Open letter
To the Representatives at the Middle East Peace Conference presently scheduled for November:
1) Mr George Bush, President of the
2) King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia
3) Mr Ehud Olmert, Acting Prime Minister of
4) Mr Tony Blair,
Respectable Sirs,
We, the undersigned, approach you to elevate that crucial meeting from the level of political and temporary conveniences – and of showy handshakes and hugs – to the level of establishing true and lasting peace based upon our respective Holy Scriptures: They were not given for the sake of strive and war but rather for brotherhood and welfare of all mankind in honoring the Name of the Creator of all of us.
Hence, we the undersigned, approach each of you specifically with the request to consider the following:
a) Respectable President of the
b) Respectable King of Saudi Arabia, by taking up guardianship over
In contrast to that attitude, the Koran stresses
*) The God of
*) The words of the Prophets –including the return of Israel-- shall truly be established (Sura Bani Israel, 108; Greeks, 5; Hobbling 31; Believers, 78; et al);
*) Allah wants to be honored by forgiveness and love (Sura The Table, 15-17). – More details in the "Attachment" below.
It is foremost in your hands to lead the Arab/Moslem peoples into that Divine Truth, and consequently to brotherhood, peace, and welfare – or else to throw mankind (incl. the Arab nations) into more wars, and unprecedented suffering. –
May we mention that such required re-thinking would neutralize also the Mullahs of Persia.
c) Respectable Mr. Olmert, Acting Prime Minister of
d) Respectable Mr Tony Blair, as the previous Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and now as the EC-Envoy to the MidEast, you are in a position were you can rectify the fateful decision of your country in 1919 to install that Jew-hating Mufti Amin el-Husseini as the "Mufti of Jerusalem"; and let him as self-styled "Grand-Mufti of Palestine" saw his seeds of hatred against Jews. All that in negligence, if not defiance, of the King Feisal/Weizman Agreement (mentioned above) which could have paved the way for peace and brotherhood in the Middle East, and thus in the world. Or, did your country then take to the ancient –Roman- dictum of "Divide and rule"? Whatever the case, fate put you into a position to do your part in rectifying that decision of then; and by doing so being instrumental in paving the way toward true brotherhood and peace.
May our appeal not be in vain.
Sincerely,
Dr. Asher Eder Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi
Jewish Co-Chairman Moslem Co-Chairman
Islam-Israel Fellowship, Yerushalayim /
Arieh Gallin
President, Root and Branch Assoc. Ltd, Yerushalyim/Israel
Attachment:
PEACE IS POSSIBLE BETWEEN ISHMAEL AND ISRAEL
ACCORDING TO THE TANAKH AND THE KORAN
(Summary of the essay)
Dr. Asher Eder
The ruling wing of Islam has severed its original ties with the "Book" (the Tanakh, Hebrew Bible) and the "People of the Book,"
In Islamic view, a Jihad can end only with a complete victory - or else with an unreserved admittance that engaging in it was wrong from the start.
The Koran itself suggests this change of attitude, and can help pave the way to mutual understanding and co-operation:
1. it stresses the continued validity of the "Book" –
Believers 56; Bee 45-47; and others;
2. it recognizes the teachings of the Prophets, even of the rabbis - Table 48,
(notwithstanding Repentance 30-35);
3. it recognizes the peculiarity of
Land) – Hobbling 15; Cow 44, 116; Smoke 30;
4. the Holy Land prescribed for
5. it was Allah who settled the Children of Israel there – Jonah 93;
6.
7.
8. David's kingdom [
Divine viceroy and judge on earth – Zad 19, 25; Cow 252 [cf. Is. 28:16];
9. the Psalms and the Prophets speak of
so does the Koran – Bani Israel 8, 105;
10.
Covenant or of the Promises;
11. on the contrary, the words of the Prophets shall surely be established – Greeks 5;
Hobbling 31; Believers 76;
12. Muslim should have given refuge to persecuted believers – The Spoils 76;
13. Abraham is called a truly faithful, i.e. Moslem- Imram 60; Pilgrimage 77; Cattle 62;
likewise the Prophets – Table 48, notwithstanding their keeping Shabbat and their
direction of prayer toward
14. Abraham established
a)
b) the Kaaba in
(yet 1.Kings
15. Quiblah (direction of prayer) for Muslims to
(Cow 140,143), yet see also Cow 171 - and 1.Kings
16. Koran admits different religious rites, and urges us to emulate in good works
(Cow 143; Table 53; Pilgrimage 66);
17. ONE GOD for Ishmael and
18. Allah wants to be honored by forgiveness and love - Table 15-17,
Woman Tested 7; Counsel 14.
19. Rassul Mohammed as the "Seal of the Prophets" (Conf.40), confirms them!
It is the words of the Prophets which provide the base for true peace
Democracy, being merely a form of government but not its soul,
should be guided by them.
A B R A H A M ' S P R A Y E R
When told by the Lord that in spite of his advanced age he would have a son also from Sarah, Abraham prayed (Gen. 17:18):
"O that Ishmael might live before thee".
Abraham loved both his sons, Ishmael and Isaac, therefore he had to be told:
"Take now thy son, thine only one whom you have loved, even Isaac..."
(Gen. 22:2).
The sp
Abraham did not merely pray "that Ishmael might live." He was not concerned that Ishmael would be threatened by Isaac, and would need a sp
Abraham was concerned that Ishmael, born from Hagar and biologically the firstborn, might try to bring the whole heritage unto himself, depriving Isaac of God's promise1).
Abraham's prayer that Ishmael might live before the Lord was meant to encourage and guide him to let the spiritual − Abrahamic − inheritance get the upper hand, so that he would be alive in the Divine spirit, and consequently r
The two brothers and their descendants should not fight over the inheritance rather "compete in good works" as the Koran, Ishmael's guide book, says so aptly2).
Prophet Maleachi (
"Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the Covenant our Fathers?"
Hence, in the spirit of our Father Abraham, let us pray:
O h t h a t b o t h o f u s
I s h m a e l a n d I s r a e l
m i g h t l i v e b e f o r e T h e e "
1) Ishmael, Abraham's son from Hagar, is the ancestor of the Arab (Muslim) nations;
Isaac is one of the three Patriarchs of Israel.
2) Sura "The Table" 53; also "The Cow" 143; "Pilgrimage" 66.
Dr. Asher Eder
e-mail: avrason@netvision.net.il