The Honorable Peace book is now available in Arabic

The Honorable Peace book is now available in Arabic

Finally, the book is available in the native language of the Palestinians, in Arabic, published by Ghorab Publishing, إصدار حديث السلام مع الكرامة تأليف جوتفريد هونر ترجمة ماجد عزت اسرائيل دار غراب للنشر والتوزيع دار غراب للنشر والتوزيع القاهرة Maged… | Instagram.

The book gives a surprisingly simple answer to the decisive question of how the Palestinians will get their own state: What will be more important to them, peace, or revenge? If they choose peace, they will get their own state.

Forty years ago, the author, a Catholic theologian, spent a full year studying Islam with a Sudanese Shaykh in Egypt and in Sudan.

The idea to the book and his writings about the conflict began with 9/11. After another 18 years of carefully considering the needs of both sides the book was ready to be published. It was translated into Arabic by the Egyptian religious studies scholar, Dr. Maged Ezzat.

Please see for yourself.

Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-lssa

Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-lssa, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League about Honorable Peace/ Gottfried Hutter

Dr. Al-Issa, Date 09/11/2020

Mohammad Abdul Karim Al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League.Granger18700Own work CC BY-SA 4.0

His Excellency Mr. Gottfried Hutter
Theologian, Psychotherapist.
Munich, Germany

Your Excellency.

Our world is in dire need of prominent figures like you who dedicate their lives to bring peace and stability to the world, your book contains a very valuable lesson about the importance of peace and stability, and this is clearly translated in your efforts to provide mental help to the traumatized refugees. All of us who are capable have an obligation to unite our efforts to offer just and fair solutions to the problems of the world so that a comprehensive peace may prevail.

Since becoming the Secretary-General of the Muslim World League we have spared no effort in combating all forms of hatred around the world. Earlier this year, I have led the first every high-level Muslim delegation to the Auschwitz death camps to show our solidarity to our Jewish brothers on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camp and declared to the world that will not allow such atrocities to happen ever again, God willing.

Similarly, we have worked with the Christian leadership all over the world, we have met with the Pope and signed a historic agreement with the Vatican, similarly, we met with the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, Archbishop of Canterbury, The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the leadership of the Evangelical community in the US and last year we signed a historic agreement in Paris among the Abrahamic Religions.

We always cherish the opportunity of building bridging of cooperation among the followers of different faiths and cultures and we will be honored to meet Your Excellency once the traveling restrictions imposed due to the pandemic are more favorable.

Best Regards.

Secretary-General
of the Muslim World League

Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-lssa

 

Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa (Arabic: محمد بن عبد الكريم العيسى; born 9 June 1965) is a Saudi Arabian politician, Secretary General of the Muslim World League, President of the International Islamic Halal Organization, and former Minister of Justice. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_bin_Abdul_Karim_Issa

“Honorable Peace” – A Utopian Idea?

“Honorable Peace” – A Utopian Idea?

About Gottfried Hutter, Honorable Peace
https://honorablepeace.com; gottfried.hutter@gmx.de

When the Ottoman Empire dissolved after WW I a unique opportunity arose for the Jewish people to at least partly rebuild their biblical state for the first time since the Romans had destroyed it. British Foreign Minister Balfour announced that opportunity in 1917; members of the Jewish people actualized the idea, partly against the resistance of the British. When, in 1947, the general public became aware that such a new state might indeed become a reality, since the UN General Assembly had proposed dividing Palestine, the Arab neighbors attacked the embryonic Jewish state. But, coming from the still wide-open wound of the Holocaust, the determination of the Jews was overwhelming. Not only did they survive the attack, they were able to proclaim their state in 1948; one year later the Arab neighbors had to accept armistice. They could not prevent the Jewish state – but they had no intention of making peace with it, since they had never been willing to accept the UN General Assembly’s proposal. In their view, the establishment of the new Jewish state on Palestinian land had severely injured their honor, as Palestinians and as Muslims, so that peace must depend on the restoration of their honor. Only, how could that honor be restored? How could Palestinians deprived of their land ever come to regard the Israelis as rightfully entitled to having their state on that land?

Today, only one line of action can be effective: if the victims can come to understand the situation the occupiers were in at that time and consequently donate the land which they hold to have been occupied illegally. Only, how could such a thing even be considered? Initially it may call for something like an apology from the highest political authority of Israel for all the vexations caused to Palestinians by the Israeli seizure of their land. Combined with the shock over six million Jews having been brutally murdered in the Holocaust such an Israeli apology could finally move the Palestinians, the Muslims, to pause and reflect on their most basic relation to the Jewish people.

As a first reaction such a pause could evoke pure Islamic compassion. It could make the Muslims realize how dearly the survivors of that unimaginable horror needed a sanctuary, a place where they could live in safety, a place to which Jews from all over the world could flee in the event of any new threat; a state of their own in which they could be sure of determining their own fate – something that could not be guaranteed in a one-state solution.

If Muslims were then to look further, they would also remember that their religion, Islam, had evolved directly from the biblical tradition, since almost all Muslim Prophets are biblical Prophets. With that insight they would come to realize that they could not forever be angry with the People of the Book, but that on the contrary they owe them an immense debt of gratitude. That gratitude would then motivate their symbolic gift to the Jews, the gift of the land; their donation of the territory which the Jews named “Israel” would then be no mere act of generosity, it would become a “Welcome!” rooted in gratitude. Such a transformation would efface the coercion and bitterness of decades, and nothing but positive feelings towards the Jews would remain.

Reflecting on the origins of the religion of Islam they will realize that the vast dimension of their gratitude will not be depleted by their gift of territory. A superabundance of gratitude will remain, one that could even motivate Muslims to take an additional step: they could allow the members of this People of the book to live alongside them throughout biblical territory. But that would, of course, call for a reappraisal of the lingering and still acutely painful infringements that have taken place to this day.

Engulfed in the experience of that gratitude, the atmosphere between Israelis and Palestinians would change fundamentally. What had been enmity would now become friendship, true friendship! That is the one basis true peace must need – a basis that not only has the power to enable peace in the short term, but even to establish a peace that can last for centuries – a peace now free from the previous condition of subordination by non-Muslims!

The archetypal model for such a peace that I see in the Bible is the gesture of Jacob to his brother Esau, who was on the point of killing him in revenge for the theft of his birthright. After this gesture, Esau was suddenly able to hug his brother warmly and to say, “the land is big enough for both of us.” After a comparable gesture by the Palestinians today, the Israelis could drop their threat of annexation and respond in kind. And once that gesture, the donation of the land, the wish most yearned for by Israelis, to be welcomed in their ancient biblical homeland, has been fulfilled, the Israelis will in turn be able to fulfill the most longed-for wish of the Palestinians and to grant them their state of Palestine – including East Jerusalem as its capital.

Secretary-General of the Muslim World League

Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-lssa, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, 09/11/2020

Makkah Al-Mukarramah – Saudi Arabia

No 67

Date 09/11/2020

Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-lssa, Secretary-General
of the Muslim World League writes to Gottfried Hutter

Our world is in dire need of prominent figures like you who dedicate their lives to bring peace and stability to the world, your book contains a very valuable lesson about the importance of peace and stability, and this is clearly translated in your efforts to provide mental help to the traumatized refugees. All of us who are capable have an obligation to unite our efforts to offer just and fair solutions to the problems of the world so that a comprehensive peace may prevail.

Since becoming the Secretary-General of the Muslim World League we have spared no effort in combating all forms of hatred around the world. Earlier this year, I have led the first every high-level Muslim delegation to the Auschwitz death camps to show our solidarity to our Jewish brothers on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camp and declared to the world that will not allow such atrocities to happen ever again, God willing.

Similarly, we have worked with the Christian leadership all over the world, we have met with the Pope and signed a historic agreement with the Vatican, similarly, we met with the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, Archbishop of Canterbury, The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the leadership of the Evangelical community in the US and last year we signed a historic agreement in Paris among the Abrahamic Religions.

We always cherish the opportunity of building bridging of cooperation among the followers of different faiths and cultures and we will be honored to meet Your Excellency once the traveling restrictions imposed due to the pandemic are more favorable.

Best Regards.

Secretary-General

of the Muslim World League

 

Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa (Arabic: محمد بن عبد الكريم العيسى‎; born 9 June 1965) is a Saudi Arabian politician, Secretary General of the Muslim World League, President of the International Islamic Halal Organization, and former Minister of Justice.

Al-Issa is considered a leading global voice on moderate Islam as well as a key figure in the fight to combat extremist ideology. Religious leaders and government officials alike have commended Al-Issa for his efforts to promote moderation, and cooperation and coexistence among all people.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_bin_Abdul_Karim_Issa

Guterres

“Thank you so very much for your excellent grasp and very valuable ideas for our work.” …

António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( Secretary-General of the United Nations), CC BY 2.0, (c) Cancillería Argentina

 

THE SECRETARY GENERAL / LE SECRETAIRE GENERAL
UNITED NATIONS / NATIONS UNIES

NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10017

April 22, 2020

António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres
SECRETARY-GENERAL, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres writes to Gottfried Hutter

 

Dear Mr. Hutter

Thank you so very much for your excellent grasp and very valuable ideas for our work.

With my warmest personal regards.

Antonio Guterres

António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres
SECRETARY-GENERAL, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres writes to Gottfried Hutter

cover_engl_amazon

 

António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres GCC GCL, born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician serving since 2017 as the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations. A member of the Portuguese Socialist Party, he served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.

Guterres served as secretary-general of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He was elected prime minister of Portugal in 1995 and resigned in 2002, after the Socialist Party was defeated in the 2001 Portuguese local elections. After six years governing without an absolute majority and with a bad economy, the Socialist Party did worse than expected because of losses in Lisbon and Porto, where polls indicated they had a solid lead. Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues assumed the Socialist Party leadership, but the general election was lost to the Social Democratic Party, led by José Manuel Barroso.

Guterres served as president of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. He was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015. In both 2012 and 2014 polls, the Portuguese public ranked him the best prime minister of the previous 30 years.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant%C3%B3nio_Guterres

Cancillería Argentinahttps://www.flickr.com/photos/mrecic-argentina/48132270313/

CC BY 2.0

German: Interview: FRIEDEN ZWISCHEN PALÄSTINA UND ISRAEL IST MÖGLICH

Empathie ist der Weg zum Frieden: verstehen statt verurteilen, versöhnen statt vernichten, lieben statt hassen.

Transparenz TV – Leben mit der Energiewende – 958. Sendung vom 17.05.2021.

FRIEDEN ZWISCHEN PALÄSTINA UND ISRAEL IST MÖGLICH

Gottfried Hutter, Psychotherapeut, Theologe, Nahostkenner mit Jahrzehnte langen Kontakten zu wichtigen Persönlichkeiten aus Politik und allen drei Religionen im Nahen Osten macht in seinem Buch „100 Jahre Nahostkonflikt – Ehrenhafter Frieden“ einen neuen, überraschenden, zunächst utopisch scheinenden, aber doch realisierbaren Friedensvorschlag: Die umstrittenen israelischen Siedlungen im Westjordanland als Friedenschance!

 

 

 

Seit 100 Jahren leisten die Religionen im Nahen Osten eher Beiträge zum Krieg als zum Frieden. Jede hat Angst vor der Übermacht der Anderen. Doch die Geschichte lehrt, dass Angst und Misstrauen nicht durch Krieg und Gewalt zu überwinden sind. Welchen Beitrag können Religionen zum Frieden im Nahen Osten ganz konkret und praktisch leisten?

Die zentrale Tugend der drei abrahamischen Religionen ist in gleicher Weise die Barmherzigkeit. Hier steckt ein riesiges, noch unerschlossenes Friedenspotential. Die gemeinsame Basis von Judentum, Christentum und Islam heißt: verstehen statt verurteilen, versöhnen statt vernichten, lieben statt hassen. Empathie ist der Weg zum Frieden.

Das Buch von Gottfried Hutter gibt Antworten zur Frage: Wie kann bleibender Frieden gesichert werden zwischen der muslimischen Welt und Israel?

Während Machtpolitik meist weiteren Kampf hervorruft, baut dieses Buch auf menschlichem Mitgefühl und Verstehen auf.

Studiogast: Gottfried Hutter, Autor Moderation: Franz Alt – 958.

Link: https://www.sonnenseite.com/de/franz-alt/kommentare-interviews/franz-alt-frieden-zwischen-palaestina-und-israel-ist-moeglich/

 

Review Robert Vandemeulebroucke

HONORABLE PEACE BY GOTTFRIED HUTTER / A REVIEW

Synopsis of the book

This compelling book describes in great length the author’s firm belief that peace between Jews and Muslims (with Christians in the background) in Israel is not only desirable, but also attainable in order to put two thousand years of hostility and conflict between the three Abrahamic religions finally to rest.

At the centre of the book is the Old Testament biblical story of Esau and Jacob. Jacob defrauded his first born brother Esau from the blessing of their father Isaac to whose father, Abraham, God had pledged that his offspring would become the founder of a great Nation. When Esau realised he had been tricked by his brother, he planned vengeance and Jacob had to flee. After a 20 year long banishment during which he became a wealthy man, Jacob returned. Esau at first wanted to kill him but was overcome with brotherly love when Jacob prostrated himself before him seven times and offered Esau rich presents. Esau was deeply moved by this sign of humility and reconciled himself with his brother.

This story offers the gist of reconciliation based on understanding, compassion and respect, all hallmarks of the three Abrahamic religions that are able to co-exist in peace with one another. So which of the three religions should come forward and make the first move?

Here arises a first difficulty. The risk of setting the process in motion is the fear of Jews, Muslims and Christians alike, that being overpowered and subjugated by any of the two other religions is not a winning strategy. Each of the three religions is convinced of its superiority and flexibility should be shown by at least one of the remaining two. This inevitably has led to distrust and multiple devastating wars.

In short: in order to meet the desired objective Jews must ask the “Umma” (Muslim community) for understanding. Jews must feel the pain inflicted on Muslims by suddenly being offered a country by the international community without giving anything in return, and show compassion. Concurrently, Muslims must show understanding for Jews who have been persecuted all over the world for countless centuries, before having finally been offered the opportunity to return to what they consider their Promised Land.

Ideally, the West Bank and Gaza would become the nucleus of a Palestinian state with a Jewish minority, while Israel could become the embodiment of the Jewish state with a Palestinian minority.

The Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque that also is the site of the first Jewish temple would ideally become the future site of both Jews and Muslim worshipping, if the three common religious characteristics (understanding, compassion and respect) could be met.

In Gottfried Hutter’s opinion, these goals can be attained.

A short note on religious intolerance among the Abrahamic religions

Until the founding of Israel in 1948, Jews never lived in their “Promised Land”, a land they could call home, defined as a country with its own institutions. Instead, they lived scattered in the Middle East and over the world as a result of the upheavals of history well before the arrival of the Messiah.

The Babylonian king Nabuchadnezar conquered Jerusalem and forced the Jews into exile, the first exodus in a long series. In early Christianity Jerusalem was under Roman occupation. Subsequent empires, most notably under Arab or Turkish rule, administered the region for centuries.

The Balfour Declaration (1917) resuscitated hopes, but the promise made to the Zionists to create a new state was quickly forgotten. It took WW2 and especially the horrors of the Shoah that finally moved the Christian West into action by honouring the 1917 pledge. The hastily, not carefully thought out decision to create a new state Israel, marks a great injustice towards the Arabs and towards Palestinians in particular: the UN nor anybody else cared to consult them prior to the UN-voting. In other words: the creation of Israel was forced upon Muslims and Palestinians top-down. The four subsequent wars by neighbouring Muslim states in order to eradicate Israel from the map were all won by Israel. So massive underlying tensions have not evaporated and peace treaties between most Muslim neighbour countries and Israel are still pipe dreams.

Christianity has had an ambiguous attitude against Jews until very recently. Throughout history Jews have always been considered second class citizens that were responsible for Golgotha and the execution of the Messiah. This stigma works like an instant powerful glue: it sticks on you and one will never get rid of it. It reminds me of another Biblical story namely that because Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they were expelled from the Garden of Eden, never to return. Mankind was considered collateral damage by a merciless God, and each and every one will forever suffer from this original sin for which none, except the original Biblical parents, were responsible. The Christian enmity towards Jews has many unpleasant faces. Jews, Muslim and indeed many Christians back in 1099 were slaughtered by Christian crusaders “liberating” Jerusalem on papal instructions. In 1492 Jews had to flee Spain on the order of Catholic rulers except when willing to convert to Catholicism. Nazism is of course the ultimate horror in Christian Europe: millions of entire Jewish families were arrested and deported to death camps where they perished.

This enormous sense of Christian culpability led immediately after the war to the resuscitation of the Balfour pledge and the coming into being of a new state Israel, to the detriment of Palestinians and Arabs who were never consulted. Christians, especially Evangelical Christians in the US under President Trump went even a step further: they have encouraged succeeding Israeli governments in any possible way and by all possible means to do what good was for Israel by offering unconditional US support and aid while stiffening legitimate Palestinian demands and weaken their influence, if not authority, in their own heartland.

The Catholic Church on the other hand, arrived quite late on the scene of reconciliation with the declaration ‘Nostra aetate”.

In comparison, the Muslim “Umma” for the greater part of European and Middle Eastern history in the last fourteen hundred years, was generally benevolent to the Jews whom they considered “people of the Book”. Jews, with minor restrictions, were thus able to keep their own way of life under the “Dhimmi-contract”, including worshipping. It was, therefore, quite insulting to Arabs that the UN and the international mainly Christian community, treated them so poorly after WW2.

My opinion

If enough people with authority and goodwill involving the three religions can be found at once, brought together and work in unison, this new religious reconciliation edifice may come about but it will require a lot of religious and secular support over a considerable length of time, on condition that work can continue unabated and without outside interference to delay the intended objective. But relying on spiritual values alone in one of the most volatile political hotspots in the world, will not bring this immense issue closer to its realisation.

Politics also will have an overriding place in rebuilding this edifice.

Remember the Biblical story of Kaïn murdering his brother Abel because his own offering was turned down by God. At that moment, politics entered the Bible and they played a substantial part in all subsequent Old Testament stories.

Another difficulty will be to convince Jews and Muslims alike to share the same plot of land in Jerusalem for worship, namely the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque that equally hosts the remains of the first Jewish temple. Both edifices have an enormous importance for both religions. The Al Aqsa mosque because from there the Prophet Mohammad moved to heaven. The Temple Mound because it houses the remains of the first Jewish temple, destroyed by the Romans. Blame Caliph Omar who, centuries later, selected the spot of the first Jewish temple to erect the Al Aqsa mosque. It is exactly the plot chosen by Jews to rebuild the temple. Even less religious Jews will not be ready to cede the plot to Muslims only. Too much history to both religions is spread out in this small area.

Finally, there are pressing political reasons that will hinder reconciliation for a long time to come like Israel’s security and issues on land and demography.

First security. Israel’s history since 1948 is riddled by wars against Muslims and by multiple attacks against Israeli citizens perpetrated by Muslim jihadists of all creeds inside and outside Israel. A hard line Israeli cabinet under Benjamin Netanyahu, unconditionally supported by the US, only adds fuel to the fire. American Secretary of State, Mike Pompeio, suggested weeks ago that he saw no legal reason for Israel not to annex the West Bank. If that were the case and if Israel would annex the West Bank pure and simple as suggested by Washington, it would deprive the Palestinians of most of their territory. It could mean war and it annihilates whatever remains of common ground to bring both parties together (as if there was any common ground left).

Then land and demography. Israel’s doctrine, even under the pre-Israel Zionists, still continues to be “maximum land with a minimal number of Arabs”. This justified the exodus in Israel’ eyes of roughly half of the population in 1948 and the capture of 80% of “Mandatory Palestine”, thus achieving this proposed territorial-demographic strategy. These extensions of Israeli territory have never been formal or legal, except the annexation of East-Jerusalem. Further, the West Bank, the original Palestinian state to be, was broken up in three areas. Area A was granted autonomy, area B received only limited autonomy while area C remains under direct Israeli control with a minority of Palestinians living there together with a growing number of “Israeli colonies”. This too does not engender goodwill from the Palestinians who find it difficult to move around their own land due to a multitude of barriers erected by Israel. Demography is another factor: around 2025 – 2030 there may be more Palestinians than Israelis living in Israel due to the higher birth rate of Palestinians. This too will increase pressure.

And Gaza, with more than two million suffering inhabitants living in cramped conditions on a small sliver of land, emphasises the Israeli adagio of “maximal land with a minimal number of Arabs”.

In short, I cannot see how one can change the mind of any of the three contenders in a foreseeable future to show understanding, flexibility and generosity towards the other two and promote the noble objective of this book’s author.

Rather, it seems to me that a multitude of hot political issues must be tackled first before the religious itinerary proposed by Gottfried Hutter may gain track.

Brussels, 31 December 2019

Robert Vandemeulebroucke

Ambassador (retired)

An Alternative to President Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century,’ ‘Honorable Peace’

An Alternative to President Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century,’ ‘Honorable Peace’

The entire subject of peace between Israel and Palestine has gotten new actuality with President Trump’s so-called “Deal of the Century”. But I am convinced that both sides will be better off with the inter-religious vision of peace you will find in this new book of mine of which I am going to tell you now.

World Interfaith Harmony Week 2020

To me, today is a day of gratitude – gratitude to the Kingdom of Jordan, because they introduced the Interfaith Harmony Week. And three years ago, I was given the opportunity here to tell a surprising story. And meanwhile my story has become a book – as you can see.

It all began with Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream!” Three years ago, I told the participants of this conference about my dream: peace between Israel and Palestine. But how?

You all know of the deadly enmity between the Biblical brothers Esau and Jacob, the grandchildren of Abraham. Esau was the firstborn – but Jacob stole his birthright. And Esau wanted to kill him. So, Jacob had to flee. But, in order to implement his stolen birthright, Jacob had to return and confront his brother who was waiting for him with 400 mercenaries to be sure to kill him.

All the rich gifts Jacob had brought with him would not suffice. In order to survive Jacob had to come up with something unheard of – and he did.

Walking towards Esau he threw himself to the ground seven times and asked for forgiveness.

Esau could not believe what he saw – and he was moved. He bent down and lifted his brother up and hugged him.

Peter Haider (left), Gottfried Hutter

This gesture, I said three years ago, will again be needed today.

Today it will be up to the PM of Israel to re-enact it. At the next General Assembly of the UN in New York Israel’s PM will ask the leaders of the Muslim world to come forward. And then he will ask them to forgive the Jews for all the trouble and pain that the founding of the state of Israel has caused them.

But then he will plead strongly with them to understand the plight of the Jews in 1947, right after the Holocaust, after 6 Million Jews had been murdered. Utter desperation and the survival instinct left them with no choice but to grasp the only opportunity then open to them and set up a Jewish state in Palestine, a sanctuary where Jews would be protected from persecution.

But – even that gesture may not be enough! The Muslims’ sense that their “honor had been violated” will have to be addressed specifically. How could a truly “honorable” peace be attained when, in reality, the Jewish state was forced upon the Muslim world?

My answer will, at a first glance, seem utterly unrealistic – because it states that honor could be restored only if the Muslims were (1) to allow the Jews to settle all over biblical territory, and then (2) present the entire territory of today’s state of “Israel” as a gift to the Jewish community. But how could anything as far-fetched as this become reality?

The idea is not as unrealistic as it seems, but only a true Muslim authority could introduce it to public awareness. A true Muslim authority such as the Imam of Al Azhar, could remind Muslims that practically all Muslim prophets apart from the prophet Mohammed are biblical prophets. Muslims are thus deeply indebted to the biblical tradition.

And now, after decades of not being able to overcome rooted enmity in both Palestinian and Israeli territory, there is an opportunity to obtain true peace – by Muslims showing gratitude for what they have received – by presenting the entire territory of Israel to the people of the Bible, to the Jews, as a gift, thereby completely erasing all wrongdoings on both sides, restoring Muslim honor and attaining true and lasting peace!

But… to arrive at that may call for a grand Muslim summit, something like the second Vatican council of the Catholic church. A grand Muslim summit – at Al Azhar! And every Muslim knows that Al Azhar was founded by the Shiites. So that summit will again bring together again Sunni and Shiite – to debate peace for Israel – and thus, the Muslim world will unite and create peace to the entire Middle East!

But who am I to tell you of such a dream?

I am a Catholic theologian. I also studied political science. And I lived in the US for five years. There I learned to see all religions as essentially one. And that led me to find a highly respected Muslim Sufi Sheikh. In his Cairo community I lived for a full year, nearly 40 years ago. There I got to know Islam quite well. And the Sheikh confirmed my insight.

So, I became a psychotherapist – today dealing mainly with refugees from the Middle East. Then, the shock of 9/11 revived my rich experiences with Islam. It made me realize that the forceful implantation of Israel in territory sacred to Muslims, around Al Quds, Jerusalem, was one of the main factors behind the murderous Anti-Western ideology that had given rise to the 9/11 attack. When I concentrated on finding a way to approach the Israeli-Palestinian conflict I realized that not only the Palestinians but the Muslim Umma, the entire religious community of Islam, are Israel’s proper partners in peace negotiations. And I could understand that real peace must necessarily be a truly honorable one. Hence this book, https://honorablepeace.com.

 

See also: THE TIMES OF ISREAL

https://blogs.timesfisrael.com/an-alternative-to-president-trumps-deal-of-the-century-honorable-peace/

 

hp | 2020

 


The Author of ‘Honorable Peace’

Gottfried Hutter


The author studied Catholic theology, history and political science. Originally from Salzburg, Austria, he went to live in San Francisco for five years. There he gained a sense of human beings’ potential, especially in terms of spirituality and civilization. This, in turn, motivated him to learn about other cultures and religions. He moved to Egypt and stayed for one year in
Cairo, mainly experiencing the spiritual depth of Islam. Back in Europe, teaching Catholic religion in schools and studying Shamanism and native religions, he trained to become a psychotherapist. Working with psychiatric patients, he wrote his first book, Resurrection – Before Death. How to Use Biblical Texts in Psychotherapy. In his therapeutic practice he is now mainly working with severely traumatized Middle Eastern refugees. More ->

Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts


Honorable Peace by Gottfried Huttercover_engl_amazon

 

Hardcover

English
ISBN-10: 1480872423
ISBN-13: 978-1480872424
more ->

Link: Honorable Peace by Gottfried Hutter, Hardcover, english:

https://honorablepeace.com/hc

Paperback

English
ISBN-10: 1480872431
ISBN-13: 978-1480872431
more ->

Link: Honorable Peace by Gottfried Hutter, Paperback, english:

https://honorablepeace.com/pb

Kindle Edition

English
ASIN: B07P5R1SYF
more ->

Link: Honorable Peace by Gottfried Hutter, Kindle Edition, english:

https://honorablepeace.com/ke

 

Ehrenhafter Frieden von Gottfried Huttercover_dt_amazon

 

Taschenbuch

Deutsch
ISBN-10: 1670224414
ISBN-13: 978-1670224415
mehr dazu ->

Link: Ehrenhafter Frieden von Gottfried Hutter, Taschenbuch, deutsch:

https://honorablepeace.com/tb

Kindle Edition deutsch

Deutsch
ASIN: B0826SJBGF
mehr dazu ->

Link: Ehrenhafter Frieden von Gottfried Hutter, Kindle Ausgabe, deutsch:

https://honorablepeace.com/ka

Arabic Version by
Gottfried Huttercover_arabic

 

The Arabic edition can also be obtained from the author:

https://honorablepeace.com/contact/

 

Gottfried Hutter, Rollup Honorable Peace

Honorable Peace – and what brought up the idea?

Honorable Peace – and what brought up the idea?

After we had talked a lot about the marked hostilities in the Middle East, especially the competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the determination of the Iranian government to destroy Israel, I could tell a friend of the unique possibility of making peace that life had shown me:

It all began with my second visit to Egypt in 1981/82 when I had my bed directly opposite the entrance to the sanctuary of the Hussein mosque in Cairo, in one of the two apartments owned by the Sufi Sheikh Mohammed Osman in whose spiritual community I then lived for a full year. Every day I had the opportunity to visit the sanctuary and many times I made use of this opportunity, because I wanted to experience the spirit of that place and of its history.

This sanctuary, so it is said, enshrines the head of Sayyidna el Hussein, the son of Ali, the first caliph of the Shiites – who was a grandson of Prophet Mohammed. On October 10, 680, he was killed at Karbala in a battle against a Sunni army.

Not far from the Hussein mosque there is another mosque, the famed Al Azhar whose Grand Sheikh, Dr. Al Tayyeb, is the spiritual head of Sunni Islam. The Al Azhar was built more than a thousand years ago by the Shiite Fatimids, who then ruled Egypt. The Hussein mosque was built two hundred years later, during the crusades.

I also visited Al Azhar many times, but living right next to the Hussein sanctuary, made me feel emotionally closer to Hussein. Still, the fact that these two mosques stand right next to one other I found impressive, especially after I had heard that both had been built by Shiites and that the Al Azhar had since become a symbol for Sunni Islam.

Shiite and Sunni Islam, these two schools of thought, could not have regarded themselves as enemies in the way they do today or else these buildings would not still exist. After all, the second Caliph of the Shiites was a grandchild of the Prophet!

My experiences back then have since become the background to my attempt to find a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict – yet it took 9/11 to motivate me to dig deep into the matter.

After 9/11, I dealt mainly with the question of peace for Israel, which had become virulent after the United Nations divided Palestine, given one part to the Jews who, after repeated persecution in Europe, dearly longed for a state of their own in the area of the biblical Israel.

For the Muslim inhabitants and neighbors this came as a shock, because now, all of a sudden, the immediate vicinity to one of the most holy places of Islam, of al Haram ash Sharif, where Muslims think of Mohammed’s ascension into heaven, became a Jewish state. That radically changed the atmosphere between Muslims and Jews who had been living together peacefully thoughout the thirteen hundred years when the Muslims ruled the area.

During the times of Muslim rule, the Jews had accepted their status as dhimmis, as wards of Islam, easily. For the inhabitants of the state of Israel this was no longer an option. Besides the fact that the new Jewish state had been implanted in traditionally Muslim territory, that state did not acknowledge the superiority of Islam and, therefore, it could not be accepted by the Muslims. Thus, the Muslim neighbors refused to accept the partition of the land by the UN. The Muslim neighbors waged war against this alien implant – but they did not win the war. In the end they had to accept an armistice – which did not lead to peace.

Already in 2001 today’s Prime Minister of Israel, Netanyahu, formulated his ideas about a possible solution to the conflict in his book “A Durable Peace”. He believes that the deep resentment against the state of Israel, especially in the population of Israel’s neighbors cannot be changed by mere contracts. In consequence, he thinks that a new state of Palestine could never possess the rights of a normal state, because that would entail the possibility that a sovereign state of Palestine might team up with, say Iran, and station Iranian missiles on its territory which could not only call into question the existence of the state of Israel but could even annihilate it. Under such conditions, Netanyahu thinks that the Palestinians can never be accorded rights equal to the rights of Israelis.

While I, too, can see the deep rejection by Israel’s neighbors of the state of Israel as the main reason for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, my conclusions are completely different – because of my experiences during my year in the spiritual community of Sheikh Mohammed Osman in Cairo.

There I could see that by nature Muslims are willing to embrace peace, but such peace must not defile their honor, so that only an honorable peace would have a chance of becoming real peace. This means that peace cannot be imposed on them – as has been the case with all the models of peace which have been presented so far. Peace had to come from the Muslims themselves.
But how could peace with the Jewish state come from the Muslims when that state had in fact been imposed on them? Would that not be self-contradictory?

A truly honorable peace will be possible only if it is not imposed! But how could the coercion which forcefully installed the Jewish state back then disappear? That coercion is a fact of history! How could such a fact disappear?
The coercion could only disappear only if the Muslims could somehow be motivated to offer that territory to the Jews as a gift. But what could motivate the Muslims to present such a gift?

It is not as impossible as it looks. Muslims could, in fact, be motivated to present such a gift by considering the succession of their prophets: Nearly all of the Muslim prophets are biblical prophets. The religion of Islam owes a lot to Judaism! But current hostilities have made men blind to that awareness and pushed it into a dark corner in the background. Yet reality speaks for itself. Muslim authorities can revive the memory. And that would not be manipulation, it would only be the reemergence of reality – not in a sense that could cause feelings of guilt because there is no reason for guilt, but in a sense that would arouse natural gratitude on a scale that would enable the Muslims to present the country the Jews have named “Israel” to them – anyway only a small gift when one remembers the fact that, without the preparatory work of the Jewish prophets, Islam would hardly be thinkable.

And at that point the state of Israel itself could make a contribution of its own: the very name “Israel” goes back to Jacob, the ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob was entangled in a deadly conflict with his brother Esau. Under normal conditions, the reunion between the two meant certain death for Jacob, because his brother was determined to kill him. But meanwhile Jacob was able resolve himself to do something that would have seemed impossible before. Facing certain death Jacob could now see that he had to ask his brother for forgiveness. He did exactly that. He threw himself to the ground before his brother seven times. This gestures which was almost incomprehensible for Esau moved him so deeply that he was now again able to accept Jacob as his brother. The Bible says that for showing the steadfast courage to make that gesture God gave Jacob the name “Israel”, “the one who has fought with God and prevailed”. Thereafter both brothers could live in peace as neighbors.

Today’s Israel would need something of that kind, admitting that the implanting of a Jewish state in this region was a course of action that was necessary for their survival, yet completely unacceptable to the inhabitants of the land, and consequently, that the Jews have every reason to ask the Muslims for forgiveness – just as four thousand years earlier Jacob had every reason to ask his brother Esau for forgiveness. And just as Esau was able to forgive his brother the Muslims will now be able to forgive the Jews, especially if they remember that they have every reason to be grateful to the Jews, because God chose to use the Jewish prophets to open the mind of the prophet Mohammed, thus preparing him for the new revelations of the Koran which he was to impart to him.

An essential role in bringing these facts to the people’s attention will certainly fall to the Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar, Dr. Al-Tayyeb, who has plainly already embarked on that task – first by visiting the Pope in Rome, the location of that great Council which made the deepest, most positive changes to the Catholic church’s attitude towards Islam and Judaism.
Such a council in Cairo could change the entire world, on the one hand by making room for Muslim gratitude for what they received from Judaism, and thus enabling the Muslims to present the Jews with a state of their own, Israel – on the other hand, because such a council could also cement peace within Islam – as a side effect of the location of the council, in Cairo, on the site of the two mosques, which are in Sunni territory today, yet were founded by Shiites – and are still are of the utmost importance for Shiites, Al Azhar and the Hussein mosque!

By including the Shiites in the council, they could concur with the step of presenting the area of the state of Israel as a gift to the Jews, and thus come together in making peace, both with the state of Israel and with their Sunni brethren.

 

hp | 2019

 


The Author of ‘Honorable Peace’

Gottfried Hutter


The author studied Catholic theology, history and political science. Originally from Salzburg, Austria, he went to live in San Francisco for five years. There he gained a sense of human beings’ potential, especially in terms of spirituality and civilization. This, in turn, motivated him to learn about other cultures and religions. He moved to Egypt and stayed for one year in
Cairo, mainly experiencing the spiritual depth of Islam. Back in Europe, teaching Catholic religion in schools and studying Shamanism and native religions, he trained to become a psychotherapist. Working with psychiatric patients, he wrote his first book, Resurrection – Before Death. How to Use Biblical Texts in Psychotherapy. In his therapeutic practice he is now mainly working with severely traumatized Middle Eastern refugees. More ->

Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts


Honorable Peace by Gottfried Huttercover_engl_amazon

 

Hardcover

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ISBN-10: 1480872423
ISBN-13: 978-1480872424
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ISBN-10: 1480872431
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ISBN-10: 1670224414
ISBN-13: 978-1670224415
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