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Wednesday, August 26, 2020

CONSIDER THE ISRAEL-U.A.E. "ABRAHAM ACCORD" IN CONTEXT TO IMPERATIVES OF NATIONAL MANIFEST DESTINY.

 

Every nation believes itself to have a manifest destiny -- even a God-given manifest destiny.

Nowhere in the world as in the Middle East do we see the conflicts and competitions between national manifest destinies as we see in and around Israel, which sits at the fulcrum between the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa.  (Although India is itself a unique continent, being contiguous to Asia, India may to some extent be regarded as an extension of Asia and therefore of the third continent.)  In religious terms those conflicts include Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Atheism.

Fundamental to the most extreme visions of each of these manifest destinies is the axiomatic devotion and commitment to imperial class status; therefore any sustainable solution to these conflicts requires the acceptance of a principle that appears anathema to each unique vision of manifest destiny; and, that principle is: respect and recognition of international political equality among nations.  

 Until the creation of the Modern Jewish State of Israel in 1948, Jews have been subjugated internationally, most notably by dominions of Christianity and Islam.  To those given to apocalyptic thinking, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism regard the existence of today's Israel as imminent to the End of Days, according to which is anticipated the Second Coming of Christ, the Appearance of the Mahdi, or the Arrival of Moshiach-Moshichay, respectively.  Correlatively and imminently, the apocalyptic mind makes ready for the onset of Armageddon, that cataclysmic war in which the deserving dead will arise and live once again, flesh growing upon flesh upon bone, jumping out of graves, Armies of Heaven prophecied to defeat Worldly Evil once and for all Eternity.

Never mind that in answer to the question, "When will you return...?",  Jesus replied "Only the Father [God Himself] knows..." (Sermon on the Mount).  Never mind, too, that both Judaism and Islam caution that anyone claiming to be the Moshiach-Moshichay or the Mahdi, respectively, must fulfill certain conditions that have yet to be fulfilled, rendering as false any claims to such Heavenly Messianic Status. 

It may be said that in the USA approximately half of the population perceives President Donald John Trump in messianic terms and that former President Barack Hussein Obama was perceived in messianic terms by the alternate half of the US population.  "Hussein" is a name that indicates the possibility that former President Obama may be a direct descendant of Muhammad.  "John" is a name that stands out in Christianity, not least in the lyric of the gospel song "I Wanna Be Ready" ["... to walk in Jerusalem, just like John"].  On the one hand one must be careful not to read to much into names or to interpret the facts on the ground according to metaphor; on the other hand one ignores such things at one's peril, as they may have cultural, political, and religious significance in the minds of millions of persons.

Only a fool would deny the messianic importance of Vladimir Putin to Russia... only a fool would deny the messianic importance of Tayyip Erdogan to Turkey... only a fool would deny the messianic importance of Kim Jong Un to North Korea... only a fool would deny the messianic importance of Xi Jinping to China... only a fool would deny the messianic importance of Rodrigo Duterte to the Philippines... etc.  (But, we do live in a world of fools, don't?)

Any lasting peace agreement(s) in the Middle East must be based on the fundamental requirement that the religious manifest destiny visions of the conflicting nations be factored into account.  This is necessary in order to transform the present conflicts into healthy competitions.  All too often the word "competition" is misused, where "conflict" ought to be the correct word, as the word "competition" means "to strive together" and "conflict" means "to contend, fight, struggle".  This means that the (ideally) competing nations must respect each other's sense of manifest destiny, and this respect must be defined both within nations and across borders.

No respect of Israel's sense of manifest destiny may include promulgation of "Dhimmitude" status and the repression, oppression, and persecution of Jews that is inimical to Islam or for that matter to Christian equivalents.  Nor can any similar status be promulgated by Jews against Arabs, etc.  It is possible within borders to establish a special status for foreigners so that foreigners may live and thrive within the borders of a dominant culture and not be repressed, oppressed, or persecuted.  And it should be possible for the Arabs and for the entire world of Muslims and Christians and Jews to understand that no human being speaks absolutely for God.  That being so, borders must be recognized and accepted, so that each nation may express it's own sense of manifest destiny and not yet impose any unique vision upon the other similarly unique visions.  For example, Arabs ['Palestinians'] accepting and preferring to live in Israel [inclusive of Golan, Judea-Samaria, and Jerusalem] ought to be able to do so, having a preferred status that is however exclusive of Israeli Citizenship.

As to definitions of borders, reality must be recognized.  The de facto borders of Israel are those areas already under Israel's political and military hegemony, which for the good of everyone should be accepted as de jure, irregardless of propaganda, political posturing, biased and invalid decision-making by the ICJ, and one-sided resolutions against Israel at the UN.

There is absolutely every reason -- religious, philosophical, and political -- for the Muslim world to adopt a religious posture that is protective of the State of Israel as a manifestation of the People of the Book, protection of which People is required by Islam.  As Christians are also regarded by Islam as People of the Book, there must be an end to Muslim persecution of Christians.  And, by extension, there must be a universal end to persecution of any faith group by any other faith group; secular influences not withstanding, it is not incorrect to regard Western Culture as Christian Culture, Eastern Culture as Muslim Culture, and Israeli Culture as Jewish Culture. 

The "Abraham Accord" gives promise to a possible future of Middle East Peace.  Yet, it will succeed, if and only if religious commonality between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, being Abrahamic Faiths, provides a basis for the respect and recognition of international political equality among nations.