A Rebuke: Oslo on the Silver Jubilee
The article reflects on the 25th anniversary of the Oslo Accords using a parable about Caliph Umar and a mother with hungry children. It presents the story as a metaphor for a people's longing and the unmet promise of peace.
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English translation, prepared and reviewed before publication. The Arabic text is authoritative.
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Between the illusion of food...and the illusion of peace
9-9-2018
My memory.. the school one
..still.. contains some of the stories and examples we studied
in the past..and one of them comes to mind on the occasion of the silver anniversary
of the Oslo Accords..where it is told about the Caliph..Umar
ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him..and while he and his companions were inspecting the condition
of his subjects at night...he saw a fire in the
desert. When he approached he saw a woman who was kindling a fire..and over
the fire..a pot of water and pebbles were boiling....and around her..her young
children..were starving and Umar, may God be pleased with him, and his companions heard them...shouting...We are hungry..we have waited a long time..when will our food be ready..!!! And the mother replied
with her heart breaking from sorrow...knowing that she had nothing to give them!!....so she said..The food will be ready
soon, my beloved ones...just be patient and good...won't you be patient!...so the children fell silent...and returned to waiting for the food......which had not finished cooking
in the pot...!!
And Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him...rose after his eyes had filled with tears...after hearing the pleading of the hungry children...and after a conversation between him and the woman, who complained to God about the Caliph Umar...because he had not provided food for them...while he was enjoying it in his house—according to the transmitted dialogue--and she did not know that he was the Caliph of the Muslims.....and at the end of the story ..as you know it...the Caliph al-Farooq and his companions brought food....and sacks of flour....to the family, carrying those sacks with their own hands....to the end... of the story......
And we say: When will our food be ready? For we are hungry for peace..and we cry out in silence...and our hands are outstretched...with our empty...plates....we do not want to wait another century of grinding..!!. lest you lose us...between sleep or death.....and you are our guardians...may God protect you.. And God is the ultimate intention
.
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Zuhdi Shubeitah, “A Rebuke: Oslo on the Silver Jubilee” (English translation of «تصبيرة ....اوسلو ..في ذكرى اليوبيل الفضي», originally published 20 September 2022), https://www.zuhdish.co/en/articles/a-rebuke-oslo-on-the-silver-jubilee
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