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Junaid Jahangir

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Can We Use Religion for Justice -- Not Evil?

Posted: 01/05/2013 5:50 pm

Professor of religion Dr. Omid Safi expressed hope for the New Year that religious faith becomes a force for justice, since religion has been a divisive force in recent history.

Notwithstanding severe criticism, many Jewish people have shown how religious faith can indeed be a force for justice.

In her latest book, queer activist Judith Butler referenced thinkers like Primo Levi, who having survived Auschwitz, emphasized humanist values, empathized with the Palestinian people and criticized the justifying of Israeli occupation through remembering the Holocaust.

Her work compliments the efforts of many Jewish leaders who refuse to equate criticism of the Israeli state violence with anti-Semitism.

Recently, several American Rabbis, cantors and rabbinical students from a wide range of Jewish communities, wrote a letter to President Obama, urging him to strongly oppose the recent Israeli illegal settlements in the West Bank.

An Israeli blog piece indicated that many American Jews are distancing themselves from the Israeli government, which they find to be dismissive of Palestinian rights and larger Jewish concerns.

Likewise, a growing number of Israeli high-school youth refuse to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces.

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  • Gaza City Launches Rockets at Israel

    During the last hour of hostilities, militants launch rockets from Gaza City as an Israeli bomb explodes on the horizon on November 21, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. An official ceasfire started at 9pm local time between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement after a week of conflict resulting in the deaths of 150 Palestinians and five Israelis and many hundreds injured (Christopher Furlong, Getty Images)

  • Palestinians Celebrate

    Palestinian firefighters celebrate the beginning of the truce with Israel in Gaza City on November 21, 2012. Palestinians in Gaza took to the streets to celebrate the start of a truce deal with Israel that was announced in Egypt on the eighth day of violence in and around Gaza. (Marco Longari, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Soldiers Victoy Sign

    An Israeli soldier gives the victory sign as mechanised infantry check their equipment in a forward staging area on Nov. 21, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. Despite widespread rumours of a ceasefire militants in the Gaza Strip continue to fire rockets and Israel continues it's bombardment. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Israel to support and encourage a peace deal being brokered by Egypt. (Christopher Furlong, Getty Images)

  • Hamas Leader Khaled Meshaal

    Hamas Leader Khaled Meshaal gives a press conference at the Intercontinental Hotel on Nov. 21, 2012 in Cairo, hours after Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr announced that a truce had been agreed between Israel and Hamas to end a week of bloodshed in and around Gaza. (Gianluigi Guercia, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement to the press at his Jerusalem office on November 21, 2012. Israel and Hamas agreed on a truce that will take effect this evening in a bid to end a week of bloodshed in and around Gaza that has killed more than 150 people, Egypt and the United States said. (Gali Tibbon, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Border Patrol

    Israeli infantry soldiers patrol next to the border on Nov. 21, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. Despite widespread rumours of a ceasefire militants in the Gaza Strip continue to fire rockets and Israel continues it's bombardment. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Israel to support and encourage a peace deal being brokered by Egypt. (Christopher Furlong, Getty Images)

  • US & Egypt Announce CeaseFire

    In this image made from Egyptian State Television, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr, right, give a joint news conference announcing a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. (Egyptian State Television / AP)

  • Protest Smoke Grenade

    A smoke grenade is thrown by Israeli security forces during a protest against the Israeli military operations in Gaza Strip near the West Bank town of Nablus, on Nov. 21, 2012. (Nasser Ishtayeh, AP)

  • Produce Market in Gaza City

    A Palestinian man drives past a produce market in Gaza City, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has arrived in Cairo in her diplomatic push to forge a truce between Israel and Gaza rulers of Hamas. Her visit comes hours after a bomb exploded on an Israeli bus in Tel Aviv, wounding several. Clinton is looking to piece together a deal to end Israel's weeklong offensive in the Gaza Strip. (Bernat Armangue, AP)

  • Israeli Soldiers Pray

    Israeli soldiers pray next to an artillery gun on Nov. 21, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. Despite widespread rumours of a ceasefire militants in the Gaza Strip continue to fire rockets and Israel continues it's bombardment. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Israel to support and encourage a peace deal being brokered by Egypt. (Uriel Sinai, Getty Images)

  • Soldiers Take Cover

    Israeli soldiers take cover during a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on Nov. 21, 2012 near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. Despite widespread rumours of a ceasefire militants in the Gaza Strip continue to fire rockets and Israel continues it's bombardment. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Israel to support and encourage a peace deal being brokered by Egypt. (Uriel Sinai, Getty Images)

  • Protesters Chased By Soldiers

    Palestinian protesters are chased by Isareli border guards during clashes in the West Bank city of Nablus on November 21, 2012, as they protest against the ongoing Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip. A new wave of Israeli raids on Gaza killed 11 people, including a child who died when the tower housing AFP's office was struck for the second time in 24 hours. (Jaafar Ashitiyeh, AFP / Getty Images)

  • A Palestinian Holds Stones

    A Palestinian youth holds stones during clashes with Israeli forces near an Israeli army watch tower at the main entrance of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, as they protest against the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip on Nov. 21, 2012. Israeli air strikes shook the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rockets struck across the border as Clinton held talks in Jerusalem in the early hours of Wednesday, seeking a truce that can hold back Israel's ground troops. (Musa Al-Shaer, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Palestinian stone throwers run for cover during clashes with Israeli security forces in the West Bank city of Nablus, on November 20, 2012. The West Bank has witnessed almost daily demonstrations in support of Gaza Palestinians who have faced a week of Israeli air strikes against militants firing rockets at the Jewish state.

  • Israel House Bombed

    Sapir Hachmon and her boyfriend Ron Vachnish react as they enter her room after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Nov. 20, 2012 in Beersheba, Israel. Hamas militants and Israel are continuing talks aimed at a ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza reaches over 100 with three Israelis also having been killed by rockets fired by Palestinian militants. (Photo by Uriel Sinai, Getty Images)

  • Israeli Soldier Evacuates Girl From Site Hit By Rocket

    An Israeli soldier evacuates a young girl from a site hit by a rocket launched by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva on November 20, 2012. Israeli leaders discussed an Egyptian plan for a truce with Gaza's ruling Hamas, reports said, before a mission by the UN chief to Jerusalem and as the toll from Israeli raids on Gaza rose over 100. (Danny Sasson, AFP / Getty Images)

  • UN Supplies in Palestine

    Palestinians wait for aid at a UN supplies center after it was damaged in an Israeli airstrike directed at the nearby Hamas police headquarters at the Jabalya refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip on Nov. 20, 2012. Israel halted a threatened Gaza ground offensive to give Egyptian-led truce talks a chance as top diplomats flew in to boost efforts to end nearly a week of cross-border violence. (Mohammed Abed, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Israeli Drone in Sky

    The white spirals of a patrolling Israeli drone are seen from the seafront in Gaza City on Nov. 20, 2012. UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged all sides to the Gaza conflict to immediately cease their fire, warning at a news conference in Cairo that an escalation will endanger the whole region. (Marco Longari, AFP / Getty Images)

  • House Bombed in Israel

    A bomb disposal officer at a house after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Nov. 20, 2012 in Beersheba, Israel. Hamas militants and Israel are continuing talks aimed at a ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza reaches over 100 with three Israelis also having been killed by rockets fired by Palestinian militants. (Photo by Uriel Sinai, Getty Images)

  • Israeli Soldiers Check Their Guns

    Israeli soldiers check their guns at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border on Nov. 20, 2012, as talks aimed at securing a deal between the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers continue. Israel halted a threatened Gaza ground offensive to give Egyptian-led truce talks a chance, as top diplomats flew in to boost efforts to end nearly a week of cross-border violence. (Menahem Kahana, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Israelis Take Cover During Air Raid Sirens Sound

    Israeli civilians and security forces take cover as air raid sirens sound around Jerusalem on November 20, 2012. A rocket struck just south of Jerusalem as UN chief Ban Ki-moon was to arrive for talks on ending the Gaza crisis, AFP correspondents said. (Ahmad Gharabli, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Kids Play During Lull In Rocket Fire

    During a lull in militant rocket fire young boys play on the roof of a bomb shelter and blow soap bubbles on November 20, 2012 in Ashkelon, Israel. Hamas militants and Israel are continuing talks aimed at a ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza reaches over 100 with three Israelis also having been killed by rockets fired by Palestinian militants. (Photo by Christopher Furlong, Getty Images)

  • Israeli Air Force Leaflet Dropped In Gaza City

    A Palestinian man holds up a leaflet dropped by Israeli air force in the Tufah neighbourhood of Gaza City on November 20, 2012, urging residents of certain districts of the city to evacuate their homes "immediately" amid fears the military was poised to launch a ground operation. (Marco Longari, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Israeli Security Forces Examine Palestinian Rocket Site

    Israeli security forces surround the place where a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip landed in an olive grove in West Bank near Jerusalem on Nov. 20, 2012. The rocket from Gaza struck an olive grove in West Bank near Jerusalem, shortly before UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived for talks on ending the Gaza crisis. The attack was claimed by the armed wing of Gaza's ruling Hamas movement, in the second such attempt to target Jerusalem in four days. (Hazem Bader, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Israeli Soldiers Pray

    Israeli soldiers read from a holy book as they pray in a staging area near the Israel Gaza Border, southern Israel, on Nov. 20, 2012. Israeli aircraft on Tuesday battered the headquarters of the bank Gaza’s Hamas leaders set up to sidestep international sanctions on their rule, as fitful efforts to negotiate an end to a week-old convulsion of violence moved to the highest reaches of diplomacy. (Ariel Schalit, AP)

  • Israeli Strike Left Rubble Behind In Gaza City

    Palestinian children stand in the rubble left after an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza City, on Nov. 20, 2012. Efforts to end a week-old convulsion of Israeli-Palestinian violence drew in the world’s top diplomats on Tuesday, with President Barack Obama dispatching his secretary of state to the region on an emergency mission and the U.N. chief appealing from Cairo for an immediate cease-fire. (Hatem Moussa, AP)

  • House Hit By Rocket

    An Israeli woman reacts at her house hit by a rocket fired by militants from Gaza Strip, in the southern city of Beersheba, Israel, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Efforts to end a week-old convulsion of Israeli-Palestinian violence drew in the world's top diplomats on Tuesday, with President Barack Obama dispatching his secretary of state to the region on an emergency mission and the U.N. chief appealing from Cairo for an immediate cease-fire. (Tsafrir Abayov, AP)

  • National Islamic Bank Destroyed in Gaza City

    A Palestinian boy walks outside the National Islamic Bank, destroyed overnight in an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, on Nov. 20, 2012. Early Tuesday, Israeli aircraft targeted another Hamas symbol of power, battering the headquarters of the bank senior Hamas officials set up to sidestep international sanctions on the militant group's rule. After Hamas violently overran Gaza in June 2007, foreign lenders stopped doing business with the militant-led Gaza government, afraid of running afoul of international terror financing laws. (Hatem Moussa, AP)

  • Smoke rises following an Israeli attack on smuggling tunnels on the border between Egypt and Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. (Eyad Baba, AP)

  • Palestinians carry injured people out of a media center in Gaza City that was hit by an Israeli strike for the second time in two days Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad says the strike on the building killed one of its top militant leaders. (Bernat Armangue, AP)

  • Israeli soldiers prepare weapons in a deployment area on November 19, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. The death toll has risen to at least 85 killed in the air strikes, according to hospital officials, on day six since the launch of operation 'Pillar of Defence. (Lior Mizrahi, Getty Images)

  • Israeli artillery shells attack a target in the Gaza Strip on November 19, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. According to reports November 19, 2012, at least 90 Palestinians have been killed and more than 700 wounded during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. (Christopher Furlong, Getty Images)

  • An Israeli officer holds a Torah scroll as he reads from a holy book while others gather in a staging area near the Israel Gaza Strip Border, southern Israel, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. The Palestinian civilian death toll mounts as Israel ferociously pursues Gaza Strip militants who are menacing nearly half of Israel's population with rocket fire. (Ariel Schalit, AP)

  • Photographer injured

    Reuters news agency photographer Ammar Awad (R) receives treatment for an injury inflicted by a rock, during the coverage of the clashes between Palestinian protestors and Israeli security at the Qalandia checkpoint, in the occupied West Bank on November 19, 2012. UN chief Ban Ki-moon will meet Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas as part of a growing push for a Gaza war ceasefire, his spokesman said. (Ahmad Gharabli, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Gaza Conflict

    Palestinian youth hurl stones towards Israeli soldiers at the Qalandia checkpoint, in the Israeli occupied West Bank, on November 19, 2012. European Union foreign ministers called for an "immediate" halt to hostilities between Gaza and Israel as a new strike in a sixth day of violence pushed the toll in Gaza to over 100. (Ahmed Gharabli, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Israeli soldiers

    An Israeli soldier aims his rifle towards strone throwers demonstrating against the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip at the Qalandia checkpoint, in the Israeli occupied West Bank,on November 19, 2012. Israeli air strikes killed 22 Palestinians, hiking the Gaza death toll to 99 as global efforts to broker a truce to end the worst violence in four years gathered pace. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images)

  • Israeli Border Police

    Israeli border policemen stand guard during a protest against Israel's military action on the Gaza Strip in Birzeit, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip and killed a senior militant with a missile strike on a media center Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 96, as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel. (Nasser Shiyoukhi, AP)

  • Israeli Security Forces

    Fireworks are thrown at Israeli security forces during clashes against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, in Qalandia checkpoint, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, Nov 19, 2012. Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip and killed a senior militant with a missile strike on a media center Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 96, as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel. (Majdi Mohammed, AP)

  • Israel Launching Missle

    Israeli soldiers lie on the ground as an Iron Dome missile is launched near the city of Ashdod, Israel, Monday Nov 19. 2012. Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip and killed a senior militant with a missile strike on a media center Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 96, as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel. (Moti Milrod, AP)

  • Atara checkpoint

    Birzeit University students cover their faces during clashes with Israeli soldiers at the Atara checkpoint close to the university as they protest against Israel's military action on the Gaza Strip, on November 19, 2012. Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip killed 13 people, raising the Palestinian death toll to 90 as Israel's relentless air campaign entered its sixth day. (Abbas Momani, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Israeli Bomb Shlelter

    Israelis take cover in a large concrete pipe used as a bomb shelter during a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on Nov.19, 2012 in Nitzan, Israel. According to reports Nov. 19, 2012, at least 90 Palestinians have been killed and more than 700 wounded during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Uriel Sinai, Getty Images)

  • Gaza City tower hosting media

    Palestinians look on as smoke billows following an Israeli air strike on the Gaza City tower housing Palestinian and international media, on November 19, 2012. Israeli air strikes killed 21 Palestinians hiking the Gaza death toll to 98 as global efforts to broker a truce to end the worst violence in four years gathered pace. (Mohammed Abed, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Gaza Strip

    Israelis take cover in a stairway during a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on November 19, 2012 in Ashkelon, Israel. According to reports November 19, 2012, at least 90 Palestinians have been killed and more than 700 wounded during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Uriel Sinai, Getty Images)

  • Gaza Strip

    Palestinians run as tear gas is fired by Israeli security during a protest against Israel's military action on the Gaza Strip, on November 19, 2012. Israeli air strikes killed 22 Palestinians, hiking the Gaza death toll to 99 as global efforts to broker a truce to end the worst violence in four years gathered pace. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Palestinian Woman Mourns

    A Palestinian woman mourns after an Israeli air strike destroyed her house in the town of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 19, 2012. Israeli air strikes killed 13 Palestinians on November 19, hiking the Gaza death toll to 91 as global efforts to broker a truce to end the worst violence in four years gathered pace. (Mohammed Abed, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Israeli Border Guards

    Israeli border guards take position during clashes with Palestinian protestors in the centre of the divided West Bank city of Hebron, near the Israeli Beit Hadassa settlement, on November 19, 2012. Israeli air strikes killed 21 people in Gaza on Monday, raising the overall death toll to 98 on the sixth day of the relentless bombing campaign. (Hazem Bader, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Israeli Soldiers

    Israeli soldiers sleep next to their tanks in a deployment area on Nov.19, 2012 on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip. The death toll has risen to at least 85 killed in the air strikes, according to hospital officials, on day six since the launch of operation 'Pillar of Defence.' (Photo by Uriel Sinai, Getty Images)

  • Protest

    Supporters of Pakistan's outlawed Islamic hardline group Jamaat ud Dawa (JD) stand on Israeli and US flags as they shout anti-Israel slogans during a protest in Karachi on Nov.19, 2012. Israeli air strikes killed 13 Palestinians on Nov. 19, hiking the Gaza death toll to 91 as global efforts to broker a truce to end the worst violence in four years gathered pace. (Asif Hassan, AFP / Getty Images)

  • Israeli soldiers gather next to their armoured personnel carriers (APC) stationed on Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, on November 17, 2012, in Israel. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

  • Israeli children wave their national flag as they greet soldiers stood by a car, on a road leading to the Israel-Gaza border near the southern Israeli town of Ofakim on November 17, 2012 in Israel. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

  • A rocket is launched from Gaza as seen from near Sderot on November 17, 2012 in Israel. At least 39 Palestinians and three Isreali's have died since conflict began four days ago. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

It is these brave Jewish voices that counter hateful messages from people like Moshe Feiglin, the 23rd ranked candidate for the Israel legislature, who has equated Arabs with monkeys and Muslims with thieves and liars.

Jingoistic rhetoric, which demonizes all Arabs and Muslims as Jew-haters, needs to be replaced with views conducive to peace between Israel, its Arab neighbors and the larger Muslim world.

Various polls from 2008 - 2011 indicated that 81% of Muslim Americans, 78% of Jewish Americans and 85% of British born Muslims support the co-existence of Israel and an independent Palestine. An overwhelming 99% of British born Muslims rejected the rhetoric that Israel be wiped off the world map.

In the aftermath of the November Israeli attack on Gaza, a prominent Islamic cleric in Gaza issued a 'fatwa' that it would be a sin to violate the cease fire between Israel and Hamas.

Rabbi Marc Schneier mentioned that despite the November Gaza conflict, the involvement of prominent Rabbis and Imams in the opening of the Saudi driven interfaith Centre bodes well for peace. He also favored a second look at the 2002 Saudi Peace Plan, which recognizes Israel's right to exist.

Recently, relations between several Arab states and Israel have been pursued on the basis of narrow business and political interests and perhaps at the expense of human dignity that was violated this November.

The U.A.E has been reported to have discreet ties with Israel for the protection of its oil fields and borders. Likewise, Jordan's King has viewed Israel as a key regional ally.

Qatar has twice offered to restore diplomatic ties with Israel and has indicated that Israel would be welcomed for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Moreover, Qatar's King has been allegedly reported to have served Israeli intelligence.

Based on wiki leaks, Bahrain's King has instructed officials to stop referring to Israel as a "Zionist entity" or as the "enemy", whereas the Bahraini foreign minister has stated that Palestinian refugees return to Palestine and not Israel.

Likewise, an Israeli TV channel welcomed the comment of an advisor to Egypt's President Morsi, who has been described as a brother by an Israeli newspaper, that every Egyptian had the right to return to Egypt irrespective of religion.

Last year, even Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu mentioned that if the peace treaty is respected, he would work with an Islamist Egyptian President.

In the larger Muslim world, in 2011 Malaysia ranked as the 15th largest partner for trade with Israel. While, maintaining quiet trade, tourism and security relations, Indonesia has planned to unofficially upgrade its diplomatic relations with Israel.

Until recently, Turkey and Israel built a strategic partnership in trade, tourism and security. Even after the Gaza Flotilla incident that strained ties between the two, the Israeli government offered humanitarian assistance for the October 2011 earthquake in Turkey.

Based on WikiLeaks, in 2009, the chief of Pakistan's spy agency tipped off Israel on terror threats in India. Likewise, former Pakistani Prime Minister, the late Benazir Bhutto, intended to establish official ties with Israel and also sought protection from the Israeli spy agency, Mossad.

Would it have been possible to prevent human tragedies this November if relations between Israel, its Arab neighbors and the larger Muslim world were driven by human dignity and justice rather than business and political interests?

Both Judaism and Islam uphold human dignity and justice as supreme values that trump other considerations. The Qur'an clearly affirms justice even if it required going against one's kin.

Orthodox Rabbi Yanklowitz has stated that affirming a person's human dignity trumps shunning another for violating a Jewish injunction. Likewise, many Muslim jurists have expressed that a human being is honored even if his choices run contrary to Islamic teachings.

Religious faith that eschews literalism and upholds human dignity and justice has the potential to usher in peace.

Having lost three daughters and a niece to an Israeli Defense Force attack, Dr. Abu Al Aish mentioned in his book I Shall Not Hate that the Qur'an taught him to be patient and forgiving.

His faith empowered him to express the sanctity of every human being and the teaching affirmed by both Judaism and Islam -- whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.
Can such common values instead of business and politics form the basis of Israeli relations with Arabs and the larger Muslim world?

 
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Professor of religion Dr. Omid Safi expressed hope for the New Year that religious faith becomes a force for justice, since religion has been a divisive force in recent history. Notwithstanding seve...
Professor of religion Dr. Omid Safi expressed hope for the New Year that religious faith becomes a force for justice, since religion has been a divisive force in recent history. Notwithstanding seve...
 
 
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03:54 PM on 01/08/2013
Brilliant idea! Of course we can! By far religion is a force for good. But, that doesn't mean we shouldn't criticise when bad does come as a result of it.

Great idea, Junaid. Keep up the amazing work.
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drachold
11:42 AM on 01/07/2013
no
10:49 AM on 01/07/2013
it is impossible, i think, for one appeals to the heart and traditions and the other to the head and 'logic' and logic often being determined by the traditions of our times but also by our religious traditions. i.e, if your times and traditions[depending on the laws of the country you live in] are that justice is served when someone is hung for a crime[that being a crime in the law of the country you live in], your idea will be different than in a country where the crime is not considered a crime. as in the case of homosexuality,many countries consider this a crime punishable, others don t see it as a crime.women living freely their sexuality[gay or not].most religions consider this a sin,so any action towards the eradication of such a thing would be considered legal in any religious justice.justice and religion rarely go hand in hand, the law is not always fair but i believe less biaised. utopia is the dream of each generation but like the ocean the undertow is very strong.
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01:45 AM on 01/07/2013
No, we can't use religion. Religion poisons everything.

Whose religion shall we use? Whose dogma? Whose doctrine? Far too many strings attached to religion. False hope equals false friendship all based on man made myths that do nothing but hold the world hostage to iron age tribalistic, sectarian bickerings and squabbling in a 21st century world of weaponry.

Toss religion in the dust bin of history where it belongs.