A Call to the Israelis from a Muslim

by Harun Yahya

During the time while this book was being written, the Middle East was once

again the scene of conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The

Israeli army has been ruthlessly bombing civilian settlements, shooting

children, and trying to make the already tormented Occupied Territories

more uninhabitable. Some Palestinian radicals, on the other hand, are

attacking Israeli civilian targets and spreading violence with their

terrible suicide bombings aimed at innocent women and children.

As Muslims, our heartfelt wish is for the anger and hatred on both sides to

die down, for the bloodshed to stop, and for peace to come to both lands.

We oppose both the Israeli killing of innocent Palestinians and the radical

Palestinians' bombing of innocent Israelis.

In our view, the most important condition for this ongoing conflict to end

and for real peace to be established is for both sides to acquire and then

implement a genuine and honest understanding of their respective beliefs.

The conflict between these two peoples has assumed the form of a "religious

war" between Jews and Muslims, though, in fact there is absolutely no

reason for there to be such a war. Both Jews and Muslims believe in God,

love and respect many of the same prophets, and possess the same moral

principles. They are not enemies; rather, they are allies in a world in

which atheism and the hatred of religion are widespread.

Based on this fundamental principle, we call on the Israelis (and all Jews)

to realize the following facts:

1) Muslims and Jews believe in one God, the Creator of the universe and all

things therein. We are all God's servants, and to Him shall we all return.

So why hate each other? The holy books we believe in are superficially

different but in essence the same, for they come from the same God.

Therefore we all abide by them. So why should we fight one another?

2) Instead of living along side Muslims, would the observant Jews prefer to

live along side atheists or pagans? The Torah is full of passages

describing the terrible cruelties inflicted upon the Jews by pagans. The

terrible genocide and cruelty inflicted upon them by atheists and

unbelievers (e.g., the Nazis, anti-Semitic racists, or such communist

regimes as Stalin's Russia) are clear for all to see. These atheist or

pagan forces hated the Jews, and thus oppressed them, because they believed

in God. Are not Jews and Muslims on the same side against these atheist,

communist, or racist forces that hate them both?

3) Muslims and Jews love and respect many of the same prophets. The

Prophets Ibrahim (Abraham), Ishaq (Isaac), Yusuf (Joseph), Musa (Moses), or

Dawud (David), peace be upon them all, are at least as important for

Muslims as they are for Jews. The lands where these holy figures lived and

served God are at least as holy for Muslims as they are for Jews. So why

drown these lands in blood and tears?

4) The fundamental values of Jews are also sacred to us Muslims. The word

"Israel" is the name of Prophet Ya'qub (Jacob), peace be upon him, who is

praised in the Qur'an and remembered with great respect by Muslims.

According to Qur'an 22:40, Muslims must protect synagogues because they are

places of worship. So why should members of the two religions not live

together in peace?

5) The Torah commands Jews to establish peace and security, not to occupy

the lands of others and spill blood. The people of Israel are described as

"a light unto the nations" in the Torah. As the "Rabbis for Human Rights"

declare:

We are told: "Justice, justice, you shall pursue" (Deuteronomy 16:20). Why

is the word justice said twice? Because, according to our tradition, one is

to pursue a just cause by just means. In defending ourselves, we must

always hold on to the prophetic vision of decency and humanity. The

survival of the Jewish people will be determined not only by its physical

acumen, but also, by its moral steadfastness.

If Israelis continue to treat Palestinians as they do now, they may be

unable to account for that to God. Similarly, those Palestinians who kill

innocent Israelis may also be unable to account for those murders. Is it

not a duty in the eyes of God to put an end to the fighting, which is

dragging both sides deeper into unending violence?

We invite all Jews to consider these facts. God commands us Muslims to

invite Jews and Christians to a "common formula":

Say: "O People of the Book! Let us rally to a common formula to be binding

upon both us and you: That we worship none but God; that we associate no

partners with Him; and that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and

patrons other than God." (Qu'ran, 3:64)

This is our call to the Jews, a People of the Book: As people who believe

in God and obey His commands, let us come together in a common formula of

"faith." Let us love God, the Lord and Creator of all of us. Let us abide

by His commands. Let us pray to God to lead us further on the path of

righteousness. Let us bring love, compassion, and peace to each other and

the world, not hostility, bloodshed, and anguish.

That is where the solution to the Palestinian tragedy and other conflicts

in the world lies. The deaths and suffering of so many innocent people

remind us every day what an urgent task this is.

---------------------------

Harun Yahya is a prominent Turkish intellectual.

Source: Place4Peace, June 25, 2004

Visit the Place4Peace website at http://www.place4peace.com/

Distributed by the Common Ground News Service.

Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.