After the film showing, there was a dialogue between and among Jewish, Christian, and Muslim representatives and the film producer. I Photo by Bobby Reyes
Part XXIV of the “Geopolitics” Series
This columnist was the only Filipino guest of the producers of a documentary film about the Holy City of Jerusalem in its premiere (showing) on August 23, 2015, at the Museum of Tolerance, a Jewish-American Center. One Rock, Three Religions was well-received by a motley crowd of Southern California’s Christian, Jewish, and Muslim community leaders.
The 2015 documentary demonstrated that Judeo-Christian-Muslim cooperation could be forged in an atmosphere of respect, kindness, and tolerance.
Perhaps the Middle East and their respective national leaders can study forming a federation. They can establish a united front for mankind and the members of the world’s three leading religions. And it is suggested that it be dubbed — for want of a better name — the “United Nations of the Middle East” (UNME). As pronounced, it can sound like “You an(d) Me.”
This column has suggested turning many disputed territories into “Abraham Squares.” It is named after the three religions’ common patriarch and prophet, the venerable Abraham. But only after a ceasefire is declared, as brokered, maintained, and guaranteed by the United Nations.
The “UNME” member nations, starting with their disputed territories, can slowly be demilitarized. The United Nations can guarantee demilitarization by fielding multiethnic troikas of peacekeepers, engineering brigades, and medical corps.
“The “UNME” member nations, starting with their disputed territories, can slowly be demilitarized. The United Nations can guarantee demilitarization by fielding multiethnic troikas of peacekeepers, engineering brigades, and medical corps.”
The wealthy countries bankrolling the Middle East’s various national armies and militias can channel their financial support to the United Nations instead of funding combatants. They can also convert the tens of billions of U.S. dollars, U.K. pounds, French francs, Eurodollars, Russian rubles, Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, and other currencies into investments in socioeconomic initiatives. As everybody knows, and as history shows, peace-building is cheaper than waging wars- yes, even conflicts that are 75 years long (and counting).
It has been discussed in this column that it should take at least two generations of work, cooperation, mutual respect, and triventures of socioeconomic projects, especially in turning the deserts of the Middle East into green zones of agriculture, healthcare, education, culture, arts and shared areas of worship.
For more than two millennia, the Muslim-majority country of Azerbaijan has proven that Jews, Christians, and Muslims (of both Shiite and Sunni branches) can live, work together, and even intermarry. Perhaps it is time to duplicate the Azerbaijani “Land of the Future” model of peace, progress, and prosperity among all denominations, beliefs, and faiths in the Middle East.
The documentary film One Rock, Three Religions interviewed leaders and followers of the three faiths in Jerusalem and showed members of Jerusalem’s clergy, rabbis, and imams playing checkers and chess. This can be done provided the “industrial-military complex”– coined by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower — of the wealthiest and most powerful nations stops pouring the figurative equivalent of gasoline into the fires of war.