May the Force of Peace Be with You
Commentary by Maimoona Harrington | FāVS News
We have a roof over our heads, electricity, running water, plenty of food and a warm bed to lie in at night knowing our family and loved ones are safe. But it’s not the case in Gaza. It’s dark, and they have no electricity, no food, no water and no certainty of their loved one’s safety. But I guess it’s fine. The war machines are making money, we can switch channels if we are tired of hearing about the war in Gaza or we can just assure ourselves that it’s well-deserved as it’s Hamas’ fault!
We are all expressing our views, sentiments and pain in our own ways. Social media platforms are full of posts from supporters of both sides. Some posts are painful to watch but that’s what wars bring: atrocities and devastation. Israel is not fighting this war against a military of a country but a militia group. Thus, the main victims are residents of Gaza. Nearly half of the population of Gaza are children.
There are those who are showing and expressing their support and sentiments through rallies, talks or writing. Exhausted, tired and numb many pray for and want peace in Middle East region.
Amid all this chaos, misery and death we forget that we are all believers and followers of the Abrahamic faith, worshipping the same one God.
Roots of Religious Violence
As Karen Armstrong — one of my favorite writers — stated in an interview with NPR:
“It must also be said that a lot of the tensions that we — religious violence that we see in the world today, as well as in the past, has been the result of political tensions. And when violence becomes ingrained in a region, where warfare becomes chronic in a region, such as the Middle East or Afghanistan, then religion gets sucked into the whole unholy mess and becomes a part of the problem, too.”
Religion has been a force of both good and evil. The God, Allah or Yahweh up in the heavens on his esteemed throne is seeing all atrocities committed by his creation in his name and listening to all the prayers of victims of these atrocities without discrimination. He is the all-knowing and the all-seeing God. He does not discriminate between his creation. It is we, his creation, that discriminates. God does not cause us to commit atrocities, but this is something we choose to do ourselves.
As Harper Lee wrote in her novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”: “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”
In our current geopolitics, bloodshed and violence, I found this statement of Atticus Finch in her novel very relatable.
Only We Are Right!
Over the course of centuries, many holy wars have been fought in this sacred Middle East region. What’s new in present wars and conflicts is that this new technologically we have becomes so advanced that we can witness the reality and the twisted reality within seconds of its happening. But, sadly, the more technologically advanced we are, the more heartless we become. Our belief, our side, our opinion, our religion and our ideology are “right.” The rest all is wrong!
Humanity is diverse. Our functional nature can be different, but our structural existence is the same. The Quran says:
“If God had so willed, He would have made you one community, but He wanted to test you through that which He has given you, so raise to do good: you will all return to God, and He will make clear to you the matters you differed about.”
Chapter 5, Verse 48-partial
A Mother’s Plea
I would like to share an excerpt of Rachel Goldberg’s speech delivered at U.N. She is the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a captive of Hamas.
“In an article I read, it so eloquently stated that when you only get outraged when one side’s babies are killed then your moral compass is broken, and your humanity is broken. And therefore in your quiet moments alone, all of us everywhere on planet Earth need to really ask ourselves: Do I aspire to be human? Or am I swept up in the enticing and delicious world of hatred? This is not a phenomenon unique to Israel or Gaza. This is everywhere on our planet. I understand that hatred of the other, whoever we decide that other is, is seductive, sensuous and most importantly it’s easy. Hatred is easy. But hatred is not actually helpful. Nor is it constructive. … We all know war and conflict always, always, ends up hurting the innocent. And that is why war is so brutal. And it why it’s so very devastating. … In a competition of pain — there is never a winner.
She Continues Describing a Heroic Act
One thing gave me a whisper of hope from all of the horror on Oct. 7 because one of the witnesses with whom I spoke told me that when the rocket fire first began and all those young, music-loving hippies went running into the bomb shelter there was a Bedouin man who was a guard at the kibbutz across the street and he ran into that same shelter for cover. And as Hamas closed in on the bomb shelter, the man told the young people, ‘SHH, stay quiet. Let me go talk to them.’ And he went outside and he said in Arabic, ‘I am a Muslim. Everyone inside is my family. We are Muslim. You don’t have to search in there.’ He tried to save them. He could have just said I am a Muslim and just saved himself but he tried to do the right thing even though it was terrifying and even though it required unimaginable courage. He was brutally beaten and the witnesses do not know what his fate was. But I take comfort for a fleeting moment knowing that there was someone trying to do the right thing when everything in the universe had been turned upside down.
We human beings have been blessed with the gifts of intellect, creativity, insight and perception. Why are we not using it to solve global conflicts all over the world? Because doing this is hard and it takes fortitude and imagination, grit, risk and hope. So instead we opt for hatred because hatred is so comfortable, so familiar and so very, very easy.”
Goldberg pointed out the very thing that I always wonder. Why as humans with the highest level of intellect, knowledge and achievements, we opt for war and bloodshed to resolve our differences and disputes.
The Irony
In her speech she shared the compassionate act of a Muslim Bedouin who risked his life to save others. His action of mercy and compassion shows that there is hope for humanity under our many folds of nationalisms, religious beliefs and ideologies.
I also find it ironic that we are trying to find life on other planets. In the meanwhile, we are ending lives here on our planet for the sake of a piece of land, nationalism, religion and ideology. Why are we not preserving the very life that exists on our very own planet first? What is stopping us? Our consciences are weakening, and our hearts are hardening.
In the end, I would say, keeping peace does not mean to be silent. It means to communicate your truth and prospective constructively. It is challenging in times of so much suffering and hate but possible. Let’s pray, advocate and demand peace, peacefully.
I do not know what will happen in the future. How many innocent lives will be lost before we find peace?All I can pray is that, may the force of peace be with you.
Salam & Shalom
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
