Fighting for peace in the Middle East.

• Author: White, Canon Andrew P.B.
• Position: Report

Editor's Note: When diplomats and politicians fear to discuss religion and focus solely on territory and borders, they overlook the importance of religion in the Middle East. Even leaders of liberal Western interfaith groups professing vague ecumenical principals lack credibility in a region where "orthodoxy is fundamental." This essay reveals how a man of strong Christian faith helped Iraq's most influential religious leaders agree upon a Fatwa (decree) condemning the sectarian violence that has long imperiled the search for peace in Iraq. Respecting the power of religion, he fought for a peace in which faith creates something beautiful rather than justifying death and destruction.--Contrib. Ed.

So many people present solutions to the various crises in the Middle East. So many people think they have solutions to the region's manifold problems. The fact is that the Middle East does not have one problem. Those who think that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will solve all the problems of the region are very wrong. The conflict which caused havoc in Algeria had nothing to do with the Israel-Palestine issue. Neither does the conflict here in Iraq where I am. There are many problems in this region and the problems are not all about land, territory and occupation. A major cause of problems is that of religion. It was Archbishop William Temple who said: "When religion goes wrong, it goes very wrong." Religion has gone very wrong. There is so much destruction in the name of religion, and this is what the Bible tells us will happen in John 16:2-3:

"The time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me." This is what we are seeing with people who really think they are doing the work of the Almighty by killing another. Sadly, so many in the diplomatic/political world are scared of religion. They fail to realize the role that it has in much of the world. Those involved with interfaith matters are so often Western liberals who do not believe in much at all. When dealing with the type of people you find in the Middle East, these people have no credibility. Here, people believe and expect you to believe. Orthodoxy is fundamental. In the past few years, our work has concentrated increasingly on Iraq, and we have had to leave much in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. This has been difficult, but a necessity.

Here in Iraq we have seen...