{"id":578,"date":"2025-04-14T18:44:49","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T16:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ashteret.org\/?p=578"},"modified":"2025-04-29T15:37:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T13:37:28","slug":"paix-au-moyen-orient-et-si-la-reconciliation-passait-par-la-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ashteret.org\/en\/2025\/04\/14\/paix-au-moyen-orient-et-si-la-reconciliation-passait-par-la-tradition\/","title":{"rendered":"Peace in the Middle East: What if Reconciliation Came Through Tradition?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a Middle East fractured by ideologies, armed conflicts, and identity-driven hatreds, a singular voice rises: that of traditionalist interfaith reconciliation<\/strong>.
Against both imported models and Islamist distortions, the vision defended by Ashteret<\/strong> proposes a third way \u2014 deeply rooted in religious texts, yet oriented toward peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Escaping the Confusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For decades, the Arab world has swung between two extremes: on one side, political Islamism that confuses faith with power; on the other, a secularism perceived as foreign to local societies.
Religious minorities, critical thinkers, and moderates find themselves trapped between these two poles.
Meanwhile, the West often fails to distinguish between Islam and Islamism, between spiritual tradition and authoritarian ideology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Olga Kirschbaum-Shirazki points out in her landmark essay (Traditionalist Interfaith Reconciliation: A Necessity for Regional Peace<\/em>), as long as the region remains captive to an Islamist logic rooted in “replacement theology” \u2014 the belief that only Islam is legitimate and other religions are tolerated only under subjugation \u2014 there can be neither durable peace nor equal coexistence.
She calls for an internal rupture, arising from within Islam itself, based on its own traditions, to recognize the legitimacy of the religious “other.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Abraham Accords: A Turning Point<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Abraham Accords<\/strong> represent a decisive shift in the contemporary history of the Middle East.
Far more than simple diplomatic treaties, they embody the emergence of a non-conquering, traditionalist Islam capable of recognizing the legitimacy of Israel and Judaism based on Islamic theological references.
The United Arab Emirates offer the clearest example of this new approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not Westernization: it is an internal reinterpretation<\/strong>.
Just as Vatican II allowed Christians to move beyond replacement theology, certain Muslim states are beginning to redefine their relationship with other faiths.
This is not a cosmetic process; it is political, educational, and spiritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kirschbaum-Shirazki stresses that this shift does not deny tradition, but selectively draws from it to promote peace.
It means moving beyond fundamentalism without falling into relativism, and building a model where religious identities can flourish freely without seeking domination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashteret’s Role: Mediator, Bridge-Builder, Watchful Voice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ashteret positions itself at the heart of this transformation.
By creating a multilingual platform and defending a rooted secularism alongside a moderate traditionalism, the association offers an intellectual, cultural, and educational framework to support this evolution.
It addresses Arab peoples and European societies alike, minorities and majorities, believers and lucid secularists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Far from moral relativism and empty slogans, Ashteret proposes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n