I speak of peace while covert enmity under the smile of safety, wounds the world.

(Henry IV)

Letter 1: an appeal to the leaders of Iran and Israel escalating wrongs where two do not make a right

Our marvellous world is being turned into a planetary spittoon seen by many as rain, with peace falling far back and becoming more difficult to find like the proverbial needle in a growing haystack. Consequently, Flagship Earth runs the risk of a shipwreck of titanic proportions making it imperative for us to cling on to the world where the creativity of human beings is infinite and man’s talent profound? In spite of its state of social dementia we must hold on, keep going, push back, doing what each one of us can do for peace. When we can no longer hold the olive branch it will be too late.

Now the world lives with an additional warning that an Iranian attack could be imminent. As a response I write with all due personal respect as multidimensional clouds of dire concern wrap our one and only god given world. I write with grave concern over what seems an impending threat of escalation should Iran respond in kind to what it says is an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian consulate building in Damascus. It killed seven Revolutionary Guard members, including a highly esteemed general, Mohammad Reza Zahedi.

De-escalation can only work if the principle of two wrongs doesn’t make a right is rigorously applied.

As I wrote the words above to the leaders of Iran more than 200 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were fired on Israel from Iran. So my Appeal now extends to both the Leadership of Iran and Israel and I repeat that escalating wrongs can lead to unimaginable wrong and where two can never make a right.

Apprehension is being driven by the call for and by asking why not revenge and by predictions that Iran will attack Israel “sooner than later." A decision to take action in kind should be based both on national and global interests. But first should come restraint as I thought wrongly you had demonstrated. Now we are concerned for an Israeli retaliation against Iran and further regional escalation, which causes me to add the Leaders of Israel to this appeal.

To the leadership of Israel I say it was an outrageous and saddening act both when Hamas attacked Israel, killing innocent Israelis and in its taking of 240 hostages, with 30 dead the others just surviving undergoing immense suffering in captivity as well as the disproportionate military response killing 30,ooo Palestinians, whose remaining population now face famine. As I write these additional words Iran has already issued a warning to Israel that their response will be much larger than the recent air strike if Israel retaliates. On that road Iran runs the risk of greater poverty of its people and less prayer and greater unrest in its youthful population. To Israel I say let your reasonableness be known to everyone.

For your information, the World Philosophical Forum in Athens is a unique platform where humanity can discuss general Earth problems and human interests regardless of race, religion-faith, education, ideology, social position or rank within a framework of unity and solidarity and in the recognition that wisdom, reason, morality, responsibility and justice are human values par excellence. We are saddened by the rapid and global increase in grievous events. Just one less may prove catalytic to a significant change, which can be your positive response to our appeal. Our principle should be that no one should harm another and should such a transgression take place it is dealt with by a global entity within the framework of the concentrated wisdom of philosophy.

The small voice of the World Philosophical Forum, Athens while calling for restraint as the optimal response to the current situation is concerned for an extended stand-off which can drive population anxiety and precipitate hidden mental disturbance as well as for a worst-outcome scenario which can take the world to the gates of Armageddon. The discontinuous trajectory from restraint to stand-off to absolute disaster is a highway on which the worst aspects of popularization can develop but we can run into the Good Samaritan. Certainly, wellbeing will decrease as the cost of everything rises and household resources fall. Restraint according to the Bible mitigates evil and corruption to make a society civilized.

Respectfully, I ask that you hear our polite and sotto voce voice in the name of peace and in the name of the world’s children in accordance with Bahrain’s obligations under international law and bearing in mind Surah An-Nisa (4:135) and Surah An-Nisa (4:58) of the Al Quran. I appeal to you on the happy celebration of Eid al-Fitr (Η Ιντ αλ-Φιτρ).

In accordance with the Al Quran I ask that you uphold humanity and give it a better chance to survive as an exemplary demonstration of concern for justice and for the well-being of others. Your faith, I am sure, will encourage you to deal with the challenge placed before you with a brave heart and strong commitment in the spirit of wajahidu or a deep philosophy that requires a great effort to follow. As you know better than I, such an endeavour requires steadfastness and determination. It was with a sense of daring combined with wisdom on the part of Plato that caused Socrates to be written into eternity. Escalation is not in anyone’s interest and constraint can be enhanced by listening to friendly voices. In the name of a 10-year-old Israeli child seriously wounded by shrapnel a result of Iranian drones and the seven children killed in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp from an Israeli air strike as well as for all children of our marvellous world we urge both Israel and Iran in the name of the Holy Bible and the Al Quran to show due restraint; avoidance of harm and reduction of violence. Peace and prosperity.

Letter 2: an appeal to the attorney general, ministry of justice and Islamic Affairs, Kingdom of Bahrain

I write with all due personal respect and grave concern regarding the state of Dr. Abdul Jalil Al-Singace.

For your information, the World Philosophical Forum in Athens is a unique platform where humanity can discuss general Earth problems and human interests regardless of race, religion, faith, education, ideology, social position or rank within a framework of unity and solidarity and in the recognition that wisdom, reason, morality, responsibility, and justice are human values par excellence. We are saddened by the rapid and global increase in grievous events. Just one less may prove catalytic to a significant change, which can be your positive response to our appeal.

Mr. Attorney General in the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs, as you know, Dr. Al-Singace was awarded the 2023 Academic Freedom Award from the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) for his courage and steadfastness in the face of more than a decade of repression and torture. Our appeal includes that with your good offices you help restore the doctor’s wellbeing.

I believe that the good doctor, an erudite professor currently being held in a severely overcrowded prison in Bahrain, lies in our firmament. It is reported that his health is deteriorating and he has been denied proper access to medical care.

Dr. Al-Singace, a retired professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Bahrain, has been sentenced to life in prison on allegations stemming from his peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression and freedom of association, rights protected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This, coupled with reports from Human Rights Watch, puts the lives of Dr. Al-Singace and other prisoners at risk.

Respectfully, I request your intervention to ensure Dr. Al-Singace’s well-being while in custody, including proper access to medical care and visits with his family. I also urge you ensure that all charges and/or convictions related to Dr. Al-Singace’s peaceful exercise to protect human rights are lifted, and that in the interim, his case is addressed in a manner consistent with internationally recognized standards of due process, fair trial, and detention. I further urge you to investigate any allegations of ill-treatment of prisoners in Bahrain.

I ask in accordance with Bahrain’s obligations under international law and bearing in mind Surah An-Nisa (4:135) and Surah An-Nisa (4:58) of the Al Quran. I appeal to you on the happy celebration of Eid al-Fitr (Η Ιντ αλ-Φιτρ).

Excellency, in accordance with the Al Quran, I ask that you uphold justice and fairness without bias which will be an exemplary demonstration of concern for justice and for the well-being of others. Your faith I am sure will encourage you to deal with the challenge placed before you with a brave heart and strong commitment in the spirit of wajahidu, or a deep philosophy that requires a great effort to follow. As you know better than I, such an endeavour requires steadfastness and determination.