http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=57917&d=22&m=1&y=2005
A Message of Peace Tariq A. Al-Maeena, [EMAIL PROTECTED] As this year's Haj winds down into the final moments, it has been gratifying to note that there have been hardly any accidents or incidents to mar this period of worship. It was also heartwarming to note that the messages emanating from the three million pilgrims from around the world who had gathered in Makkah and who had labored these last few days were one for a hope for peace. A peace not only for themselves, but also for all of humanity, be it in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Chechnya, Palestine, or any of the other hotspots around the world. There were prayers for the victims of the tsunami. There were prayers for the dead and fallen in countless wars. And there were prayers that one day soon there will be peace. We, as the human race, mobilized very quickly in the face of a natural disaster that struck several countries in Asia. And we can do the same in the interest of our fellow men everywhere. The quest for power, for regional influence, for aggressive takeovers has scarred our basic human principle of being good and doing good to mankind. The good people of Israel and Palestine must rise above years of conflict, and not be led astray by aggressive leadership whose agendas are deeply ingrained in hate, suspicion and destruction. There is room for peaceful coexistence. It had happened before, and it can be made to happen again. There exist peace-loving Israelis as well as Palestinians, but sadly their voices do not carry loudly through a media that has patterned itself into a messenger of mayhem. The mounting death toll in Iraq remains a dark blemish on our collective conscience. The Iraqis have been through enough, and deserve a respite from this continuous assault on their lives and property. It is for them to forge their destiny, and all outsiders should resist the impulse to fashion them into a model of their own. The United States of America is not the Great Satan. There exist peace-loving people in that vast country just like anywhere else. But the USA must understand that it has a great responsibility. As a world leader, their government has to play the honest broker. Their democracy must attempt to wrest back its true meaning that has somewhat faded in recent years. With the advent of the second and final term, this US administration should no longer give in to the demands of interest groups from within that promote wars or unjust occupations. Peaceful reconciliation must top their foreign policy. Only then can the mistrust that has grown in recent times be put to rest. There can be no tolerance of terrorism, in any form. We will not accept groups with their twisted ideologies in spreading their message of destruction, whoever they may be. Intolerance of other peoples, other faiths and other cultures is nothing short of repulsive, and we can overcome such barriers through education and communication. Individually, we can all begin by offering an olive branch to those we perceive rightly or wrongly to be the enemy. We will be quick to discover that they share similar concerns as our own: The fate of their children, their health, and their livelihood. And that our mistrust of each other has no real basis. Why then should we not reach out and help each other, rather than set out to destroy each other? Makes the collective efforts on the tsunami disaster pretty meaningless, wouldn't you agree? When natural disasters take lives we remain helpless. But can we afford to remain similarly helpless through our own doings? Today's citizens are citizens of the world. Whatever our religion, and whatever faith we follow, they all speak of peace and love. If we fail in our efforts to push for peace now, then we have all failed as citizens of this planet. God bless you all. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! 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