Is peace possible?
I begin
this blog with a photo of two men shaking hands: A Palestinian and a Jew.
On the
left Prof. Mohammed Dajani Daoudi, on the right Rabbi
Dr. Ron Kronish. One the founder & director of the Palestinian NGO Wasatia,
the other the Founding Director (now retired) of the Interreligious
Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI).
“Wasatia”
is Arabic for the Middle Way, the path of peace, moderation, justice, and
tolerance for people of other ideologies and religions (see my blogs 543, 715):
"The Wasatia
movement was created in January 2007 as non-governmental, non-profit,
non-political initiative ... its declared goals are: To
bring a deeper and more rational understanding of Islam to Moslems as well as
to non-Moslems and to clarify the distortions to which Islam has been subjected ..."
The ICCI
was founded in 1991 to further understanding and communication between different faith communities and to build foundations for lasting fellowship:
"Our mission
is to harness the teachings and values of the three Abrahamic faiths and
transform religion's role from a force of division and extremism into a source
of reconciliation, coexistence and understanding for the leaders and followers
of these religions in Israel and in our region."
I look at the above photo and I say to myself, "my God ... what is the problem in the Middle East? Why can't everybody be like these two elders: Smile, shake hands ... have your beliefs, tolerate, understand and accept one another and get on with life."
The answer that always comes to mind is that those in power - those who pursue nationalistic & extremist agendas and thus stand in the way of peace - lack the level of wisdom and higher consciousness that is required for such a stance.
But those in power (often) were elected into their positions, by you and me (that is what Krishnamurti would say; blog 803). When that is not the case, with the dictators of the world, they were at least tolerated, if not encouraged by our leaders.
Bearing that in mind it is important to work toward an understanding in public discourse, i.e. in the media ... in its various forms, including blogs like this one. Indeed, the issue of education is paramount.
Myself, I stand in solidarity with those two men. But one could say I am from a different world, in as much as I am non-religious, an atheist. So I represent - and speak to - a different demographic. But we do have a commonality that binds us and that must be the starting point for everyone. It is this simple, universal message:
The Truth is that - while we are not the same - all humans are equal; they all have the right to their way of expressing themselves, and anyone's life-stance is as valid as any other one (but conditions apply ... it must be tolerant & peaceful).
I have essays THE TRUTH 1, THE TRUTH 2 and INTERFAITH in my book en.light.en.ment
Then,
when that principle is applied and everyone has Peace, Freedom, Justice,
Equality and Prosperity, the world will be a place where our children and
future generations can live happily. The world we apparently are heading
for would be in stark contrast: A desolate place, with a depleted
environment and warring peoples, unaware and unconscious of The Truth, which is our one and only saviour.
