Man can live in eternal state of peace but living in eternal state of war is impossible for him. This adage has stood the test of time. It proved its significance yet again when on August 13, 2020, a joint statement was issued by United Arab Emirates and Israel about a Peace Treaty aimed at initiating a process of normalization of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
The highlight of the announcement was that Israel offered to suspend its plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank. A certain section of Mr. Netanyahu’s vote-bank still does not support the idea of suspension of annexation. But the truth is that that any future annexations would destroy the nascent peace efforts between these nations. That being said, it is too big an opportunity for the involved states to ignore.
Being a point of convergence for the Abrahamic faiths, this Treaty is said to make conditions more conducive for allowing people of Islamic faith to visit the revered religious sites in Jerusalem, especially Al-Aqsa mosque, which is among the three most holy sites for Muslims in the world. This bilateral agreement is to be inked in Washington D.C. on September 15, 2020, in the presence of the President of United States, Mr. Donald Trump. This Agreement will be known as ‘Abraham Accord’ after Abraham (or Ibrahim), the patriarch of the three monotheistic faiths – Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Its fundamentals resting on establishing peace and compassion in the region.
In 2015, while speaking on the role of faith at the Global Agenda Council, Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum said that, ‘Values cannot be justified by the intellectual process alone. Faith must be involved.’ However, very often religion is hailed as the reason behind conflicts worldwide. My view is different in this regard. As per my study, all religions of the world subscribe to peace and compassion; what turns into conflict is the lack of tolerance on the part of practitioners. So the root cause for the conflicts is not religion but the lack of patience and harmony among those who profess these faiths.
Since the recorded history of mankind, options antagonistic to tranquillity have always been the first ones to be considered. Only once all efforts drown in vain, do the involved parties resort to charting out a peaceful resolution to the issues. The first recorded Peace Treaty was known as the Treaty of Kadesh, which transpired 3000 years ago after a gruesome battle between the Hitties and the Egyptians, the two superpowers of the Bronze Age. Seeing no possible end to destruction after fifteen years of relentless conflict, both sides realized that neither could gain advantage over the other so they started exploring the path of peace. The two sides then signed the Treaty of Kadesh, where they agreed to share their knowledge and experience and promote development. Hitties who were skilled in metalwork taught their Egyptians counterparts how to make superior weapons and tools while the Egyptians, who were masters of agriculture, shared their knowledge of farming with the Hittites. This Treaty was such a landmark that to honour its memory, a replica has been placed in the New York Headquarters of the United Nations.