Peace is the dream of humanity throughout the ages. Since God created man until he fell into the sin of disobedience, he only knew a life of calmness and peace, as our parents Adam and Eve enjoyed living in the Garden of Eden in the presence of God, the King of Peace. No sooner had man lost his peace, than human life was filled with turmoil, wars, and destruction, and one of the most horrific scenes in history was the “extermination of peoples.”
Since the loss of peace, peace and non-killing have become among the core commandments focused on by religions, as God commanded humans to pursue peace with others and not expose them to harm. In Judaism: “Seek peace, and pursue it.” And also: “You shall not murder”, “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” He also commanded: “Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked” in order for people to live in safety. Rather, God commanded the peace of the stranger: “Do not persecute the stranger, nor harass him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” He also called for love of peace and its fulfillment: “Therefore, love justice and peace.” “Decree justice and peace within your gates.” In Christianity, Lord Christ beatified the peacemakers. He said: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” The commandment was: “Live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you,” and “Pursue peace with others.” In Christianity, peace includes all people: “And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?” And even more than this: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to them who hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” And in Islam, peace is one of the names of God: “He is Allāh, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Grantor of Security” and “O you who have believed, enter into peace completely” and “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allāh is the most righteous” and in the hadith: “Spread the greetings of peace amongst yourselves.” Peace is a divine call and a commandment that the human family in the entire world will not be able to survive without implementing it. Without peace, humanity slides into a great abyss and destruction of the world. I condemn everything that is an assault on a civilian, whether murder, capture, or rape. Humanity is what is most important.
Truly, the military escalation seen now in Palestine is a matter that devastates humanity. The massacres that occurred and are occurring are a brutal response to a brutal act that came as a result of 70 years of oppression that led to an explosion, the result of which was what we see now. With a pure conscience before God, I declare my solidarity with the Palestinian cause. The ongoing escalation is a terrifying humanitarian catastrophe that may lead to sparking a third world war that will leave the world nothing but devastation. No people around the world have ever angered God more than the Jewish people, whose entry into the land of Palestine was not a promise from God, but rather a promise from Balfour! Since then, Israel has protected its occupation with military force and bloodshed. The rush of some to deal with Israel made it exaggerate in imposing conditions. True peace cannot be achieved by imposing a fait accompli with military force. The Israeli aggression against the land of Palestine and attempts to forcibly displace it are extermination of the Palestinians. No human being will accept the extermination of any people on earth, and therefore the international community is required to restore the right of the Palestinians: to have an independent, sovereign state.
I would like to point out here the importance of the Cairo Summit for peace and the road map to try to end the tragedy of the Palestinian people, which refers to ensuring the full, safe and rapid flow of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, and then a rapid transition to negotiating a calming of the situation and a ceasefire, with an urgent start to the negotiations. Negotiations to revive the peace process leading to the implementation of the two-state solution: the establishment of an independent state of Palestine living side by side with Israel. Finally, serious work shall be carried out to strengthen the Palestinian Authority to fully carry out its duties in the Palestinian territories.
Our pleads for God will not cease until He lifts the burden on the Palestinian people, grants peace to the Middle East region and the rest of the world, and saves humanity from the scourge of wars. And… stories about beautiful Egypt never end!
The General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
