The explosion of violence in the Middle East

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It seems like just yesterday that I was writing a column on the prayer gathering for peace hosted by Pope Francis and Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, as they brought together the presidents of Israel and the Palestinian state in an effort to bring about a mutually beneficial solution to the problems that plague them through prayer. In recent statements about this gathering and the sudden outburst of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, instigated by Hamas, Pope Francis said he still believes in the presidents’ desires to move toward peace. The pope said, “Was it a failure? No, I think that door is open.” He added, “These two men are men of peace. They are men who believe in God. They have lived (through) so many nasty things, so many nasty things. They are convinced that the only path to resolve that situation is negotiation, dialogue, peace.”

The explosion of violence in the Middle East is breathtaking. Not only are Israelis and Palestinians suffering, religious minorities in Iraq, including thousands of Christians are being persecuted and murdered by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS or ISIL). Tens of thousands of Christians have fled their homes under the threat of such barbaric intimidation as beheadings and crucifixions, if they do not convert to Islam. The pope said, “They speak to me of the Christians, poor Christians, and the martyrs, and yes, there are so many martyrs, but here there are men and women, religious minorities, and not all Christian and all are equal before God, no?”

Pope Francis also addressed the level of violence being unleashed against women, children and other non-combatants: “Today, children don’t count. Once they spoke of ‘conventional warfare.’ Today this doesn’t count. I’m not saying that the conventional war is a good thing, but today the bomb goes and kills the innocent with the culpable with the child and the women and the mother. They kill everyone. But, we need to stop and think a bit about what level of cruelty we have reached. This should scare us! The level of cruelty today of humanity is a bit scary.”

In regard to the torture of human beings that’s taking place all over our world today, the pope said, “Today torture is one of the almost ordinary means of acts of intelligence services, of judicial processes. And torture is a sin against humanity. It is a crime against humanity. And, to Catholics I say that torturing a person is a mortal sin. It is a grave sin. But, it’s more. It’s a sin against humanity.”

Pope Francis also made a very bold statement calling upon all Muslim leaders throughout the world to condemn the actions of the ISIS in clear and persuasive language. The Vatican statement read, “All must be unanimous in condemning unequivocally these crimes and in denouncing the use of religion to justify them. If not, what credibility will religions, their followers and their leaders have? What credibility can the interreligious dialogue that we have patiently pursued over recent years have?”

In response Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheik, the highest religious authority in the county that includes Mecca, said that ISIS and al Qaeda were “enemy number one of Islam” and are not in any way representative of the faith of Islam. He said, “Extremist and militant ideas and terrorism which spread decay on Earth, destroying human civilization, are not in any way part of Islam, but are enemy number one of Islam, and Muslims are their first victims.”

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia made a speech attacking militant groups that used Islamic justifications and urged Muslim scholars and leaders to fight against them. Saudi Arabia labeled ISIS, al Qaeda, al Nusra Front and other groups as “terrorist” and imposed long prison terms for offering them public support or giving them moral or material aid.

Locally, the Jewish, Catholic, Muslim Dialogue will meet for an interfaith community leadership conversation on the issues facing Israel and the Middle East. We will be meeting with the Consul General of Israel from the Mid-Atlantic region, Yaron Sideman, to discuss directly with an Israeli official, information on the events taking place. For many years now local Jews, Catholics and Muslims have met to discuss various topics important to us. Surely the events unfolding in the Middle East affect us all. Open and honest dialogues in an atmosphere of respect undergird our talks always. We will discuss how we can locally encourage peace and justice for all the children of Abraham.

May our father in faith, Abraham, watch over our efforts to create a more peaceful and safe world for all who look to the God revealed to him in the Middle East!