"If you want to love Allah – love justice. Wish your neighbour what you wish yourself."
"A war is preposterous. Distance yourselves from anything reminiscent of war, if the enemy has not come to take your faith and honour from you."
"Never respond to evil with evil, for it causes more evil. Any evil is against God. God alone has the power to punish the villains and pardon the benefactors."
"Don’t carry weapons. Stay away from them. Weapons remind you of violence and take you off your path to God."
"Defeat the evil man by your goodness and love."
"Defeat the greedy with your generosity."
"Defeat the treacherous with your sincerity."
"Defeat the infidel with your fidelity."
Yes, these words were said by a highly respected Chechen Muslim leader. More information about him and his teachings in English:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunta-haji
http://web.archive.org/web/20071022061919/http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=societyeng&row=14
http://web.archive.org/web/20060508225405/http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=islameng&row=1
http://lechailyasov-eng.com/?p=68
In 1951, Lev Tolstoy (1828-1910), being an officer of Russian army, was sent to Chechnya where he stayed three years, until 1954. At that time, Kunta-Hajji's teaching gained popularity in Chechnya. Tolstoy had Chechen friends and attended Sufi meetings with them. He communicated with Kunta-Hajji. Kunta-Hajji's views deeply influenced Lev Tolstoy and his works. He accepted Kunta-Hajji ideas of nonviolence, but he did not become a Muslim, although he was very positive to Islam for the rest of his life. For example, in 1909, in his personal letter to a woman whose husband was a Muslim and whose sons considered accepting Islam, he wrote that it is better to accept Islam than to belong to Russian Orthodox Church.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) was influenced by Lev Tolstoy's ideas of nonviolence. They knew one another and had a correspondence: http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/tolstoy/lettertogandhi.html
Mahatma Gandhi's ideas became well-known in the world. Martin Luther King and many others adopted them.
Thus, Kunta-Hajji ideas of nonviolence influenced Lev Tolstoy, and he in turn influenced Mahatma Gandhi. So, Mahatma Gandhi's ideas of nonviolence have a Chechen origin. They come from Chechen Sufi shaikh Kunta-Hajji Kishiev.
Contrary to any logic, Kunta-Hajji who encouraged Chechens to stop the war with Russia, was arrested by Russian authorities in 1864 and was imprisoned until his death in 1867. His teaching was banned, and his followers were persecuted.
