Op-Ed: Islam Mandates Abiding by the Peace Agreements
The writer, a Muslim, claims that Islam is not at war with the Jews. She does not assign blame to one side for the situation, but seeks to stop the bloodshed. A courageous stand by a woman of principle.

Source: Arutz Sheva
By: Sinem Tezyapar, Turkey
As a Muslim, I do not want there to be war, and I want no military operations against Palestinian Arabs. However, I also do not want Israeli citizens living under the threat of rockets or suicide bombers, and I do not want rockets falling onto their homes and school gardens either.
For me there is nothing justifiable about bloodshed. I stand opposed to the warmongers who see war as a game, to those who “benefit” from war and I stand opposed to anyone who sheds blood. I don’t discriminate among those who spill blood for what reason; I find it all wrong, I oppose whoever seeks solutions through violence.

Both sides are Abraham’s children and surely the land is spacious enough for all. There is no real reason that we can’t coexist together. Let’s live together as brothers; dine together, have conversations together; let us pray side by side, Jews in synagogues, and Muslims in mosques. Let us adopt a language of peace, a language of love. This is easy! And there is no other way.

I am not going to entertain the ceaseless debate of which side is right or wrong because for me both sides have their own reasons, excuses, wrongs and rights. But what is important is to stop this needless spilling of blood right away and permanently. Rather than taking one side and blindly blaming the other side, we must approach the matter with justice and work to overcome prejudice and educate people about their false beliefs and ideas so that we may stem the cycle of violence at its beginning.
This is such a sensitive issue that anyone personally hurt or otherwise effected might react to, but I feel the pain of both sides and since I am a Muslim, I have to clarify about some false ideas that have been taken for granted as “Islamic”. What goes between Israel and ‘Palestine’ is an artificial conflict and what is more it is against Islam from several points. Let me put a few of them forth very briefly:
Relations with Jews-

Muslims are not at war with Jews. According to the Qur’an, Jews have a special status as ‘People of the Book’ and Muslims can establish good relations with them through marriage and the sharing of food. Kosher food is also lawful for Muslims to eat and permission has been given for Muslim men to marry Jewish women. So from an Islamic perspective, this shows that there can be no obstacle to living together and in harmony, and this is clear evidence that enable the formation of warm human relationships and tranquil togetherness between Jews and Muslims.

War only for self-defense —————

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