The Middle East Crisis Can Be Solved: The Solution Has Been Right Under Our Noses the Whole Time

By Howie Gardner

The title of this book is no offhand boast or exaggeration. We can indeed solve the Middle East crisis. The United States Constitution is the most successful political document in human history. So why not borrow its precepts, add in the necessity of term limits and the equality of each race and gender including the unborn? Psalm 122 instructs us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and it seems unrealistic to do so if such a result were not possible. The author has met directly with Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders throughout the world and together with his friend Kamal Nawash (President of the Free Muslim Coalition AGAINST Terrorism) has devised a plan that has the potential to make Israel/Palestine the envy of the world. The greatest concern that Israelis have in this venture (and a realistic one) is the potential to become a minority and be enslaved as in Egypt and Babylon and placed on the verge of extinction during the Nazi Holocaust. This plan draws upon the U. S. Constitution to alleviate that concern. In much the same way that the smaller state of Rhode Island has the same representation as California so Israelis and Palestinians can have citizenship, voting rights and jobs that will remove the incentive to destroy and result in the self-esteem necessary to develop patriotism. Additionally the reader will become aware that both Israelis and Palestinians are of Jewish origin; brothers and sisters capable of coming together for the cause of peace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490845241

Howie Gardner

Howie Gardner has been Pastor of Bel Air Assembly of God in Maryland since 1987. He holds a bachelor degree in Theology and Sports Medicine from Oral Roberts University and has done graduate studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, United Theological Seminary and ORU’s Graduate School of Theology. He is the author of two other books; “Oral Exam” (originally “Oral Roberts in the Eyes of One of His Students”) and “The Church & Terri Shiavo.” An avid marathon runner, he is professor of Apologetics at Harford Community College, chaplain and aerobic instructor at Active Day Medical Center and an administrator for the Task Force on Israel/Palestine. Howie has been featured on various radio and television programs, at the National Religious Broadcaster’s Convention and has conducted numerous meetings between Christian and Muslim leaders. He and his wife Angie live in Bel Air together with their three children; Lindsey, Bernie and David.

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Copyright © 2014 Howie Gardner.

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Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ All rights reserved.

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WestBow Press rev. date: 08/01/2014

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1   THE SOLUTION

2   HOW THE PROBLEM STARTED

3   THE EXPERIENCE THAT INSPIRED THE OPEN LETTER

4   THE STATEMENT THAT INSPIRED THE OPEN LETTER

5   THE OPEN LETTER

6   ISRAEL, O ISRAEL

7   MUHAMMAD AND THE WOMAN THROWING GARBAGE

8   IS THE GOD OF MUHAMMAD THE GOD OF THE BIBLE?

9   72 VIRGINS?

10 DEATH OF A SALESMAN

11 SELF-PROCLAIMED EXPERTS (and why they frustrate me)

12 REDDA AND SHARIA LAW

13 THE OPEN DIALOGUE

14 A MUSLIM PERSPECTIVE ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS

15 UNSCRAMBLING EGGS?

16 GREATNESS

17 MESSIANIC MUSLIMS

18 ENDORSEMENTS FROM MUSLIM AND JEWISH LEADERS

19 HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE PEACE?

APPENDIX I GETTING TO KNOW HOWIE

APPENDIX II THE VITAL QUESTION FOR CHRISTIANS

APPENDIX III A VITAL QUESTION FOR MUSLIMS

APPENDIX IV A VITAL QUESTION FOR JEWS

EPILOGUE

INTRODUCTION

What you are about to read is a synopsis of what has become a series of communications between the Christian community, the Muslim community and ultimately the Jewish community. I composed the initial letter (known as OPEN LETTER TO THE LEADERSHIP OF ISLAM); however, it was amended at the suggestion of numerous clergy, theologians and missionaries.

Each of us is excited to see it promote dialogue between Christians and Muslims and equally excited that the Jewish community has come aboard as well. An old song referenced in the text expresses the thought that There will never be any peace until God is seated at the conference table. This book is written in the hope that each of us will extend an open invitation to God to, in fact, be seated at the conference table and lead us on the path to peace.

Throughout the book, you will notice frequent references to Kamal Nawash, a good friend and President and founder of the Free Muslim Coalition AGAINST Terrorism. Kamal, Imam Muhammad Siddeeq and I participated in Christian/Muslim dialogues beginning in 2007. One of these was at Highland Assembly of God in Baltimore, Maryland, the transcript of which is contained in chapter 13 of this book.

- Howie Gardner

1 THE SOLUTION

It would probably seem more logical to leave a chapter entitled The Solution until the end of the book. However, it occurs to me that all too often readers begin a book and never get past the first chapter. I feel that this solution to solving the Mideast crisis is so important that I want everyone who opens this book to read it and understand its significance. Some things that I am sharing in the first couple of chapters I will repeat later in the book when delving into more detail.

To begin, 2007 was my first contact with Kamal Nawash, President of the Free Muslim Coalition AGAINST Terrorism. Kamal had previously been a candidate for the United States Senate in Virginia but withdrew his candidacy in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, reasoning that the political climate was now such that no Muslim could possibly be elected. Kamal is a Palestinian by birth, born in Bethlehem. He came to America, successfully obtained citizenship, achieved a law degree and is now a practicing attorney in Washington D. C. He was however intent on solving the political problem back in his homeland where so much turmoil existed.

As I soon learned, the problem was not so much one of ideological differences but rather one of Israel’s concern of becoming a voting minority should both sides unite (certainly a legitimate concern in view of Israel’s past history). In much the same manner as South African leader Nelson Mandela, Kamal had been studying American history in the hope of discovering how America, the great melting pot of so many cultures, had been so successfully able to function peacefully while at the same time ensuring freedom for each of its citizens. Indeed, Mandela had been stunned to realize that blacks actually had more rights and freedom in America where they were a minority than in South Africa where they were a majority.

The answer Mandela found was that America chose its leaders not from some pre-selected royal line but rather from among its general populace. Initially, General George Washington had gallantly led the nation to victory over the British and assured both independence and freedom. As a result, there was a massive movement among the people to name Washington as their king.

George Washington, however, was both a humble man and a very committed Christian. He greatly feared that simply setting up another kingdom similar to those back in Europe would assure that eventually the same sort of abuses of the people would be reinstituted. After all, Washington reasoned, why fight a war in which so many are asked to risk their lives for freedom if the ultimate result was that a generation or two later the people again found themselves under another oppressive government?

In addition to his endeavors for freedom, Washington was also heavily involved in a Bible study with a man by the name of Alexander Hamilton. During one such study, Washington’s eyes became fixed upon a passage in Romans 3:23; ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God. A stunning realization came to both he and Hamilton at this time. Herein lay the very reason why various European and Asian theocracies and monarchies had all failed. No one was worthy to hold the position of King other than God Himself. Washington said to Hamilton, I can never be king. None of us can. and the latter nodded in agreement.

It was at this point that both men sought the advice of James Madison, an ordained clergyman with a rather sharp insight into both political and theological matters. Madison pointed them to the words of the prophet Isaiah advising that governing authority should be divided among different individuals with no one individual or individuals acquiring too much authority. Through the words of Isaiah 33:22, all three men saw what they felt was the best solution: a division of power and a system of checks and balances between legislative, judicial and executive branches of government and the leaders of each department elected from within the ranks of the working class. Additionally, they noted other Biblical principles which included the tax exempt status of Churches (Ezra 7:24), the requirement that the President be a natural born citizen (Deuteronomy 17:15), the requirement that two witness were necessary to invoke the death penalty (II Corinthians 13:1) and the realization that All men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights; among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. (Acts 10:34)

Ultimately a Constitution was drawn up for the new union, using as its basis a document known as The Founding Era which contained 1,073 quotes from both the Old and New Testaments.

Again both Mandela and Nawash were amazed to find that America’s Constitution had endured so long and ensured freedoms for even minorities far surpassing that of any theocracy or monarchy. Mandela, who originally had leanings towards communism, would rather seek to apply these principles to the new government of South Africa. And Kamal Nawash would seek to apply them to a new government uniting both Israel and Palestine.

Resultantly, Nawash was openly criticized for even suggesting such a merger. Various leaders had previously suggested dividing the two groups up into separate nations. But the problem was always that both sides demanded access to the Holy City of Jerusalem. Since both sides obviously could not get 55% of the pie, these Two State solutions have always failed to achieve any sort of lasting peace.

Additionally, the One State Solution of simply merging both sides together brought complete resistance from Israel as they echoed the reasonable fear of becoming a minority and facing similar oppression reminiscent to what has transpired so often in their history and most recently in the Holocaust under Nazi Germany.

But Kamal saw in this structure of Washington, Hamilton and Madison a solution to the Mideast problem: not one nation or two nations but rather two states under the banner of one nation with each side having equal voting rights and the exact same number of representatives. That is, a government patterned after the United States Constitution and specifically after the U. S. Senate.

In 2013, Kamal, knowing that a great many Palestinians and Jews, as well, were professing Christians, allowed myself as a Christian pastor from outside the country to author a portion of the new peace plan from my own perspective. The following is what I have proposed:

"Friends, please understand from the start that I have no background in either law, political science, business or economics. Please keep that in mind as you review this article and anticipate that there may be points that I make which will be highly naive and in need of correction. Still, I think I may be able to present some points that may be significant. My main strengths are in the area of theology with some background in historical studies and sports medicine and, since religion plays a highly significant role in the Middle East, I think I might be able to make some valid points.

To begin with, I am supportive of Kamal Nawash’s assertion that a two state plan in the Mideast has been tried and failed often enough to justify trying another approach. When I expounded upon this in an article for Charisma Magazine in 2010, a Jewish lady lacerated me over her blog site, claiming that I was attempting to destroy Israel. Her logic was that any sort of plan that did not completely segregate Israelis from Palestinians would ultimately result in Israel’s destruction since they would immediately become a minority. Her logic failed to take into account (and perhaps I did not adequately state) that Kamal’s Two-State-One-Nation plan is based on the same concept seen in the United States Senate by which smaller states are given the same number of representatives as larger states. Such a structure has worked well here in the U. S. I am not aware of situations in which citizens of smaller states have made accusations of discrimination against them on this basis. In fact our present and former Vice-Presidents Joe Biden and Dick Cheney are from small states (Delaware and Wyoming) and former President Clinton was from the smaller state of Arkansas.

Nonetheless, one cannot overlook the fact that the woman has a legitimate concern. Hebrew history is littered with examples of their being the subject of abuse by those in greater numbers. They have endured slavery in Egypt, forced breeding under Assyria, exile under Babylon, humiliation and forced apostasy under Greece, captivity under Rome and near extinction under Nazi Germany. When the number of Hebrews grew, Egypt attempted to kill off all the firstborn males and the Nazi’s plotted their annihilation. To any reader questioning the validity of the Holocaust, all I can say is that, after the battle of Normandy, my father was sent into the Auschwitz prison camp and exposed to the thousands of Jewish corpses burned alive in Hitler’s ovens. Dad would never go into detail about the horrors he saw there but did often speak with despair about the cruelty that human beings have committed against one another.

It was after speaking with this lady that I began to lay greater emphasis on this aspect in Kamal’s concept of Two-State-One-Nation. Again, bear in mind that my qualifications do not lend to total certainty in this area but I feel it is the most logical plan I have yet seen as far as relieving the concern of minority status.

HOW CAN WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?

Some years back, one of our Church planting teams began investigating Baltimore’s Inner City for the prospect of planting a Church in that area. One of the first revelations that would eventually stall such a project was the realization that the people on 51st Street had a tremendous animosity and great dislike for the people on 61st Street just ten blocks away. Both consisted of basically white families with similar incomes. But, the fact is that human beings rarely associate with other human beings unless there is a cause or interest presented enticing them together. That catalyst was missing here, so there was an ongoing, great divide between both groups. One group lived in row homes with the front steps right out in front. The other had an alleyway separating every third home and a front porch but no steps. Other than this, the only major distinction between them seemed to be favoritism toward one political party over another. Getting both groups to come together proved to be quite a task and this is likely to be the case in combining Israel and Palestine into one nation. In the case of Baltimore, the most workable solution seemed to be to get the children to come together for fun times.

In July of 2011, I was invited to Orlando, Florida, to meet with Imam Muhammad Musri; head of the Islamic Society of Central Florida (ICSF). The invitation had come about mostly because of the enthusiasm of his secretary, Dianah, who insisted, The two of you just have to meet! Imam Musri and I discussed the distinctions between Islam and Christianity and I was impressed by his humility and openness. Still, what impressed me most were two things I learned about ISCF and their school.

(1) On the day prior to our meeting, a rather hot day, Randall Terry and individuals from his Operation Rescue movement had camped outside their Mosque carrying anti-Muslim signs. Killer Cult, Religion of Death, God hates Muslims and All Muslims Go to Hell were phrases seen in the parking lot of the ISCF. Inside, Imam Musri’s staff asked him, What should we do? and he responded, Well, if I were out carrying a sign on a hot day, the one thing I would want most would be something cold to drink. Let’s make some lemonade. So they did. They brought a large jug of ice cold lemonade out into the parking, sampled it themselves to show that it was not poison and then began passing it out among the hot, thirsty demonstrators. Most accepted and ultimately went away in embarrassment. I applauded this action greatly, comparing their actions to Jesus telling His followers to carry the Roman soldier’s bag a second mile and ultimately turn their enemy into a friend.

(2) The other thing that so greatly impressed me about Imam Musri and his operation was their school, The Leader’s Preparatory School, in Orlando. The school is jointly operated by Imam Musri together with a local Pastor and Rabbi. Students and faculty are made up of one third Muslim, one third Christian and one third Jewish children and adults. At the suggestion of the Rabbi, on the first day of second grade, students are divided into groups of three - one from each faith - and given the assignment of planting a tree together. The thinking is that, if later on in life they hear someone make the statement, You just can’t work together with those people, then they will remark, Oh, yes, you can. I planted a tree with two of them back in elementary school. With this in mind, consider the following, practical analogy.

Some years back a stray cat took up residence on our back porch. It had apparently been abused as it was the most vicious animal I had ever encountered. The cat would snarl and claw at you if you just got within ten feet of it. So, I left food on the porch, which it accepted only after I had left. Then winter came and the temperature dropped well below freezing. The cat came up to me and began to wail, Meow, meow, meow! Now, I do not speak a fluent cat but I know enough to understand that this meant Help me; I’m freezing! So, I let it come into the house. I gave it some milk, which it accepted only after I was a safe distance away. Shortly afterwards I realized that the cat I had invited in was a pregnant momma-to-be. When the kittens came, I cared for them under the suspicious eye of the mother. The kittens warmed up to me easily. Children never have the hatred and suspicion ground into them that are far too frequent in adults. One evening I was sitting on the sofa reading with one of the kittens curled up on my lap asleep. The mother sat at a distance away observing us. Finally she began to creep slowly toward us. She put her head on my knee and looked up. Then, she hopped up onto the sofa beside me. Now I do not know if it is physically possible for a cat to smile but I honestly thought I saw her smile. Next, she lay down on my lap beside the kitten. I stroked her fur and she began to purr. Finally, she went to sleep on my lap. This is how I feel we can win the war on terror. We will win the children over first. Some, but not all of the adults, will follow but what is most important is that we win over the children since they are the next generation.

It was these two events that helped inspire a recent children’s video which we have put out in the hope of reaching the next generation. It is entitled Bob and Larry Solve the Mideast Crisis and centers around the misadventures of Veggie Tale characters Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber, Junior Asparagus and Laura the Carrot. A ‘draft’ of it can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK9dnJ2HC-U . We have been hopeful that the people at Big Idea Productions; the creators of Veggie Tales would use the script to produce a high quality video as they have with other Veggie productions. We are also hopeful that the video will be translated into Arabic, Hebrew, French and other languages and that other companies will produce similar spin-offs. We are hoping to persuade Al Jazeer Television, Music 24, Israeli Plus International and other stations to carry it as well. Since it is focused on children, the video is full of slapstick humor aimed to hold their attention. Super hero Larry Boy (a take-off on Batman) sets out to unscramble an egg and to put the tooth paste back in the tube but is distracted by arch villains; the Pigeon, the Broker and the Fiddler. Meanwhile Junior and Laura are students at Imam Musri’s school and given the tree-planting assignment. These events are interwoven with subtle inference about the importance of living together in peace and valuing all persons. Ultimately the Veggies seek the advice of the always wise Grandpa George who downplays the Eye-for-an-eye—Tooth-for-a-tooth concept that so many follow today and briefly describes Kamal’s Two-State-One-Nation plan.

At present, individuals from Big Idea itself have expressed a willingness to go forward with the project. However it appears that their parent company Classic Media views the project as a political hot-potato and does not want to consider it. In the meantime our youth group at Bel Air Assembly of God has produced a YouTube video using the script but we do not have the utilities at our disposal to make as high quality of a production as Big Idea is capable of.

BUT RELIGION CAN SURELY DIVIDE US

It has been accurately claimed by atheist groups that religious differences have led to many destructive actions between various groups of people. Their solution is, I think, to basically throw the baby out with the bath water. Or, if you are not acquainted with that phrase, then how about the analogy of tearing down the house because a light bulb burned out? Do you see the point here? Religious faith can be either a great divider of the human race or it can be the one thing that puts meaning into the life of an individual and causes them to go out and do good to all people. So, we don’t want to throw it out but rather fix it to help it accomplish the latter rather than the former.

As I have already acknowledged, a purely theological (or religious) solution to the Mideast Crisis can never be successful. Such a plan would result in some sort of theocratic government, of which some currently exist in the Middle East. They are for the most part intolerant dictatorships and certainly these are not the models we would wish to follow. (After all, if your neighbor’s house fell down, would you hire the same contractor?) Past history certainly demonstrates the insufficiency of theocracy as well. The Inquisition and the Crusades both arose from Papal Rome and are a huge embarrassment in the history of Christianity. While every theist (and I know that term does not apply to all people) will agree that God can never be either wrong or unjust, it is never wise to place an individual or individuals in the position of speaking for or representing God. Such power corrupts and ultimately results in the individual plagiarizing God and making self-serving proclamations that misrepresent Him. I should also note that certain Mideast nations have opted for the implementation of Sharia Law in governing. This, I believe, is equally unwise. For a more thorough evaluation of Sharia Law, see my article in chapter 16.

Nonetheless, religion (be it Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, etc.) plays a vital role in the lives of many or even most of those involved in the Mideast situation. With that in mind, let me make several points and suggestions concerning characteristics and often misunderstandings of the three Abrahamic religions, which I think would better help arrive at a satisfactory solution.

THE EYE-FOR-AN-EYE AND A TOOTH-FOR-A-TOOTH CONCEPT

One of the greatest obstacles to peace in the Middle East has been the reaction of militants who feel they are obeying the law of God as set forth in Exodus 21, the so-called Eye-for-an-eye—Tooth-for-a-tooth law or the ‘Law of Retaliation’ - that is, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. This principle has been the determining factor in how one side will respond to the attacks of another. If they blow up one of our aircraft carriers then we blow up one of their aircraft carriers. The problem with this concept is threefold:

(1) it fails to present any sort of peace initiative. Instead it simply provokes the other side to respond with similar violence in an unending cycle.

(2) The passage is simply a quote from the ancient law code of the pagan king Hammurabi and has no relation to scriptural instruction.

(3) It is a total misunderstanding of the passage in Exodus 21.

In context the Hebrew people were traveling through the wilderness in lands already governed by secular law codes. What they are basically being told here is that, while you are on the other guy’s property, you will be expected to abide by his laws. We still follow this principle today. The reader may in fact recall that back in the 90’s a young American boy was arrested in Singapore for breaking car windows. He was tried in court there and sentenced to be cained six times with a martial arts weapon. The young boy responded to the judge, Your honor, you can’t have me cained. You see, I am an American and in America that is considered cruel and unusual punishment. In effect the judge responded This ain’t America boy. That is why the Eye-for-an-eye rule was given to the Hebrew people. While in Hammurabi’s backyard, they would be subject to it. But the moment they entered into the Promised Land, it became irrelevant. And it should still be irrelevant today.

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(Note to the reader: I have used this same illustration 3 times in the book; here in the peace proposal, in the Open Letter (chapter 5) and during the dialogue with Kamal Nawash (chapter 13). I apologize for the repetition but have found it to be to be an excellent method of making the point.)

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BUT DON’T THE TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE CALL FOR VIOLENT ACTS?

Here is a great misunderstanding and the unfortunate reason why so many people today adhere to no religion at all. Prominent atheist groups are quick to point out that both the Bible and the Quran call for attacks upon certain groups of people. In fact both the ancient Hebrews and the followers of Muhammad were told to completely annihilate specific groups of people. There is a reasonable principle at stake here. It would be completely out