Two proposals about making peace

A Rabbi addresses a Muslim audience

by Rabbi Menachem Froman

I. In the name of Allah the merciful and most compassionate, one of whose holy names is 'peace'.

I would like to propose an idea whose essence is that peace between Islam and Judaism should be an event of great religious significance.

We Jews can find in the holy scriptures of our Torah and in the words of our prophets and sages two teachings; the first is that we should be loyal unto death to the Torah that was given to us by Allah, hallowed be his name, and to the community of the children of Israel. It is known that we do not work to spread our religion to other peoples; moreover, if a person who belongs to another congregation approaches and asks to join the Jewish community, then the laws of our religion instruct us first and foremost to address him and ask him not to do so and make the conversion to the Jewish religion as difficult as possible.

The second is that we have a great dream in which all mankind worships Allah the one and the eternal, worships and exalts him in our hearts and consciences. How can we reach the realization of this universal dream?

In practice, in our world today it is possible to project a solution in which Islam is the religion that spreads the message of belief in one G-d to the whole world. According to the perception of our sages throughout the years, the Muslims believe truthfully in one G-d. Therefore, we can project an act in which Jews all over the world support the spreading of the message of belief in one G-d by the Muslims.

From this point of view, how horrifying appears the Islamic-Jewish conflict! It appears as one of the works of Satan, who wants to stop the spread of the message of the belief in one G-d and prevent it from reaching mankind worldwide. The continuation of this conflict between the two religions, in particular the terrorist attacks against Jews that were perpetrated in our holy land in the name of Islam, strengthen the prejudices against Islam in the world. It is as if the scenes broadcast by television to the entire world showing the victims, women and children, and the spilled blood of innocents, are the images that represent the religion of Islam as a whole.

We have to 'stone' – using modern measures that are permissible from religious and moral points of view – the cursed Satan that is threatening us all here in the holy land.

In addition, from the purely political point of view, it is impossible to avoid these scenes of hatred between people and to achieve lasting peace between Jews and Muslims without ensuring the participation of men of religion, Muslims and Jews, in reaching that goal, especially in light of the fact that Jewish and Muslim men of religion are ordered to do so not for political reasons alone, but for religious reasons, and they should exert every possible effort to strengthen the message of belief in one G-d and to enhance his holy and sacred message in the hearts of all mankind.

We have to accomplish a great deal in this field, and first and foremost to think what the sacred religious precepts could do in our world today. What is the modern significance of the message of the belief in one G-d? How can we spread the message of one G-d in today's spiritual and technological world? How can we translate the precepts of religion into modern language, for example the concept of "ahl a-d'imma" (non-Muslim residents of the Islamic state who enjoy its protection) in Islam, and the concept of "Jerusalem the source of the message of belief in one G-d" in Judaism.

II. In the name of Allah the merciful and most compassionate, one of whose holy names is 'peace'.

We who received from G-d, blessed be he, responsibility for the Muslim religious community and for the Jewish religious community that reside here in the holy land, hereby declare in Jerusalem the holy city that believers of the Israeli people and believers of the Palestinian people should be the vanguard working for peace in this land, the land of peace.

The bloody war between Israelis and Palestinians is the work of Satan, intended to humiliate the honor of believers worldwide. Hence we must stone Satan, disobey his word and act with all our influence to put an end to the bloodshed, which dishonors us and the holy land.

Hence we hereby declare our intention to establish a joint committee of sheikhs and rabbis whose permanent seat is in Jerusalem the holy city, capital of peace. The committee will make every effort on behalf of a just solution to all disputes between Israelis and Palestinians, and the creation of an atmosphere of peace among all believers. We call upon the religious leaders of Jordan and all neighboring countries and the world to join us in an effort to bring peace to the holy land, the land of peace.

And we pray with all our hearts that G-d, blessed and exalted be he, will soon fulfill his word and bring blessings to this city.