Middle East Peace: What is Possible?
By Nadine Andre, Washington DC
nadine@iifwp.org
June 27, 2003
The Opening Session of the second special consultation of the Middle
East Peace Initiative called, "The World At A Turning Point: Considering
Innovative Proposals for Peace, Cooperation and Co-Prosperity in the
Middle East," opened tonight in Washington D.C. at the Arlington Sheraton,
sponsored by the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace
[IIFWP], and co-sponsored by the American Family Coalition, American Clergy
Leadership Conference, The Washington Times Foundation and the United Press
International Foundation.
Approximately 140 participants representing 25 nations anticipated the
up-coming discussions, debate, exploration and consensus, in how to augment,
add to, innovate and supplement the stalled "Road Map" for peace in the
Middle East. Among the participants were former president of Indonesia,
Abdurrahman Wahid, who throughout his presidency called for reforms within
Islam and took much criticism for it.
Archbishop George Stallings, Chairman of the American Clergy Leadership
Conference, that recently led a pilgrimage of Christian Ministers to Jerusalem
to meet with Jewish leaders, gave the opening invocation imploring heaven that
this Middle East Peace initiative would herald in the "cosmic world of peace."
Giving the keynote address, Mr. Douglas Joo, President of the Washington
Times, said that the Washington Times has been unique among newspapers in
its clarity, insight and values in dealing with world crises. He said,
"The media has the role to make a unique contribution to the sharing of
information across cultural boundaries in the 21st Century, and to help bring
world peace through honest, moral and a responsible worldwide media network."
Dr. Faisal Al-Rfouh, from the University of Jordan and the former Minister
of Social Development and Culture in Jordan, denoted the distinction
of Arab-Israeli relations as opposed to Arab-Israeli conflict and said,
"You cannot ignore the role of Jordan in the peace process and commended
Father Moon, founder of IIFWP for his leadership in bringing the different
factions together.
Dr. Noel Brown, president of the Friends of the United Nations and former
Director of the UN Environmental Program, brought a practical perspective
to the evening by speaking about economics. He said that the entire Middle
East's contribution to global trade is equivalent to Iceland and spoke about
developing the region economically. "Entrepreneurship incentives such as
the Middle East Entrepreneur Summit and Young Entrepreneurs Academy, that
encourage young people to live, work, and trade together in the region is a
viable and proven successful way out of what otherwise seems to be an impasse."
Dr. Andrew Wilson, editor of the World Scripture Project and theologian who
also was part of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem stated, "Religion has a great role
in the peace process. About 90% of the time, the religions of the world speak
fundamentally about the same things, People get their fire from faith. Even
the suicide bombers do, so it is imperative to bring the religions together."
The opening of the Initiative held promise, however the participants held
on to some reservation as they geared themselves up for the next two days
of sessions. While the "Road Map" to peace seems to chart a direction,
as any good navigator knows the map is as good as the people reading it.
IIFWP e-news is published by the IIFWP Secretariat
155 White Plains Road, Suite 205, Tarrytown, New York 10591
Phone: 914.631.1331 ext. 111 - Fax: 914.631.1308
E-mail:
nadine@iifwp.org
- Website: www.iifwp.org
If you do not wish to receive future e-mails from the IIFWP,
or wish to see previous issues, please go to www.iifwp.org/enews.
|