Can Hamas Bring Peace?
Viewpoint: The radical group's move into government may dim the appeal of terrorism by giving it a practical stake in a two-state solution
Those who wonder what impact the landslide Hamas electoral victory will have on "the peace process" are missing the point:
There is currently no peace process under way between Israel and the Palestinians, nor has there been for the past five years. Israel says it won't negotiate with an "an armed terror organisation that calls for Israel's destruction," but it's not as if it had really been negotiating with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas before Wednesday's election. Substantive political negotiations between the two sides have not been held since January 2001, shortly before Ariel Sharon was elected prime minister on a promise to bury the Oslo peace process.

President Bush's "road map" toward peace is little more than an empty mantra occasionally mouthed by both sides when the Americans are listening, but which neither has shown any serious inclination to implement. If anything, Hamas's victory is a symptom of the failure of the peace process.

It's hardly surprising that the Palestinian electorate has dispensed with Abbas's party—Sharon had made it abundantly clear that Fatah was irrelevant to the fate of the Palestinians, and Fatah had made it abundantly clear that it had no program beyond waiting in vain for the Americans to intervene. Sharon, meanwhile, pressed ahead with a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and possible follow-ups in the West Bank. Those dramatic moves, however, were never conceived of as steps toward a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.

On the contrary, they were drawn up as an alternative to a negotiated settlement, an attempt to resolve the problem of the occupation on Israel's own terms. Abbas has clung to the increasingly fanciful idea that by calming the situation in the West Bank and Gaza, he could persuade the U.S. to nudge Sharon—or better still, a new Labor government—to pick up final-status talks where his predecessor Ehud Barak had left off. But Sharon's unilateral moves drew applause in the U.S. and Europe, and rendered the Abbas leadership, in a word, unnecessary.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may console herself with the fact that Abbas was popularly elected last year "on a platform of peace," but Hamas didn't contest that race. Moreover, nobody seems to remember that even within Fatah, Abbas's relatively moderate positions were under threat: Topping the ruling party's electoral slate on Wednesday was Marwan Barghouti, a leader who insists on the right to wage "armed struggle" to end the occupation and currently resides in an Israeli prison on a terrorism conviction.

Hamas and Israel will not negotiate now, or in the near future, although Hamas has given every indication that it plans to maintain their truce with Israel as it undertakes a wholesale cleansing and rebuilding of the corrupt and weakened Palestinian institutions. But when the two sides inevitably meet over a bargaining table—and history's lesson is that when national conflicts are solved in negotiations, those deemed terrorists eventually end up at that table—Israel will find Hamas a far tougher, but also far more credible interlocutor than Arafat ever was. Just as the hard-liner Sharon was widely held to be the best Israeli leader to uproot settlements—not unlike Nixon going to China—so may Hamas well turn out to be the best bet for enforcing a truce. Its ascendancy may finally produce the accountable, transparent government willing to rein in militias that Washington for so long demanded of Yasser Arafat.

The U.S. and Israel, of course, don't seem to see it that way. Hamas must immediately recognize Israel's right to exist, Washington insists. And Israel adds that it has no plans to talk with terrorists. But even the PLO, which negotiated the Oslo accords, only changed its charter to recognize Israel four years after the agreement went into effect. Denying Israel's legitimacy is the starting point of Palestinian nationalism; their own displacement, as the price for the creation and expansion of the Jewish State, lies at the very core of the Palestinians' collective identity. The PLO didn't change its mind over the meaning of the events of 1948, and nor will Hamas. Instead, the PLO came to recognize Israel as an intractable reality that cannot be reversed by force of arms—just as Israel came to recognize the PLO, not because it forgave its terrorism, but because it accepted that Palestinian nationalism could not be militarily defeated. Each side came to see accommodating the other as a precondition for its own national progress and survival. Sooner or later, Hamas will get there, too. Many of its leaders already embrace a two-state conception of the future, although this question is likely to be the source of a fierce ideological battle within its ranks for years to come.

Having taken responsibility for running an institution created by Oslo, Hamas may have, knowingly or not, taken a major step toward the inevitable. Indeed, ironically, the very fact that it has entered and won these elections affirms the legitimacy of the Oslo institutions it once mocked. Hamas, now, has assumed administrative responsibility for the West Bank and Gaza, territories whose economies remain dependent on that entity next door that Hamas doesn't formally recognize—but negotiates with, albeit indirectly. Five years ago, when Hamas sent suicide bombers to Tel Aviv, Israel would respond by attacking the Palestinian Authority. Now, Hamas will be the Palestinian Authority, making the cost of terrorism more prohibitive.

Of course, Hamas can run the PA without having to engage in "final status" talks with the Israelis. Indeed, it is the PLO, not the PA, that has been the vehicle for such talks until now, and Hamas is not part of the PLO. But the movement is deeply committed to fulfilling its electoral promise to run a competent, clean, and transparent government, and it is unlikely to allow that goal to be sabotaged by provoking a new escalation in conflict with Israel. And being more disciplined than Fatah, Hamas may have a better chance at consolidating the security forces and reining in the violent chaos that has seized the West Bank and Gaza in recent months. Demanding that Hamas publicly and finally recognize Israel and renounce violence is wishful thinking; demanding that Hamas live up to its promises of good governance and its responsibility to the well-being of the electorate by maintaining its cease-fire may be a more productive route. As for talking to Israel, a Hamas government (which hadn't actually expected to win anything more than veto power) may be more comfortable, for now, allowing President Abbas to continue talking to Israel than they would be trying to open channels of their own.

The ambiguity of Hamas's new position was brought home to me during my commute on Wednesday, when I stopped into an old Brooklyn haunt where the man behind the counter is an exile from Tulkarm who makes no secret of his enthusiasm for Hamas and his loathing for the idea of a two-state solution. I expected to find him jubilant, but instead he was visibly glum as he sat watching al-Jazeera commentary on the election results. "Terrible," he sighed. "This is terrible. It means the end of Hamas." In the sense that he meant it, all I could think was, insh'Allah. And on reflection, I suspect he's probably right.
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<>"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."<>

Once you have taken the first step the next will be easier
It is a good idea to review your goals from time to time.
Examine your priorities again
As your life unfolds

It is important for you to take some type of immediate action on every goal you have set for yourself. Take some type of action now, today! According to an old Chinese proverb,
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Once you have taken the first step the next will be easier. The longer you wait the longer it will take to achieve your dreams. Go window shopping! If the stores are closed you can always look through a catalog. Make the call you need to make to get into the class you have been wanting to attend.

If the offices are closed, look up the phone number so you can make the call the first thing in the morning. Don't put it off! Do something!

It is a good idea to review your goals from time to time. I recommend reviewing major goals every day, lesser goals should be reviewed every month.

It is okay to change your goals. As your life unfolds, some or all of your goals may come into conflict with new opportunities.

If this occurs, you need to examine your priorities again and make a new decision. If you choose to change your goals, that is totally up to you.
 You may decide to eliminate some of the habits you have identified in this Part as a part of your major goals.

Part three
Belief & you shall received.
Be creative set priorities
Put everything on your list you can think of.
Make a deep search through your mind
What will it cost you if you do not attain these goals?
making the changes now to create the compelling future you have chosen for yourself

Belief & you shall received. If you do not believe what you belief will work for you and through you to transform your life, you are wasting your time and you need to give this material to someone who will use it. Belief is the key to this incredible power we all have at our disposal.

In order for you to focus your thoughts on anything, you need to know what that anything is.
Make a list of the things you would like to have and do. Let your mind wander with this.
Be creative. Do not let practicality get in the way. List everything you can think of: a new car, a new home, a vacation in France. List anything you can think of that you would like to see in your life.

Do not worry about what you can or cannot afford, just list it. Maybe there are abilities you would like to develop in yourself. Maybe you would like to create a trust fund for your children, grandchildren or parents. List anything! Get excited about this, you are creating your future here. Put everything on your list you can think of.

After you have listed as many things as you can think of, go through your list and
set priorities for them. List them as one-year goals, two-year goals, three-year goals, four-year goals and five-year goals. This part is not as difficult as it would seem. While you were making your list you were already selecting a priority for some of the items and rejecting others as you thought of new things.
 
  Some of the items on your list may be in conflict. If you find two or more items on your list that conflict and you cannot possibly do both over a five year period, you will need to eliminate one. Give careful thought to anything on your list before you discard it.

After you have set a priority and a time limit for your goals you need to choose three one-year goals that are the most important to you. These are your major goals. Do not discard the others, they are important and you will need to go back to them.

  Get clear about why you want these things. What will you gain when you attain these goals and what will it cost you if you do not? This part is a little more difficult and it will require you to make a deep search through your mind for the answers. Do not take short cuts on this step; you are identifying your reasons why.
 You need to get absolutely clear about why you want these goals in order to create the motivation that will be compelling to you.

What will you gain when you attain these goals? For all three of the major goals you have chosen you need to make a list of what you will gain. Come up with at least five reasons for each one. It is important for you to make this real. Visualize these things in your life right now, with all the joy and happiness you will get. This is not easy. Many of us have difficulty getting in touch with our true feelings, but keep trying until you succeed.

What will it cost you if you do not attain these goals? What will it cost you spiritually, emotionally, financially? How will you feel about yourself if you are thirty five years older and still have not attained the level of success you deserve? How will your friends and family feel about you? How much will your life have changed five years from now if you do not attain your true desires? It is important to make this part as real and as painful as you can. The more pain you can identify with not attaining these goals the more driven you will become to making the changes now to create the compelling future you have chosen for yourself.

Word of God and Spirit of God 

   Greatest scholar of Islam, Sh. Ahmed Deedat said in his book "CHRIST IN ISLAM"

CHAPTER 2: JESUS IN THE QURAN

JESUS - HIS TITLES

Like this: -


Though Jesus is mentioned by name in twenty-five places in the holy quran he is also addressed with respect as:"ibne Maryam" - son of Mary;as Masih (Heb) messiah - translated as Christ; "abd-ullah" servant of Allah; "rasul -ullah" - messenger of Allah.

He is spoken of as "the word of god", as "the spirit of god", as a "sign of god", and numerous other epithets of honour spread over fifteen different chapters. the holy quran honours this mighty messenger of god, and the Muslims have not fallen short over the past fourteen hundred years i doing the same. there is not a single disparaging remark in the entire quran to which even the most jaundiced among the Christians can take exception.


If Jesus was spoken in Quran as "The Word of God" and as "The Spirit of God" then there is no need for further discussion or any need for asking any questions because these two statements make Jesus automatically God. Because no man can get this title of "Word of God" and "Spirit of God." These are titles of God and calling an ordinary man "Word of God" and "Spirit of God amounts to blasphemy. When we look in the Bible we see that Jesus was called the "Word of God" in Bible too.

Word of God means very words of God that was spoken by God. God spoke and created heaven and earth. God spoke and mighty things happened.

In the Quran, we see that Jesus was spoken as "His Word" and "a Spirit proceeding from Him." As we read further: -

An-Nisa (Women)

Sura 4:171

O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not "Three (Trinity)" : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is One God. Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs

The first part of Sura says that, "Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from Him:" Jesus is called here, "His Word" and the Bible says the same thing.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.( John 1:1-4)

Jesus is called the "Word" (Logos) in Greek here. And Logos was used for God. John declares that in the beginning Logos existed, He was with God and Logos was God. This shows the complex nature of God. Jesus is none other than God Himself. And by declaring this John said that, Jesus is the eternal God who was from the beginning and He came down in the form of human flesh.

And Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. If you read the whole Bible you can see that Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. The very first chapter of the Bible says about the Spirit of God. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:1-2)

What is Christian Trinity: -
1. God Himself
2. His Word (Jesus as we see that God spoke to His prophets and His people from the beginning of the world).
3. Holy Spirit (Spirit of God)

Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread)

Sura 5:110

Then will Allah say: "O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favor to thee and to thy mother. Behold! I strengthened thee with the Holy Spirit, so that thou didst speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught thee the Book and Wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel. And behold! thou makest out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and thou breathest into it and it becometh a bird by My leave, and thou healest those born blind, and the lepers, by My leave. And behold! thou bringest forth the dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the Children of Israel from (violence to) thee when thou didst show them the Clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: 'This is nothing but evident magic.'

This verse also says that, God has a Spirit... So the fact is, if God has a spirit and God has a Word then, He is a triune God.

And Quran says that, "Jesus is the sign of God". And the Bible says the same thing. Isaiah the prophet prophesied more than 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ that God will give a sign as we read in Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."

Isaiah 9:6 explained to us what type of sign He will give to us, "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

"Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

(Isaiah 9:6-7)

These verses clearly says that Jesus is the King of kings, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace and there is no end of His government and peace. Jesus came from the lineage of David and as prophesied He is going to establish His kingdom forever when He will return. He is going to judge and rule justly. These are the qualities of God that was manifested in and through Jesus. Once again it proves that Jesus is the very God who came down in the form of a man to redeem us.

<> RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE <>

<> In what ways have the discoveries of archaeology
verified the reliability of the Bible?

<> Over the years there have been many criticisms leveled against the Bible concerning its historical reliability. These criticisms are usually based on a lack of evidence from outside sources to confirm the Biblical record. Since the Bible is a religious book, many scholars take the position that it is biased and cannot be trusted unless we have corroborating evidence from extra-Biblical sources. In other words, the Bible is guilty until proven innocent, and a lack of outside evidence places the Biblical account in doubt.

This standard is far different from that applied to other ancient documents, even though many, if not most, have a religious element. They are considered to be accurate, unless there is evidence to show that they are not. Although it is not possible to verify every incident in the Bible, the discoveries of archaeology since the mid 1800s have demonstrated the reliability and plausibility of the Bible narrative. Here are some examples.


* The discovery of the Ebla archive in northern Syria in the 1970s has shown the Biblical writings concerning the Patriarchs to be viable. Documents written on clay tablets from around 2300 B.C. demonstrate that personal and place names in the Patriarchal accounts are genuine. The name "Canaan" was in use in Ebla, a name critics once said was not used at that time and was used incorrectly in the early chapters of the Bible. The word "tehom" ("the deep") in Genesis 1:2 was said to be a late word demonstrating the late writing of the creation story. "Tehom" was part of the vocabulary at Ebla, in use some 800 years before Moses. Ancient customs reflected in the stories of the Patriarchs have also been found in clay tablets from Nuzi and Mari.

* The Hittites were once thought to be a Biblical legend, until their capital and records were discovered at Bogazkoy, Turkey. Many thought the Biblical references to Solomon's wealth were greatly exaggerated. Recovered records from the past show that wealth in antiquity was concentrated with the king and Solomon's prosperity was entirely feasible. It was once claimed there was no Assyrian king named Sargon as recorded in Isaiah 20:1, because this name was not known in any other record. Then, Sargon's palace was discovered in Khorsabad, Iraq. The very event mentioned in Isaiah 20, his capture of Ashdod, was recorded on the palace walls. What is more, fragments of a stela memorializing the victory were found at Ashdod itself.

* Another king who was in doubt was Belshazzar, king of Babylon, named in Daniel 5. The last king of Babylon was Nabonidus according to recorded history. Tablets were found showing that Belshazzar was Nabonidus' son who served as coregent in Babylon. Thus, Belshazzar could offer to make Daniel "third highest ruler in the kingdom" (Dan. 5:16) for reading the handwriting on the wall, the highest available position. Here we see the "eye-witness" nature of the Biblical record, as is so often brought out by the discoveries of archaeology.