Muslims and Christians worldwide share the same set of fundamental values: the respect of human life and of human dignity. Being serious about these beliefs implies change. There needs to be a wide joint appeal by religious and moral authorities to stop violence, as violence paves the way for more violence and future conflicts.
As so many times before, I heard this morning the news of a bomb attack in Iraq killing dozens of ordinary, innocent citizens. And I said to myself: yet another mass murder and barely a few lines in the newspaper. Is it because it is in Iraq? Most of the victims are Muslim men, women and children. Killers are thought to be Muslims as well, possibly from another persuasion, and members of an international terrorist network. Numbers are awesome. A 2007 study showed that 26% of the million of Iraqi victims of the last invasion and its aftermath fell victims of car bombs or other blasts, against 9% who were victims of aerial bombings.
There is a shocking lack of reaction both in Muslim and non Muslim circles. No condemnation could be strong enough to denounce this criminal bloodletting. Why do we only hear a deafening silence? Are these Iraqi lives not as worthwhile as others anywhere in the world? My heart bleeds when I remember the Iraqis I met in the early eighties when I enjoyed their hospitality, rooted in what is arguably the oldest civilisation worldwide. I reckon that twenty dynasties or empires have taken turns to rule the region. Yet, when I strayed on the banks of the Tigris south of Baghdad, or when I got stuck in a small village of the North after a car accident, I was invited in and offered food by perfect strangers pretty much in the same way as in Abraham’s time.
I am not implying that violence is a Muslim exclusivity. There is for instance a clear parallel between situations in Iraq and in Ulster. In both cases, respectable people in rich and respected countries pour out (or used to) huge amounts of money into terrorist organisations, which are (or were) essentially destroying a disputed territory – their own country and their own people! – with more or less realistic political objectives. For instance, the IRA may have pursued a legitimate long-term political objective, at least in their own eyes, but what moral legitimacy was there in violent actions including their last large bombing at Omagh in 1998 which left 28 dead, among whom children and women?
Nor was similar loyalist violence any more justified. Many in Ulster recognised that and a powerful multi-party peace movement developed. After children had died in an attack, Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams, a protestant and a catholic, took the lead and became the heralds of the Women’s Peace Movement. They appealed to the moral fibre of citizens and also pointed to the utter inefficiency of violence. They showed politicians and community leaders what the courageous and honourable thing to do was. The road was long: it took more than twenty years before a truce was agreed to and a few more years before militias eventually disarmed.
Muslims and Christians worldwide share the same set of fundamental values: the respect of human life and of human dignity. Being serious about these beliefs implies change. There needs to be a wide joint appeal by religious and moral authorities to stop violence, as violence paves the way for more violence and future conflicts. To take another example: German states were humiliated by Napoleon. Once united, they hit back and it was France’s turn to be humiliated. With part of French territory annexed by Germany, France prepared revenge for a generation. World War I was the opportunity; there had been no worse war ever on the face of the earth. The defeated, exhausted Germany, drained by war reparation payments, gave birth to the monstrous Nazi regime and to World War II. France was then occupied by Germany.
At that stage, there were two types of resistance. On the one hand, there were coordinated actions with clear military objectives, like gathering intelligence or sabotaging vital infrastructure, at the appropriate time, in order to facilitate another large scale military action. On the other hand there was the random attack on German soldiers which invariably led to disproportionate reprisals, arrests and executions of innocent citizens. These were understandable expressions of exasperation and hate but brought no military or political advantage. They were also making it more difficult to end the conflict because of all the bitterness and hate they fostered.
Halfway through that terrible conflict, peace movements had developed, trying to imagine how to end the conflict and how to bring about reconciliation. It must have seemed to be a long shot and there were many failures, but the distant fruits of these movements, be they federalists, pacifists, Christian or just stemming from concerned citizens, are the European institutions of today.
An Arab peace movement would first serve the Iraqi people, who are bearing the brunt of the losses and suffering. But it would serve the international community too. It would help remove a global menace from the world scene within the next generation and resonate on all other conflict zones. Like in WW II war-torn Europe, such movements already exist in Iraq, courageously sticking their neck out when the majority of citizens think only of survival. What may be needed is a global platform where all people of goodwill inside and outside Iraq could meet and join their efforts into that battle for humanity. From its base in Switzerland, with its experience of conflicts, Caux-Initiatives of Change can provide a suitable opportunity, in association with the moral, spiritual and political authorities who believe in a peace.
Antoine Jaulmes has been an engineer with PSA Peugeot Citroën since 1983, holding various positions in production and R&D. He has served on the boards of the French Initiatives of Change, the Swiss Foundation Caux-Initiatives of Change and the Executive of the International Initiatives of Change Association. He is the publisher of the French language magazine Changer.
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