This is why the story of Abraham is coming up in the push for Middle East peace

President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted the “Abraham Accords” On a trip to the Middle East on MondayIt is trying to build on the 2020 agreements that increased the number of Arab states with diplomatic ties with Israel.

The term is filled with religious and cultural meanings and refers to a biblical patriarch whose adherents are revered as the founding figure of three major, distinct religions. more than half world population – Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Anyone who tries to build a bridge between faiths is obliged to remember Abraham, known to Muslims as Ibrahim, as someone they hold in common.

But this legacy can also be a source of division, as some faith groups present themselves as its true heirs.

“Everyone tried to claim that Abraham belonged to them, but in reality, Abraham belongs to everyone,” said Bruce Feiler, author of “Abraham: A Journey into the Hearts of Three Faiths.”

“Even in the last two years we have seen this war continue in a way that has been going on for 4,000 years,” he said. “Everybody’s trying to say, ‘This is my story, my perspective is the only point of view that matters.'”

But “the story belongs to all of us, the land will have to be shared and the legacy will have to be a common heritage for all of us,” he said.

Abraham Accords as a template

Abraham Accords There were a number of diplomatic and trade agreements made between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain under US influence. Sudan And Morocco in 2020During Trump’s first term. A permanent agreement in Gaza could help pave the way for negotiations with other Muslim-majority lands.

From the Bible to the headlines

Abraham is first described in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible as a childless old man whom God promised would become the father of a great nation. God sends Abraham on a journey that will take him to the area of ​​modern-day Israel and the land of Palestine.

Abraham first had a son named Ishmael from Hagar, a slave woman. Later, Abraham’s wife Sarah, who had reached childbearing age, miraculously became pregnant with Isaac and gave birth to him. Hagar and Ishmael are exiled, but Ishmael returns after Abraham’s death to help Isaac bury their father.

In a pivotal story in the Bible—retold every Rosh Hashanah to mark the Jewish new year—God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham agrees, ties Isaac to an altar, and before he can kill his son, he is stopped by an angel who tells him that Abraham has passed a test of faith.

According to Genesis, Isaac and his son Jacob become the ancestors of the Jews.

Christianity holds Abraham as an example of faith, willing to believe and obey God.

Islamic and Jewish traditions depict the young Abraham breaking his father’s idols as he embraced the worship of the one almighty God.

However, Muslims place Ishmael (Arabic for Ishmael) rather than Isaac at the center of the binding story. According to tradition, they honor Ishmael, the ancestor of the prophet Muhammad, as a just prophet. Muslims believe that the rock that Abraham offered to his son is inside the Dome of the Rock, the gold-domed shrine in Jerusalem.

Abraham is both a divisive and unifying figure

Each of the three monotheistic religions – Christianity, Judaism, and Islam – claimed to be the true heirs of Abraham at different points in a history that included crusades, terrorist attacks, and other violent incidents.

At the same time, because all three religions revere Abraham, he is invoked for efforts such as the diplomatic agreements signed by the predominantly Christian United States between the Jewish state of Israel and the predominantly Muslim Arab states.

At an iftar dinner with Muslims right after the September 11 attacks, then-President George W. Bush, trying to distinguish mainstream Muslims from terrorists who claimed to act in the name of Islam, said, “In Islam, we see a religion whose origins go back to God’s call to Abraham.” “We share your belief in God’s justice and your insistence on man’s moral responsibility.”

The term “Abrahamic faiths” is also used to encourage interfaith dialogue.

The United Arab Emirates is home to the Abrahamic Family House, which includes a church, mosque and synagogue.

Many people involved in interfaith dialogue in the United States consider this term to be more inclusive than the term “Judeo-Christian” that was frequently used in the 20th century. Although “Abraham” does not include all faiths, it reflects the effort to expand the tent.

Such efforts come at a time when religious divisions are sharpening on other fronts. A. increase in antisemitism accompanied the current Middle East war. Anti-Muslim Sentiment has increased as New York looks set to elect its first Muslim mayor.

Context is important in the sayings about Abraham

In his speech to the Israeli Knesset on Monday, Trump emphasized the Jewish tradition surrounding the patriarch. He gave thanks to the “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” a basic Jewish formulation. He was applauded when he said he preferred to call the diplomatic agreements “Avraham Accords,” using the Hebrew pronunciation.

He also praised Arab and Muslim leaders whose countries are parties to the agreements; some of these came together. summit in Egypt Monday.

It may seem stunning that this is the same as Trump, who was later first elected. Response to the terrorist attack in 2015 Calling for a “complete closure of Muslims from entering the United States.” The current administration has launched a crackdown on foreign students and others who advocate for Palestinians.

But Feiler said it’s less confusing if one pays attention to “the last 4,000 years, when everyone has lived in the tension of the story of Abraham.”

The story of Abraham, his two sons and his two mothers is one of “the tension of inviting people in and pushing people out,” Feiler said.

He said it’s a timeless story of relationships and rivalries between family members, neighbors and others.

“We want everything for ourselves, but we are reminded that we can only live with the other.”

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