering our anger before it masters us. The Arab poet offers us a timeless prescription for managing relationships and emotions, one we need more than ever today:

If you reproach your friend for every fault, You will never find one without blame.

It is a call for gentleness, for granting space to human imperfection, and for wise management of our emotions as the barrier that prevents us from becoming a source of harm to others.

Structural Violence

The study of violence is incomplete without addressing cases where it transcends individual behavior to become structural violence. As sociologist Johan Galtung described, this is the harm inflicted on people by social and political arrangements that prevent them from meeting basic needs and limit their potential.

In the context of Gaza, structural violence by the occupying power manifests in multiple forms:

• The blockade: systematic economic and logistical violence that deprives residents of food, medicine, and energy, leading to long-term health and social deterioration.
• Forced displacement: spatial and psychological violence that destroys social fabric and sever ties to the land.
• Direct violence through bombardment and clashes: the most visible aspect, yet part of a wider cycle sustained by ongoing structural oppression.

Thus, violence becomes not just an act, but a system—employing tools of siege, policy, and military force to impose a permanent state of weakness and despair on a population.

Violence Is a Choice

Violence is not destiny but choice. It expands and evolves—from a radical idea to cyber extortion that devastates victims. Combating it requires us to adopt the Prophet’s merciful approach, to remain conscious of the dangers of intellectual and digital violence, and above all, to tame our anger and master our inner selves. For peace cannot be built in the world until it is first built within the soul.