4th open letter to G. Bush

-----Urspr?he Nachricht----- Von: Wolfgang Schawaller [mailto:w.schaw@chello.at] Gesendet: Montag, 15. September 2003 19:51 An: president@whitehouse.gov Betreff:
A German's Open Letter To George Bush: Need of an inter-religious council in the UN Vienna -

15 September, 2003

Photo: Religious leaders awaiting the start of the awards ceremony at the Universal Peace Federation (UPF).

http://us.altnews.com.au/nuke/print.php?sid=5424

To the President of the United States of America, the Honorable George W. Bush

Dear Mr. President:

Topic: Reasons why we need the establishment of an inter-religious council or council of religious representatives in the United Nations

The Iraq war is declared over but we witness everyday how Americans and British Troops are attacked, and for the Iraqi people peace seems to be still far away. I believe through this ongoing war and conflict in the Middle East region, everyone is thinking about how to make a better and peaceful world for the human race and for future generations.
Establishing everlasting peace on earth should be the concern for all of us. Whether we are politicians, religious leaders, decision makers, the Media, and academic or ordinary people. Therefore, today, we are even more challenged on how to construct a world of everlasting peace. I can't help but emphasize that we have to call upon our Heavenly Father in Heaven, who is the Father of all, to help us in making this world a world without war, but a place of love and peace where we can love and respect one another.

I took the time and searched on the internet on all wars ever fought in the long history of mankind. It is heartbreaking to see the numbers of humans death throughout history. (Matthew White, Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century, 2001): Worldwide Statistics, Massacres, Disasters and Atrocities)
Estimated Totals for the Entire 20th Century: 167,000,000 to 175,000,000
Including: War Dead: 87,500,000 Military war dead: 33,500,000 Civilian war dead: 54,000,000 Communist oppression: 60,000,000
See: http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat8.htm
(Le Figaro stated in the 80's: 150 million deaths during the 70 years communist era)

I do not want to go into details before the 20th century and the ancient biblical wars fought, because it is depressing to search of how many fellow men had been killed. The United Nations we know of today didn't exist during WW1 and was only created after WW2 was over. We know the outcome of Nazism cruelty in Europe and the Holocaust all together more than 60 Million dead. As a religious follower I believe strongly that God inspired the political leaders of the US, France and England during the climax of Nazism to defeat it militarily.
I can't imagine what would have happened if Nazism had not been defeated. One can only make his own judgment. With the 1917 Russian revolution and 70 years of God denying Communism and the cold war, I would call it a war of an ideology that denounced the existence of God and the spirit world and saw human beings as purely physical matter. With this worldview communism took the lives of over more than 150 million innocent people and enslaved millions more from all races and all continents.
50 years later, world leaders witnessed a serious religious conflict waged in Europe in Northern Ireland between Protestantism and Catholicism on the streets of Northern Ireland in 1968. There have been more than 3,600 deaths and 30,000 casualties that we still remember. The war's toll (1992-95) in Bosnia was 200,000 and it had its religious and racist nature too. And its refugees and displaced persons in 1995 were 2.2 million. And this all happened at the footsteps of modern Europe.

The most frightening wars of today are religious and racial ones oriented, and those wars are fought with more hatred than all past wars. 11 September 2001, was the best example. The war after Independence from Britain between India and Pakistan, Hindus and Moslem in the Indian Sub continent in 1947 was and still is another example of a religious war. This religious war is still fought in small scales until today. Religious and racial wars are fought in the heart and mind of man and woman, and expressed physically in actual wars.

Allow me to point out a little bit about the conflict and war in the Middle East region since the creation of Israel in May 1948. This ancient conflict happened already at the time of Abraham Family, between his 2 son's Ishmael and Isaac. The Bible tells clearly that these 2 half brothers went different ways, but should have gone originally had the same destinies. Both religions, Judaism and Islam derive from their same forefather Abraham And both religions believe in the same monotheistic God.
This "ancient family conflict" is fought bloodily over in the Middle East region between Israel and the Palestinian people. Another historical event recorded which took place more than 900 years ago were thw early Christian crusades or "holy wars" started in the Middle East, it didn't create a good Christian image in ancient Arabia. With the 9 crusades, which began in 1095 by the call of Pope Urban, when 100,000 Christian crusaders entered Jerusalem. When the killing was over, all Muslims and Jews had either been killed or driven out.
The Christian crusaders had liberated Jerusalem, but the streets ran with blood and their prize was very nearly a corpse. 70,000 Moslems massacred alone in Jerusalem. It is a well-known fact that the Crusades were often directed against Jews, pagans, and heterodox Christians as well as against Muslims. Estimated killed during the 9 Christian crusades ended 1291 were: 1.000.000 These are a historical facts and many in the Islamic world see the cross and Christianity as a symbol of force and arrogance in the Christian faith.
Also Christian massacred countless innocent people during that time, because of religious believe too. I didn't try to give here a religious presentation. What I tried to get over is the religious bomb, which is ticking loudly in many parts of the world. Especially the Middle East region and Asia.

I believe political and religious leaders have to work very hard to reconcile the Middle East region?s sources? of conflict in order to avoid further and escalating religious conflict. The idea to establish an Inter-religious Council or Council of religious representatives in the United Nations could be in deed to un-tick this dangerous religious bomb mankind is facing tday. As I wrote a few days ago to you, Commemorating September 11, 2001.
There I mentioned that I believe with an Inter-religious Council there will be a decrease in and eventual elimination of terrorism on earth, and solve the serious urgent crisis of the world.

God bless you and this great Nation of America.

Sincerely,
Wolfgang Schawaller