{"id":504,"date":"2014-07-17T22:46:52","date_gmt":"2014-07-18T02:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/?p=504"},"modified":"2014-07-17T22:46:52","modified_gmt":"2014-07-18T02:46:52","slug":"a-prayer-for-peace-in-the-holy-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/a-prayer-for-peace-in-the-holy-land\/","title":{"rendered":"A Prayer For Peace In The Holy Land"},"content":{"rendered":"

In The Name Of God: The Infinitely Merciful And Compassionate Beloved Lord<\/em><\/p>\n

It has been heartbreaking to see conflict emerge – yet again – in the Holy Land over the last several weeks. Children being murdered: shot to death and burned alive. Rockets being fired at civilians, and bombs being dropped on houses. People all across the Holy Land are being terrorized and forced to mourn for the loss of their loved-ones, and the hatred and guile that fuels more death goes unabated, unopposed. In fact, it looks like the conflict has no end in sight.<\/p>\n

Precious Lord our God, please stop the killing.<\/p>\n

Glorious Lord of Hosts, take the hatred away from the Holy Land so that her children can live and play in peace. This is the land of Abraham, father to us all; the land of David, Singer of the Lord’s Praises; the land of Solomon, Majestic King and Servant of God; the land of Christ, who walked to and fro calling his people to the Lord. And this is the land to which the Prophet Muhammad was brought, to pray to God as one, in solidarity with all his Prophet-brothers of old.<\/p>\n

Precious Lord our God, please stop the killing.<\/p>\n

For far too long has the soil of the Holy Land been poisoned by the blood of innocents. For far too long has mother had to wail over the death of her child. In a place that has been blessed since the start of creation, for far too long has the legacy of Cain stained the land and her people.<\/p>\n

Precious Lord our God, please stop the killing.<\/p>\n

I will leave the analysis of why this war started and who is to blame to the analysts. I think if we knew the real truth behind all this violence and conflict, we would be disgusted to the core. But all I want is the killing to stop. All I want is the death to stop. All I want the pain of loss to stop. I know first-hand the horror of losing a child: my eldest daughter died of cancer five years ago<\/a>. I do not wish that on anyone, regardless of religion or ethnicity.<\/p>\n

And so, all I can do is pray: Precious Lord our God, please stop the killing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In The Name Of God: The Infinitely Merciful And Compassionate Beloved Lord It has been heartbreaking to see conflict emerge – yet again – in the Holy Land over the last several weeks. Children being murdered: shot to death and burned alive. Rockets being fired at civilians, and bombs being dropped on houses. 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Hassaballa","description":"Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago doctor and writer. He has written extensively on a freelance basis, being published in newspapers across the country and around the world. He has been a Beliefnet columnist since 2001, and has written for the Religion News Service. He is also a columnist for Patheos. His articles have been distributed worldwide by Agence Global, and he was also a guest blogger for The Chicago Tribune and has blogged on ChicagoNow\" . In addition, Dr. Hassaballa has appeared as a guest on WTTW (Channel 11) in Chicago, CNN, Fox News, BBC, and National Public Radio. Dr. Hassaballa is co-author of The Beliefnet Guide to Islam (Doubleday), and his essay, \u201cWhy I Love the Ten Commandments,\u201d was published in the award-winning book Taking Back Islam (Rodale). His latest book, Noble Brother, is the story of the Prophet Muhammad told entirely in poetry, and it is now published in its second edition. In 2007, his blog \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" was nominated for a Brass Crescent Award for a blog that is \u201cthe most stimulating, insightful, and philosophical, providing the best rebuttals to extremist ideology and making an impact whenever they post.\u201d \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" has also received an award for being one of the \"Top Muslim Blogs for 2010\" by Awarding The Web. In addition to writing, Dr. Hassaballa helped found the Chicago Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and currently serves on their board of directors. He also co-founded the Bayan H. 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