Logic of Peace in the Region of War
How could one bypass the deadlock of wars and crises in the tumultuous Middle East and pave the way for the difficult path of peace? Anyone, not only in the Middle East but in the entire world, who is concerned about religion, humanity, peace, security, development … must make efforts to find an answer for this question.
It seems that the Middle East, with its complex geography and history, is still in flames and reaching calm is not possible. One of the reasons behind its complicated destiny is its location as the bridge between the East and the West. Without an understanding of the history, geography, and ethnic and religious diversity of this region, finding a solution for its problems would be, if not impossible, very difficult.
The Middle East has been the cradle of religions and prophets but also the land of endless wars; wars which are the roots of today’s challenges and wars. The significance of the Middle East is in the role which it has played in the political, economic and cultural history of the world and the end of the oil era would not be the end of the importance of the Middle East. Domination or superiority over this region is today’s challenge of the Middle East. While for more than half a century the Arab-Israeli crisis was the main crisis of the Middle East, today this crisis is on the sidelines of the crises created by the proxy wars and rivalries. Security for Israel is the result of these proxy wars. Today’s war in the Middle East is an internal war and each party has its own interpretation of it. In general, wars do not have many victors and an internal war has no victor. In order to reach peace in this region, we must bring our interpretations closer to each other. Respecting mutual rights in defining the interests and areas of influence would pave the way for distancing ourselves from a confrontational policy and getting closer to the view of interaction. We must change our views and mindsets and reach the point of balance in order to transform the battlefield into the scene of peace. Considering the existing hostile views, one of which regards ISIS as the result of Wahhabism and the other the result of ignoring the Sunnis, establishing a bridge of peace seems impossible.
One must note that under today’s conditions in the Middle East, insulting and ignoring others and insisting on our own interpretation is, in fact, stressing the continuation of war and bloodshed. Politicians and leaders of this region who are concerned about the people and their peace must, instead of managing the crisis, attempt to manage the resolution of this crisis. The present alignments have a dark perspective. The crisis in the Middle East must end through collective determination and participation. We must not allow the option of war to appear and reach a point of no return. War and peace are two-way paths; as no war begins in an instant, no peace is reached instantly. The path must be paved for each one of them. Logic and wisdom necessitate that the leaders of the region, in a collective participation, mobilize forces for peace and not war. Although speaking of peace is difficult when the language of threats and war dominates this region, one must still pursue peace in order to avoid a destructive war. The language of politics is the language of peace and tolerance.
The important point is that the West has always attempted to deepen the differences between the Middle East countries to safeguard its own interests. At the present time and in the international scene, different reasons, including concentration on the East, priority of strategic stability of the Middle East, establishment of balance between regional powers, consequences of spreading Middle East insecurities,… have reduced this role played by the West and this development can, in turn, help the establishment of peace in the Middle East.