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In
the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Fiqh
Council of
North America
(FCNA) July 25, 2005.
The
Fiqh, Jurisprudence, Council of North America (FCNA)
wishes to address the issue of terrorism and how it is
viewed in the Islamic legal and ethical system
Islamic
law has consistently condemned terrorism and extremism in
all forms and under all circumstances, and we reiterate this
unequivocal position. Islam strictly condemns religious extremism
and the use of violence against innocent lives.
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Islam stands clear on issues of Violence
against women: No beating of wives and no abuse of women
This statement is declares that domestic violence
has no room in Islam what so ever. First of all, it should
be clear that the institution of the family in Islam is based
on mutual respect, affection, mercy and love. Any form of
physical or emotional abuse is prohibited. A husband is not
allowed to physically or emotionally harm his wife, and the
wife is not allowed to abuse her husband. |
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A
call for dialogue
Published on September 3, 2006, fredericknewspost.com,
Imam Yahya Hendi
If one were to believe morning news and the
pictures of the recent events in the Middle East, one
would have to conclude that we are at the dawn of a
clash of religions and civilizations.... |
Jews, Muslims and Peace, Yehezkel Landau and
Yahya Hendi, WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES: CURRENT DIALOGUE
Issue 41, July 2003
With ongoing violence sapping the spirits of Israelis
and Palestinians, and with the Iraq war generating shock
waves throughout the Middle East, we call on our fellow
Jews and Muslims to join forces with concerned
Christians to transcend this cycle of death and
destruction. Jews and Muslims should be spiritual
allies, not adversaries... |
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Library > His articles
His articles
In the name of Allah Most Merciful Most
Compassionate
The Story of Abraham:
A journey of hope for all
Delivered at the College of St. Elizabeth in on July 19
th, 2003
First of all, let me offer my Gratitude to the Almighty
One for His divine grace having brought us all here
today. Let me also ask for His blessings upon all of His
prophets and messengers and also seek his guidance for
all of those who stand out firmly for God.
Honorable Sister. Francis Rafter, president of the
college of St. Elizabeth, Reverend Anthony Ciorra,
director of the Center for Theological and spiritual
development, and all those who made this gathering
possible. Thanks very much. This is indeed, a great
occasion and, indeed, a blessed one. Let me congratulate
you all for a job well done.
Honorable colleagues! Your eminence cardinal Walter
Kasper and Rabbi Terry Bookman. It is just a moment of
great joy to be your co-panelist speaking on “Children
of Abraham: journeys to God”
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming.
Nothing brings joy to my heart like speaking about the
life and legacy of Abraham. Abraham’s story, which
continued to shape the lives of Billions throughout tens
of centuries, deserves to be studied, imitated and
learned from. The Reconstructionist inclusivist
teachings of Abraham will always be the source of
guidance to those who seek to journey on the path to
God. Abraham’s life stations made him the only human
being worthy of the title the “friend of God” according
to Muslims. A journey like Abraham’s is, indeed, the
true and real road map to peace and security around the
world.
My lecture shall cover the following subjects: first,
the importance of Abraham in Islam and for Muslims;
second, the stations in Abraham’s journey to God; and
thirdly, the impact of this legacy on the global peace
today.
Islam is not believed by Muslims to be a new religion;
rather, it is the same religion Abraham and other
prophets and earlier scriptures called their followers
to.
“Indeed, I God have revealed to you Muhammad as I have
revealed to Noah and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob
and the descendants of Israel.” Q 4:163
Islam is named after neither a person nor a place. It is
named after the very message Abraham lived to teach.
Abraham taught us by word and practices how to achieve
peace by surrendering ourselves to the very Creator. If
the word “Islam” means peace by surrendering to God then
Islam is not a new religion. This in essence suggests
that Muhammad very much like Moses and Jesus had God at
the center of their teachings. It also suggests that
their main message was not different or must not be seen
as different. The Qur’an argues that what matters is not
whether we are called this or that but that we live the
legacy of Abraham.
“…. Say O Muhammad: “….., but we follow the religion of
Abraham, inclining toward surrendering to the One who is
all truth.” say O believers: “ we believe in God and
what was revealed to us and what was revealed to
Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, and the descendants of Israel
and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given
to the prophets by their Lord. We make no distinction
between any of them, and we surrender to Him in Islam.”
2:135-136
The above verse summarizes the Islamic teachings
concerning God’s messengers, that all of them were
equally chosen, guided and granted revelation by their
lord, and that what each of them brought was the true,
original religion, to which God gives the name “Islam”
or peace by surrendering to the will of God. It is what
Abraham presented his people with.
Muhammad was commanded by God to order his followers,
the Muslims, to follow the faith of Abraham who was a
Muslim by being devoutly obedient to God’s will.
This high position of Abraham was obtained because of
the purity and sincerity of his relationship with his
beloved Lord, to whom he totally surrendered his will,
Therefor, became a good Muslim. Thus, God says:
”Who would be averse to the faith of Abraham except one
who makes a fool of himself? And I chose him in this
world, and indeed, in the hereafter he will be among the
righteous. When his lord said to him, “surrender!” He
said, “I have surrendered to the lord of the worlds.”
2:130-131
The word “Hanif” which occurs again and again in the
Qur’an means inclining toward the truth with pure faith,
keeping to the straight, correct God-centered
monotheistic religion and avoiding all objects of
worship other that God Most high. Thus God tells Muslims
“Jews and Christians were -also- not commanded but to
worship God, being sincere to him in the religion,
inclining to truth, and to establish prayers and to give
charity.” 98:5
“And, O Muhammad, direct your face toward the religion,
inclining to truth, and do not be among the polytheists;
and do not invoke, apart from god, that which neither
benefits you nor harms you.” 10:105-106
This pure, sound religion corresponds to the original
nature, constitution, disposition and innate character
with which God who is the originator created each thing
in existence, including mankind, according to His words.
“Then set your face toward the religion, inclining to
truth, the God-given nature with which he endowed
mankind. No change shall there be in God’s creation.”
From this we can understand that the human being’s
connection to the Creator pertains to the inherent,
unchangeable nature with which every soul comes into the
world. It is this nature that causes a child to be
intuitively open to God and to the pure religion unless
its mind has been bent in some other direction by the
influences surrounding it.
Abraham was singled out as a prototype and exemplar of
the path of belief and worship of God, the lord of
exalted divine attributes, in His absolute uniqueness
and endless glory, not associating any partenrters with
him nor ascribing to Him any of the attributes of any of
His created beings.
This pure faith was the religion of all the true
monotheists prior to Islam that is, of the prophets and
their communities. It is the religion of absolute
uncompromising belief in God the exalted as the only
lord, and of sincerity to him in worship and all the
affairs of life, according to God’s instructions to His
last prophet: “Say O “Muhammad! Indeed, my Lord has
guided me to a straight Path, a correct religion: the
faith of Abraham, inclining toward truth, and he was not
a among the polytheists.” Q 6:161
One of the most impressive indications of Abraham’s high
rank is the fact that God chose him to be His close
friend. Because Abraham was so close and so dear to him,
God granted him very special honors and divine favors,
amongst which are the following:
Abraham ranks among the five greatest prophets according
to the Qur’an.
God made him one of the greatest religious figures due
to the depth of his faith.
God answered Abraham’s prayer: “God! Grant me sound
judgment and join me with the righteous, and grant me a
mention of honor among later generations.” 26:83-84.
Thus it is for this reason that all-monotheistic
religion, Judaism Christianity and Islam, all deeply
revere Abraham, mentioning his name with respect and
invoking God’s blessings upon him. In particular,
Muslims throughout the world, mention Abraham’s name
with the highest honor each time they complete any of
their five daily prayers, following the instructions of
the prophet Muhammad.
God answered Abraham’s prayer for a son from among the
righteous by granting him Isaac as well as Ishmael.
God answered his prayer regarding sending a prophet from
Arabia who would call peoples top purity and
righteousness. Prophet Muhammad happened to be the
answer of Abraham’s prayer.
God ordained that Muslims recall Abraham and important
event in his life during the rites of the major
pilgrimage Hajj. Connected with this is also the
commemoration of Abraham’s sacrifice Of his son during
the festival of sacrifice, ‘Eidul adha.
Those honors granted to Abraham shaped his journey and
road map to peace. Let us now wonder through some of the
stations in this inspiring journey.
Abraham was born in a pagan society with social life
built on a rigid class structure. Within its classes:
the class of the priests, state and military officials,
merchants, farmers and slaves. There were many practices
from officials, which led to different forms of
oppression and slavery. All forms of evil flourished:
bribery, usury, lying, cheating, sexual immorality,
injustices, these evils were encouraged by the officials
and the religious institutions. Taxes collected in the
name of God by rich state officials with the excuse that
it was collected to serve the almost five thousand gods
whose shrines occupied huge lands, gardens and
buildings.
As he looked at the things around him, Abraham with his
pure nature of one whose soundness of mind has been
uncontaminated by his environment, said: “these things
must have a Lord.”
Indeed, it seems that, at a time of life when other
children are occupied with childish pursuits, Abraham
had already come to his own conclusions about the idols
his people worshiped. It is also possible that, impelled
by an urgent passion for truth, he had already begun to
discuss and debate the matter with his father. The
Qur’anic narrative suggests that in an early stage in
his spiritual development, he said to his father: “Do
you take idols as Gods” I consider you and your people
to be in clear error” 6:74
He said: “O my people! I am clear of whatever you
associate with God. I have surly turned my being toward
the one who created the heavens and the earth as one,
inclining toward the truth, and I am not among the
polytheists.“ 6:78-79
“Thus, did God show Abraham the realm of the heavens and
the earth, that he might be among the certain.” 6:75.
Abraham did not watch injustices and growing sense of
oppression and keep silent. He dialogued with his people
against their practices and their beliefs. Politely he
said: “what do you worship?”
“We worship idols and remains devoted to them”
“Do they hear you when you call, or do they benefit you
or do you harm?
“No, but we found our fathers doing so.”
“Then do you see what you have been worshiping, you and
your fathers?”
He made his position clear to them saying: “indeed, they
are all enemies to me, except the lord of the worlds,
who created me. And it is he who guides me, and who
gives me food and drink. And when I am ill, it is he who
cures me, and who will cause me to die and then bring me
to life again and who will forgive me my faults on the
Day of Recompense.” 26:75-82
For Abraham activism without prayer is like body without
soul. He prayed to God: ”My Lord! Grant me authority and
join me with the righteous and grant me a mention of
honor amongst later generations, and make me among the
inheritors of the garden of bliss.” 26:83-85
Abraham urged his people to
“Worship God and be mindful of Him. This is best for
you, if you but knew. In place of God, you worship mere
idols and you fabricate falsehood. Indeed, those whom
you worship besides God do not have power to provide for
you. So seek provision from God and worship Him and be
thankful to Him. To Him you will be returned. And if you
deny the message, nations have denied before you. And
the duty of the messenger is only clear communication of
the message” 29:16-18
When it is easy for every one to give in to peer
pressure, Abraham did not “And how should I fear what
you associate with God. When you do not fear that which
you associate with God? Then which group has more right
to security, if you should know?” 6:81
Activism requires some more unshakable determination and
action. Abraham went to the house of the gods, which was
in a great hall, opposite the entrance to the hall was a
great idol, and at his side a smaller one, and next to
him a smaller one, and so on down to the entrance to the
hall. The people had prepared food and placed it before
the gods. Observing the food in front of the idols, he
mocked them by saying: “Do you not eat?” As no answer
came back, he said: “what is the matter with you that
you do not speak? 37:91-92. He then he with all of his
strength hacked at them with an axe.
Then he made them into fragments, except the big one.
Later, when the people came to take their food, they
found their idols smashed and broken. Wondering who
might have done that, one among them pointed to Abraham.
Intelligence was collected, security officers were asked
to bring Abraham for interrogation. Abraham said: “Well!
Ask the biggest of them, if they are able to speak?”
21:63 Abraham words hit home. The unbelievers now turned
back to themselves in confusion and embarrassment,
unable to find words with which to reply to him. Yet
they collected their bride and said: “But you know that
they do not speak. He replied: “Do you worship that
which you yourselves carve,” Abraham demanded, “while
God created you and whatever you do? And he hammered
home his point, saying, “Do you worship, beside god,
that which neither benefits you in the least not harms
you? Shame on you and on what you worship instead of
God! Will you not then use reason?” 21:66-67
For them the road to peace in the society was not
consultation and dialogue. No one should be allowed to
challenge already existing practices. The response of
his people was only that they said: “kill him or burn
him!” (29:24). The language of love was not known but to
Abraham. For many he was either with them or against
them. Things were either black or white. They had the
military might and the economic power already to ask for
him to be burned in support if their gods.
As they threw him into the fire, the Lord of all
creation and the One who gave the fire the capacity to
burn ordered the fire to be a place of coolness and
peace for Abraham. Abraham guarded by his beloved Lord
endured this awesome trial, in safety and peace and
total satisfaction with Him. Thus with God’s grace,
Abraham emerged from the fire safe and unharmed.
Finally, he just had to let go of his tribe and leave
elsewhere where he could be free enough to worship God.
He journeyed with Sarah for years and finally God
delivered him to the Land God blessed for all mankind.
He settled in Palestine with his wife for many years.
At old age Abraham and his wife wanted a child, yet no
child was born. And eventually at Sarah’s suggestion,
Abraham married Hagar, perhaps in the hope that she
would be able to bear him a successor. Abraham prayed to
God to grant him a child and make him from among the
righteous and in response the most high gave Abraham the
good tidings of a son, informing him, even before that
son’s birth, that he would be a forbearing boy. Hagar
the younger wife became the mother of the son, Ishmael.
Later Abraham took his wife Hagar and son and left to
Arabia only by the command of God and not for the
presumed jealousy of Sarah. The Qur'an indicates that
“when Abraham was tried by his Lord through words of
command and he carried them out” 2:124 These words or
command in turn constituted that part of the divine
plan, which embraces all things visible and hidden,
material and spiritual, which Abraham had been destined
to carry out. Within this plan, all things are so
inseparably interwoven that each depends on whatever
precedes and follows and surrounds it. Thus, while we
may be able to discern something of the obvious reasons,
material causes, or external factors at work in
Abraham’s story, at the same time, unseen, secret causes
were like wise at work, as will become clear from what
follows.
Mecca became the place were Abraham took his wife and
son Ishmael. It was a place where nothing grows
naturally except the most meager sorts of desert plants.
There is very little rainfall, and when the wind blows,
the sky is overcast with haze, the air full of swirling
dust. And it was at this inhospitable, terrifying lonely
and uninhabited spot, with no shelter but an
overspreading tree, and no source of water that God
commanded Abraham to leave his wife and long-desired
infant son.
But appearances may often mask realities. This was the
same spot to which Adam had come thousands of years
earlier and upon which God Most high has set down His
scared House. It was the place where Abraham in years to
come construct the Holy Ka’bah, a place of sacred
pilgrimage, around which the city of Mecca would arise.
It was the place where many centuries later Prophet
Muhammad would be born and pass the first 53 years of
his life.
Who can imagine what Abraham, the tenderhearted and
forbearing, must have felt at separating from his wife
as Ishmael had been born to him so late in life and was,
at that time, his only son. And Hagar was no less his
wife than Sarah, no doubt he loved her as any man would
love his wife, But God’s command had come to him, and
Abraham did not will otherwise than as his lord willed.
Moreover, he possessed unshakable certainty of the
rightness and perfection of whatever God willed. He
again let go of something very important to him.
As Hagar asked him if that was God’s plan, he replied
with “Yes”. She then said: “Then we will not perish.”
How amazingly steadfast Hagar’s faith was! Her accepting
Abraham’s decisions without protest makes it clear that
she had absolute confidence both in the rightness of
God’s decree and in her husband’s faith. Here Abraham
prayed again:
“Our Lord, I have settled some of my offspring in a
valley without vegetation near Your Sacred House, our
Lord, that they may establish Prayers” 14:37
As Abraham left, Hagar searched for water and walked
between safa and marwa hoping she would find something.
She came back to check on her son to see Gabriel digging
the sand till water gushed forth. Hagar’s story teaches
us that God Almighty can do anything, for to the Creator
of all things in existence, the possessor of all command
and control, nothing whatever is impossible. He is able
to create something out of nothing, to keep his servant
safe in the midst of the deadliest dangers, and to
provide for their needs under any and every condition.
This is, indeed, a miracle, for from under the dry,
totally barren soil of Mecca, where rain seldom falls,
the water of that spring has been flowing ever since it
first began to pour forth for Ishmael.
Many years later, God would command Abraham to put up
the building for the worship of God on earth exactly
where Adam many years earlier had come. This becomes the
Ka’bah, the sacred house of Mecca around which Muslims
perform the rites of hajj. Abraham asked God to make
this a place for the worship of God alone. Later he
asked God to send from amongst the descendants of
Ishmael a messenger who will recite to them God’s
verses, and teach the people the scripture and wisdom
and purify them. God was to answer His friend’s prayer
for the security of Mecca.
Some time before that God sent down angels to give
Abraham good tidings of Isaac, a prophet from among the
righteous, and a blessed one. Abraham foretold Sarah
about her pregnancy of Isaac from whose offspring God
will bless the world with Jacob. Sarah was surprised yet
believing in God’s wisdom showed her happiness.
The Qur’an speaks this promise.
“I granted Abraham Isaac and Jacob, I guided each of
them. I made each upright, and I made them leaders,
guiding by My Command. And I inspired the doing of good
deeds and the establishment of prayers and giving of
charity.
Some time along the way, Abraham’s faith was tested
again, Abraham saw in his vision that he had been
ordered to sacrifice his son, who had come to him at an
advanced age. Abraham approached his son so that he also
would surrender to God’s will. Abraham asked: “My son!
Indeed, I have seen in a vision that I am sacrificing
you, so see what you think” 37:102 so the answer of his
son was: “O my father, do what you are commanded. You
will find me, God willing, patient.” 37:102
The son’s words make it clear that he did not question
the meaning of what his father had seen or seek to find
a way out for himself. Young as he was, he was trained
in a faithful household to have perfect obedience first
to God and secondly to his father, a prophet with a
tremendous spiritual stature. Abraham again had to let
go everything for God’s glory.
Then when they both surrendered and had put him down on
his forehead, God Most high called to Abraham:
“O Abraham, you have fulfilled the vision. Thus, do I
surely reward the doers of good. Indeed, this was a
clear trial. And I ransomed him with a great sacrifice,
and I left this invocation for him among the later
generations: “Peace be upon Abraham!” Thus do I reward
the doers of good. Indeed, he was among My believing
servants.”
Qur’an 37:105-111.
The angel of death who came to seize his soul having
concluded his journey on this earth visited years later
Abraham. Abraham has passed to us a legacy described of
a strong leader, wise man, pure spirited person, loving
husband, kind father and polite son.
Regardless of all the pain he suffered and the
difficulties he endured, he continued the path to God.
He always had absolute faith that God will not give up
on his devotees. “Indeed, my lord is with me and he will
guide me” 37:99
Abraham teaches us in the 21 century that the pressures
of technology, the peer pressures of sociopolitical
challenges are but ways to test one’s faith in God.
One’s commitment to values cannot change with weather
and cannot be shaped by circumstances.
For Abraham the road map to peace had certain
ingredients:
The belief that God is one as we read in Deuteronomy
6:4: “Hear O Israel! The lord out God. The lord is one.”
And in the Qur’an: “Say God is one the eternal.”
Believing in God is the source of Peace and security as
we read in Matthew 17:20 “Truly I say to you if you have
faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will move this
mountains”
Keeping God’s laws as is with no change or bending: And
now, Israel, what does the lord your god require of you,
but to fear the lord your God, to walk in all his ways,
to love him, to serve the lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul, and to keep the
commandments.
To let go -for the Glory of God- things we may hold
dear.
If we want to keep the law! And if we desire to please
the lord! And if we long to His peace and blessings!!!
Then why is it that the world continues to have an
increasing number of wars?
Why is it that more have been killed in the last 100
years in wars and on borders between countries where God
is supposedly worshiped?
Why is it that we have more hungry people around the
world?
Why has God become a real state agent whose name is used
to advocate violence around the worlds and to claim that
God promised this or that land to this or that group?
Almost every day, we wake up with the sad news coming to
us from the Middle East. We hear either of a home
destroyed in or around Jerusalem or a child or a woman
killed. The Land once inhabited or witnessed by Abraham,
Moses, Jesus and Muhammad has turned into a sea of
blood. The city of Jerusalem for whose peace all the
prophets of God prayed has become a place were bombs go
off or come down to kill and spread fear, and is a place
where agendas are worked out to occupy lands or harm
others. The Land made Holy for all the people by the
Divine has become a center for militarism, racism and
wars most of which happens in the name of the one
believed by all three Abrahamic traditions to be The
All-Peaceful God. It is about time that God’s name gets
disassociated from all that which undermines His
Compassionate Glory and violates His Loving Majesty.
Jews, Christians and Muslims are called upon to
reintroduce their faiths to the Middle East in a way
that does not condone violence and in a way that
promotes peace.
Nothings saddens me like seeing that the Holy land torn
into pieces in the name of God, liberation, statehood or
security!
One cycle of violence after another cycle of violence in
a land God wanted to be holy and a place where peace can
be built. On both sides ignorance and fear are still
creating hostile images with violence and bloodshed. We
are in the 21 st century yet the memories of ancient
tribal wars, the Crusades, inquisitions, holocaust,
colonialism and American civil wars did not prevent us
from the terror of the tragedy of Sept 11 th attacks.
Isn’t this the very proof of human beings failure and
ignorance? This failure to make peace with God, their
very Creator, and with their fellow humans is the result
of ignorance of the self and of other.
In Judaism, the word shalom is derived from the word
shalem, which means complete, fullness and perfection;
therefore peace in Judaism means perfection and
completion. Perfections of three levels of relationships
to which one aspires: between man and himself, between
man and his fellowman and between the nation of Israel
and all other nations. Numerous halakhic regulations and
laws have been enacted to promote peace between Jews and
non-Jews. The well-known verse, Isaiah 11:6, about the
lion lying in peace with the lamb is the hope that all
nations, strong and weak, will be able to live together
in peace.
Jews must aspire to bring peace to the lives of
Palestinian Christians and Muslims as much as they like
it for themselves. Rabbi Yose said: let the property of
your fellow man be as precious to you as your own. A man
came before Rabbi Rava and said to him, “the ruler of my
city ordered me, ‘Go and slay So an so. If you do not, I
will slay you.’ ” Rava replied, “Let yourself be slain
rather than slay. What makes you think your blood is
redder than his? Perhaps that man’s blood is redder.”
Rabbi Levitas of Yavneh said: Be very, very humble, for
the end of man’s hope is the worm.”
In Christianity, one would read how Jesus manifested
unconditional love for all people. He gave himself to
save sinners. He called his disciples to love their
enemies, to rely only on faith. Above all, Jesus called
on one to judge himself before judging others and to
criticize oneself before criticizing others.
Love and peace do not go hand in hand with hatred and
murder. In 1 John 3:15 one finds “We know that we have
passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.
Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who
hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no
murderer has eternal life in him.” Christians are called
upon to be proactive in the work of justice and not to
remain passive. To be respected and honored, Christians
must manifest total justice for all parties involved in
the Arab Israeli conflict. “For Harold respected John,
knowing that he was a just man and a holy… and he heard
him gladly” Mark 6:20
Muslims have a big role to play, as well, in the peace
building efforts in the Holy Land. Inspired by their
faith, Muslims can share the responsibility in the path
to peace and reconciliation. The Qur’an makes it clear
to Muslims that the struggle against injustice and
oppression is a universal struggle in which Muslims are
called to join others among whom are Christians and
Jews. Prior to Islam, God’s prophets taught the
principles of morality and law that have served
humankind for centuries as a basis of judgment between
right and wrong.
The very word Islam from the Arabic Silm includes peace
according to a tradition of prophet Muhammad. Peace is
one of the prerequisites of Islam. Islam states that a
Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand all people are
safe. One of the attributes of God described in the
Qur’an is As-salaam, which means peace and security.
Paradise is the abode of peace granted to those who work
for peace. When war breaks out, the Qur’an teaches that
peace and reconciliation are the best of all actions.
God has decreed that success will be achieved through a
reconciliatory path, and not on a confrontational or a
violent course of action. Whenever Muhammad had an
option between two courses of action, he always chose
the non-confrontational one. Non confrontational work
for justice is the best of all deeds as the Qur’an puts
it: “Stand out firmly for justice even if it were
against yourselves” 4:127
“We fear what we do not know.” This Statement is
attributed to Ali bin Abi Talib, the fourth caliph of
Islam. Unfortunately after 1400 years, it still applies
in far too many places. Although as a result of modern
technology and communication means, contacts between the
inhabitants of the world have never been so close as
they are today, ancient suspicions still live on.
This ignorance is also threatening religious and ethnic
minorities in many places by extremist groups and by
politicians who use religion and ideologies for their
own selfish purposes all of which leads to anxiety and
wars. Even when wars end people have the tendency to
create new enemies to replace the former enemy as if
life cannot go on without wars.
In the midst of this unrest, God calls on us to reaffirm
the bond between all people of different faiths,
nationalities, and ethnicities across the globe. We need
to recapture a spiritual sense of history to overcome
narrow-minded concepts of us vs. them. This could become
the work off all of those who yearn to peace and justice
around the world. According to the Muslim Holy Qur’an,
God declares: “O people! I created you from a single
pair of male and female, and made you into nations and
tribes that you may come to know one another and not
that you may despise each other. The best amongst you is
he/she who is a doer of good.” Qur’an 49:13
Creating peace between nations and establishing justice
is, indeed, the work of God conscious individuals.
Working for peace is the very work of God. Those created
in the image of God can better do God’s work by
improving the prospect for durable peace in a way that
will affirm and uphold the right to life of every human
being in the face of lawless violence. It would
challenge the resort to destruction that is wrought by
indiscriminate use of force. Thou must not kill
according to the Bible and He who kills one person it
would be as if he killed all humanity according to the
Qur’an must become the banners we all hold up and strive
for.
“And when they seek peace with you seize to peace
yourself if you truly love God .” Qur’an 8:61. Peace is
the work of the prayerful person who made peace with
himself first. According to Oscar Arias: “Peace is not
the product of a victory or a command. It has no
finishing line, no final deadline, no fixed definition
of achievement. Peace is a never-ending process, the
work of many decisions.”
How can we all march for peace all around us is the very
exact service God calls us to do. Jesus calls on his
followers “Blessed are the peace makers” Later he goes a
step higher and says: “Love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you that you may be the sons of your
Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:44-46.
Well! We may need to destroy our enemies. From Abraham
Lincoln we learn that: “I destroy my enemies when I make
them my friends.” All of us need to be a part of this
endeavor of love building and peace making. Never say
you cannot do it just remember that “If you think you
are too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a
mosquito in the room” as Anita Koddick said.
What is expected of us is that we first, understand
ourselves deeper; second, learn more about each other,
and thirdly, master the art of listening to other
people’s stories.
Lets our struggle be with education and inclusively
peace will be made and with education and inclusively we
will reaffirm the human rights embodied in the Universal
declaration proclaiming that all human are born free and
equal in dignity and rights and that recognition of the
inherit dignity of the equal and inalienable rights of
all members of the human family is the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world.
Jewish, Christian and Muslim clergymen and woman must
start marching together for peace in the Middle East.
They must work together to ensure that the three faiths
peacefully co-exist in an environment that respects the
religious sites of all the three faiths. The three
communities can share the land with full respect for
shared perspectives on the inalienable right of all
sides to self-determination, both politically and as
individuals.
Jews, Muslims, and Christians agree that their Almighty
God is One. They must work to please only the ONE. They
have more in common than any would ever think. They must
coordinate their efforts to work within the framework of
the common grounds. Abraham, the father of all, is
spiritually the shared ancestor of half the people alive
today. We all pray that God will bless the nations of
the world through the descendants of Abraham when they
are willing to share God’s love.
If we were Abraham’s children we would do the work of
Abraham. Each community has a direction to which it
turns. However, we can so compete with one another in
doing peace building around the world.
Is it possible for the children of Abraham to coexist
peacefully?
In his most recent visit to Jerusalem, Pope John Paul II
prayed that:
”God of our fathers, you chose Abraham and his
descendants to bring your name to the nations. We are
deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the
course of history have caused these children of yours to
suffer. And asking your forgiveness, we wish to commit
ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the
covenant.”
Abraham will become proud of us only if we are willing
to work together for a world when liberty and justice
are available to all. He will be proud of us when we are
able to speak up for all God’s creation, when we
courageously witness for God’s love, when we accept no
more to be silent and when our voices become loud enough
for justice, peace and love.
I pray that we all march together for peace in the
Middle East and globally for all God’s people.
Dear brothers and sisters, As one family with different
brothers and sisters and the common grounds we have we
will over come all barriers and march together for
global peace. |
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| Current Month | |
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ANNE WILSON SCHAEF: Differences challenge assumptions
JEROME NATHANSON: The price of the democratic way
of life is a growing appreciation of people's differences,
not merely as tolerable, but as the essence of a rich and
rewarding human experience.
JIMMY CARTER: We have become not a melting pot but
a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different
yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.
JOHN F. KENNEDY: If we cannot end now our differences,
at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.
JOHN F. KENNEDY: The wave of the future is not the
conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed but the liberation
of the diverse energies of free nations and free men.
BLAISE PASCAL: Do you wish people to think well of
you? Don't speak well of yourself.
CONFUCIUS: Humility is the solid foundation of all
virtues. |
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