Jerusalem Peace Agreement

The following was cooperatively formulated by Rabbi David El Harar, Sadek Shweiki from Abu Tor East Jerusalem, Eliahu MacLean and Sheikh Ismail Jamal and represents a beautiful statement of interfaith solidarity, understanding and common ground. It is a preliminary writing as recorded by Dr Rabbi Marc Gopin in his book "Holy War, Holy Peace, How Religion can bring Peace to the Middle East", pp 53-54.

The honorable Sheikh Ismail Jamal begins with this introduction:

"Jerusalem is the city of the prophets, a city of love, compassion and peace. The message of God came out from Jerusalem to the whole world. This message is shared by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. A Hadith said, "Jerusalem, you are My Light and you are My Garden in this world. Whosoever dwells within thee is accepted by me. Whosoever abandons thee is rejected by me. You are the place of the Gathering and the land of the Judgement."

The Jerusalem Peace Agreement:

We, as representatives of the two faiths, of Islam and Judaism, agree to the following:

Both the Torah and the Qur'an are expressions of faith which speak of the divine reveleation of the oneness of G-d. Islam and Judaism both take pride in being a divine instrument of enlightenment for the world. As such they teach their faithful to honor every human being as the living image of G-d.

The Holy Torah revealed to Moses, peace be upon him, the prophet of the Jewish people, calls for the respect and honor of every human being regardless of race or creed. Moreover, the Torah states that special respect and feeling of brotherhood are due to all believers in the faith of the one G-d. Thus Muslims, who worship the same God as the Jews, are the primary recipients of these feelings of brotherhood.

The Holy Qur'an revealed to Mohammed, peace be upon him, the prophet of Islam, calls for the respect and honor of every human being regardless of race or creed. Moreover the Qur'an states that special respect and feeling of brotherhood are due to all believers of the faith of the one G-d. Thus Jews, who worship the same God as the Muslims, are primary recipients of these feelings of brotherhood.

Based on these eternal truths of the Holy Torah and the Holy Qur'an, we declare that no human being shall be persecuted, physically or morally, because of their faith or the practice of their beliefs. We also express our wish for greater harmony and understanding between the believers - Muslims and Jews. We the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac, the children of Abraham, are united today to offer our prayers from the heart of G-d. We pray for the end of all enmity and for the beginning of an era of peace, love, and compassion.