The history of the North American continent is one of frequient conflict. Our land is made up of many peoples, and at one time or another, these different peoples have fought each other! So, how do we get along today? We use that very, very powerful tool I mentioned earlier. I think it is the most powerful tool the human mind can embrace. Lynne, are you ready for it? Will Arabs do this one thing for peace? Here it is: FORGIVE YOUR ENEMIES. End the cycle of revenge. End the cycle of violence. Tell the Israelis you forgive them for all the wrong they have done and ask them to forgive you for the wrongs you may have done to them. The greatest lesson taught by Jesus (Isha) is to love Allah with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. The second is to love your neighbor as you love yourself (for this sums up the Law and the Prophets). Lynne, if you could convince the Arabs to love the Jews, and the Jews to love their Arab brothers, GREAT WOULD BE YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN!!! I have a Qur'an and read it. Do you have a copy of the Gospels? They are the stories of the Prince of Peace.

I have said this many times before and I say it again.. every one of us wants peace but every one has his own conditions .. I don't think that there is a sane human being who would not want peace for himself and for his childern and grandchildren.. but the problem is that my view for peace is different from your view which might also be different from the Israelis' view.. there are women and children in Israeli prisons.. Hezbullah wanted an exchange for the women and children .. if Quntar was imprisoned for murder.. may I ask you why are those children in prison?? I might believe that we need to forgive each other but will the families of those who were killed or in prisons forgive?? will their children forgive and forget?? I'm not so sure about that.. even the Israelis who have lost their loved ones in this war .. will they forgive?? honestly.. I don't see that in the ME many people are ready to succumb and say "ok" for peace with Israel under the current circumstances.. to tell you the truth I believe the worse is still to come.. the biggest problem that there is no trust between both sides.. and there is no third party which could be trustworthy and help in a peace process.. even if a peace treaty is signed there will always be the threat of Israel expanding more and more since in the first place Israel is a state established upon certain religious beliefs that it has to get bigger and bigger.. In North America those feuds lasted for hundreds of years.. and if this is the case in here then this is really bad news.. I would love to convince both sides to love each other and find peace but I don't believe I can.. things are getting worse every minute in the Arab world.. nobody knows anymore what's right and what's wrong.. there is not one Arab country which I could say is stable.. how can I tell them to love Israelis when everyday we hear nothing but "so and so Palestinians were killed.. the IDF did so and so.. " by the way.. I can assure you that in the Arab world most of us are able to distinguish between Israel and Jews.. we strongly believe that Israelis do not represent Judaism.. this is why I think that if we get together with those jews who are against Israel we might get somewhere.. if I can with others who hold my beliefs convince Arabs to tolerate Israel and those Jews convince Israelis to tolerate Arabs then I believe we might get somewhere.. I do not have a copy of the Gospels but I have read bits from here and there.. I don't see this as a problem between religions since all religions call for the best and most decent.. this is a political problem in which all of us have used religion to turn our political beliefs into sacred subjects... religion is a grace which God had given us to make us better... religion is there to give us peace and morals.. whatever the religion is..

"but the problem is that my view for peace is different from your view which might also be defferent from the Israelis' view"... I have now offered you two kinds of peace. Tell me your view of peace. What will the ME look like under your kind of peace?

I do agree with your views for peace.. my point was that we all want the same thing.. but we all have absolutely different beliefs.. we couldn't even agree on history.. out of reading the posts of many Israelis in here I have noticed that we don't even agree historically!! I find myself having to argue with them on every single detail because it contradicts what I know.. it's really crazy.. that's why I always tell you that I strongly want peace but I haven't got much hope that it could happen.. I like the way you have put it.. that we should rise economically and we should forgive.. I agree with both but maybe it's easy for you to say this since you're not facing this reality.. for you things are as simple as that.. but for us and even for Israelis I don't think it's that easy.. I have told you in my previous posts why I think it's difficult to achieve both.. but it might not be impossible.. the problem is it will take time..much more time than we have.. the ME is on the verge of exploding now.. I think the first thing we should do is achieve peace politicaly.. when the governments agree on peace things would calm down a bit.. for me peace is not to stop war military wise while everything stays the same.. because under such circumstances there will always be some sort of violence.. the Palestinians don't have a government left.. they have no security.. even Israelis are against their government now.. so first we should start by both sides electing new governments.. and then if Israelis want a country then fine.. they can have a country but a country with clear borders and they should stay within those borders and not whenever start a war or a blockade on an independent Palestinian country whenever they feel like it.. the same should go for Lebanon and Syria.. ALL sides should be asked to respect each others sovereignity.. and of course I couldn't dismiss Iraq from this.. something should be done about Iraq.. and quickly.. the ME I wish for is a strong ME where all Arab countries would unite economically and politically.. my ME contrasts the ME the US wants for us.. (no offence).. I wait for the day when Muslims, Christians and Jews would come to the ME safely to visit the Holy Land where our Prophets have lived and prayed years before we have ruined it and turned it into a region of wars and bloodbaths..

Lynne, if our leaders could speak to one another as you and I have, peace would not be far away!! The urgency of the situation is just as you said: The ME is about to explode. There will be no winners, only survivors. This should encourage most to seek agreements. Some will look for glory in it all and do as they always do, wreak the peace process. Have you ever been bloody up to your elbows, trying to save a comrade? All the while, you have this sick feeling, knowing they are dying. Or, listened to other comrades burn to death who moments before were standing right beside you? If you have, God bless you. If not, there is nothing glorious about it. It is coming to a village near you, soon, if we don't stop it now. I can't write much now. I will write more later. Peace be with you!

I think we are able to agree because we are not in a position where we have to make BIG decisions.. no, I have never been in such a situation.. I have never seen a dead body and I don't want to.. you're so busy.. looks like the business is at its peak.. LOL .. Good luck..

Good! I hope you never have to do those things! It has been good to listen to your opinion of how peace could be found between Jews, Arabs, and Christians. I find myself agreeing with 90% of what you say. Of course, the devil is always in the details. It is easy to agree on principle, not easy to put this into practice. Much of what you have said is exactly what the US is trying to do in Afghanistan and Iraq. We want these people to have democracticaly elected representatives in the government. We are willing to pay for a lot of the expenses to establish this government. Once they can fend for themselves we want our soldiers to come home!!! Do we want governments that are friendly to us? Of course! If I understand you correctly, the biggest difference between us is you want a return of the Caliphate. That is to say, you want all the Arab countries to become one government. This makes the West very uncomfortable. In the past, it was always Christian countries that fell before the expanding Islamic Empire ( or Caliphate, Ummah, or whatever word you wish to use here). If the Arab League started to help each other in regional economic development, I think that would be a good idea. Maybe we could exchange e-mail addresses. It would be fun to continue this dialouge.