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Eye on the World: Supporting peace and stability in Syria and Iraq
As the Iraqi and Syrian conflicts grow and seem to become more complex, more players are coming onto the scene. The Christian Science Monitor reports that “Russian fighter planes and military advisers have begun arriving in Iraq to help stem the advance of ISIS forces, after embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki complained that the US was too slow in fulfilling its pledges of air support.”
In another article, the Monitor reports on the declaration by ISIS, the jihadi group fighting in Iraq, that they have established a caliphate that gives their leader authority over the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims. These over-reaching ambitions may be too much for them to sustain, but the situation bears watching all the same.
The following articles may offer comfort and inspiration for your prayers.
In “Iraq: from Cradle to Crucible,” the writer offers insights about the spiritual role of Iraq in world history, saying that “the Babylonians were idolaters and polytheists. Their view of the Divine was radically different from the Hebrews' view. But it was during this exile that the Hebrews came to the realization that their God was not merely a national deity—one among many—but was truly the sole Lord, creator, governor, and sustainer of the whole world.” The writer goes on to tell why those thoughts can help transform our present experience with Iraq.
You also may enjoy “Live peace from the inside out.” The writer offers her prayer-based thoughts about jihad and its ability to lift us above a purely material—or even violent—approach to progress. She writes: “I continue to think about what it means to be daughters and sons of God. The idea gives me a tangible realization that peace and unity are within reach.” “God is universal,” wrote Mary Baker Eddy, “confined to no spot, defined by no dogma, appropriated by no sect. Not more to one than to all, is God demonstrable as divine Life, Truth, and Love; and His people are they that reflect Him—that reflect Love” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896, p. 150 ). To grasp this truth takes a great deal of jihad—an inner striving to yield to the constant, impartial, tender omnipotence of God.
“A Muslim’s view of peace, ” an interview in the Christian Science Sentinel, offers insights about how to gain peace in Jerusalem and elsewhere in the Middle East. He says, “In our shrinking world, we have to learn to live together in harmony. There can be no occupier by force, no matter who it is. We have to have understanding. When we do not know about each other's faith, then we fear each other, fear creates tensions, tensions create violence, and so forth. We have to learn to live together in a society that respects the rights and aspirations of all, not one to the exclusion of the other.”