U sjeni Šarm El‑Šeikh Samita, 13. oktobar 2025.

Mjera mira - dan poslije
Jučer, 13. oktobra 2025. god., oči svijeta ponovo su se okrenule prema Šarm El-Šeikhu. Pod pokroviteljstvom američkog predsjednika Donalda Trumpa, lideri više od dvadeset zemalja okupili su se na obalama Crvenog mora kako bi potpisali deklaraciju koja nije obećavala samo utišavanje oružja u Gazi, već i ponovno buđenje nade u regiji iscrpljenoj generacijama bola.

Bio je to trenutak ispunjen simbolikom – oslobađanja talaca, govor o obnovi, i krhka objava o „novoj eri“. Ipak, činilo se kao da i sâm zrak zadržava dah, svjestan da mir proglašen u govorima mora pronaći svoj put do savjesti naroda. Simbolika ne završava ratove; samo istina i pravda to može.

Patnje palestinskog naroda postalo je jedno od moralnih pukotina savremene historije. Generacije su rođene pod sjenom okupacije, s uspavankama zamijenjenim sirenama i snovima ograđenim zidovima. Govoriti o „miru“ bez suočavanja s korijenima te patnje znači brkati tišinu s harmonijom. Primirje može utišati bojno polje, ali samo istina i pravda mogu umiriti ljudsko srce.

Samit u Šarm El-Šeikhu ne smije biti zapamćen kao završni čin diplomacije, nego kao njen ponovni početak. Ono što je jučer započeto ne smije biti kraj, već novi biti početak – preusmjeravanje američkog pogleda s upravljanja sukobom prema njegovanju pravednosti. Jer, ako mir treba trajati, mora biti utemeljen na dostojanstvu onih koji su najviše patili.

Amerika se danas nalazi na moralnom raskršću. Njena moć na Bliskom istoku je ogromna, ali isto tako i njena odgovornost. Prava mjera vodstva ne ogleda se u očuvanoj moći, nego u praktikovanoj empatiji – u sposobnosti da se čuje vapaj obespravljenih i da se savez pretvori u razumijevanje. Mjera ove „nove ere“ neće biti zapisana u saopćenjima ni rukovanjima, nego u tome hoće li palestinsko dijete moći odrastati vjerujući da sloboda nije strana riječ.

Neka riječi izgovorene jučer u Šarm El-Šeikhu ne nestanu u pustinjskoj tišini. Neka puste korijen – u politici, u savjesti, u hrabrosti. Budućnost se ne može graditi na oportunizmu, nego samo na iskrenosti i pravednosti.

Dok čitate ovo otvoreno pismo, molim vas da se sjetite jučerašnjeg samita ne kao trijumfa koji treba slaviti, nego kao odgovornosti koju treba ispuniti. Svijet je predugo čekao mir koji diše poput života - ne u zastoju, nego u kontinuitetu. Ako je jučer otkrilo ono čemu čovječanstvo teži, neka danas i sutra otkriju ono što je čovječanstvo naučilo: da istina i pravda nisu suprotnost miru, nego njihov temelj.

Generacijama su Sjedinjene Američke Države stajale kao globalni simbol slobode i ljudskog dostojanstva. Njihov moralni glas – kada je vođen pravednošću – imao je težinu daleko izvan njihovih granica. Bosna je živi svjedok tome. Ipak, u dugoj historiji američkog angažmana na Bliskom istoku, postavlja se pitanje koje se tiče i savjesti i strategije: Je li vaša odanost jednom malom savezniku zaslijepila vaše oči za prijateljstvo miliona?

Decenijama je američka politika u regiji bila gotovo isključivo usmjerena prema Izraelu. Takav pristup je nekada imao smisla u kontekstu Hladnog rata i zajedničkih demokratskih ideala. No danas, on prijeti da svede američki utjecaj na iskrivljenu sliku stvarnosti. Bliski istok nije monolit definiran sukobima, niti područje trajnog neprijateljstva prema Zapadu. To je mozaik – drevan, ponosan i složen – u kojem ogromna muslimanska većina dijeli mnogo više s američkim interesima i vrijednostima nego što se često pretpostavlja.

Širi krug partnerstva
Vrijeme je za širu viziju – onu koja prepoznaje golem politički, ekonomski i kulturni potencijal muslimanskog svijeta. Zemlje poput Egipta, Saudijske Arabije, Jordana, Emirata, Katara, pa čak i obnovljenog Iraka ili Irana u budućnosti, mogu biti ne protivnici, već ključni partneri u stabilnosti i razvoju. Budućnost energije, tehnologije, trgovine i sigurnosti na Bliskom istoku ne ovisi o isključivosti, već o uključivosti.

Amerika ne može sebi dopustiti da regiju promatra kroz uski okvir nesigurnosti jedne nacije. Pravo prijateljstvo ne znači slijepu odbranu, nego iskren savjet i moralnu ravnotežu. Izrael ima puno pravo na mir i sigurnost – ali mora shvatiti da se mir ne može graditi na trajnoj okupaciji ili ekpanziji. Ako želi biti prihvaćen kao dio regije, Izrael se mora prilagoditi susjedstvu u kojem živi, a ne tražiti da se susjedstvo prilagodi njegovim neosnovanim ambicijama.

Iskrenost među prijateljima
Vrijeme je za iskrenost. Izraelske politike – od širenja naselja do nesrazmjerne upotrebe sile - ne samo da produbljuju patnju Palestinaca, nego potkopavaju i američki ugled širom muslimanskog svijeta. Kada Washington zatvara oči pred takvim ekscesima, slabi vlastiti moralni autoritet – temelj svog globalnog vodstva.

Ovo nije poziv na napuštanje Izraela, već na povratak ravnoteže. Prijateljstvo koje ovisi o šutnji pred nepravdom nije prijateljstvo - to je zavisnost. Istinski demokratski saveznik treba pozdraviti američku iskrenost, a ne skrivati i bojati se te istinosti.

Civilizacijski izbor
Bliski istok je čovječanstvu dao njegove najranije nauke, filozofije i duhovna učenja. Većinski muslimanski narodi nisu strani američkim idealima; i oni cijene pravdu, dostojanstvo i mir. Kada im se pristupi s poštovanjem, a ne sumnjom, dokazali su da su spremni partneri – u trgovini, obrazovanju i sigurnosti.

Izazov Amerike nije da bira između Izraela i arapskog ili muslimanskog svijeta, već između uske pristrasnosti i široke moralne vizije. Sjedinjene Države mogu ostati prijatelj Izraelu, a istovremeno biti prijatelj pravdi – a upravo će to osigurati i mir, i poštovanje.

Moralni horizont
Nova era američke politike na Bliskom istoku može započeti ne sukobom, već hrabrošću – hrabrošću da se prizna kako se stabilnost ne može nametnuti neravnotežom. Regija neće naći mir kroz dominaciju, već kroz uzajamno priznanje. A Amerika, više nego ijedna druga sila, ima sposobnost da obnovi tu ravnotežu – ne biranjem strana, već potvrđivanjem univerzalnih principa koji su jednom definirali njenu veličinu – da iznova postane „Great Again“.

Ako Amerika ponovo stane na čelo mira s moralnom jasnoćom, otkrit će da muslimanski svijet nije prepreka njenim interesima, već partner njenoj sudbini.

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An Open Letter to America:
Rethinking Friendship in the Middle East
In the Shadow of the Sharm El‑Sheikh Summit
October 13, 2025

Mufti Mustafa Ceric

The Measure of Peace - The Day After
Yesterday, on 13 October 2025, the eyes of the world turned once again toward Sharm El-Sheikh. Under the mediation of American President Donald Trump, leaders from more than two dozen nations gathered on the shores of the Red Sea to sign a declaration that promised not merely the silencing of guns in Gaza, but the rekindling of hope across a region wearied by generations of grief.

It was a moment weighted with symbolism – the release of hostages, the language of reconstruction, and the fragile pronouncement of a “new era.” Yet the air itself seemed to hold its breath, aware that peace proclaimed in speeches must still find its way into the conscience of nations. Symbolism does not end wars; only justice does.

The suffering of the Palestinian people has become one of the moral fault lines of modern history. Entire generations have been born beneath the shadow of occupation, their lullabies replaced by sirens, their dreams fenced by walls. To speak of “peace” without addressing the roots of this suffering is to confuse silence with harmony. For a ceasefire may quiet the battlefield, but only truth and justice can quiet the human heart.

The summit at Sharm El-Sheikh must therefore not be remembered as the closing act of diplomacy, but as its awakening. What began yesterday should not be an ending, but a beginning – a turning of the American gaze from the management of conflict toward the cultivation of fairness. For if peace is to endure, it must rest upon the dignity of the people who have suffered most.

America, in particular, stands at a moral crossroads. Its influence in the Middle East is vast; so too is its responsibility. The true test of leadership is not in power maintained, but in empathy practiced – in the capacity to hear the cry of the dispossessed and to transform alliance into understanding. The measure of this new “era” will not be written in communiqués or handshakes, but in whether a Palestinian child can grow up believing that freedom is not a foreign word.

Let the words spoken yesterday in Sharm El-Sheikh not dissolve into the desert air. Let them take root – in policies, in conscience, in courage. The future cannot be built upon expediency, but only upon equity.

As you read the following open letter, I ask that you hold the memory of yesterday’s summit not as a triumph to be celebrated, but as a responsibility to be fulfilled. The world has waited too long for peace that breathes as life does – not in pauses, but in continuance. If yesterday revealed what humanity hopes for, then let today and tomorrow reveal what humanity has learned: that justice is not the opposite of peace, but it is its very foundation.

To the American People and Their Leaders,
For generations, the United States has stood as a global symbol of liberty and human dignity. Its moral voice – when guided by fairness – has carried weight far beyond its borders. Bosnia is a living witness to that assertion. Yet in the long story of your engagement with the Middle East, a question now presses upon your conscience and your strategy alike: Has your loyalty to one small ally blinded you to the friendship of millions?

For decades, U.S. policy in the region has been anchored almost exclusively around Israel. This alignment once made sense within the logic of the Cold War and shared democratic ideals. But today, it risks narrowing America’s influence to the point of distortion. The Middle East is not a monolith defined by conflict, nor is it a region of permanent hostility toward the West. It is a mosaic – ancient, proud, and complex - where the vast Muslim majority shares far more with American interests and values than is often assumed.

A Wider Circle of Partnership
The time has come for a broader vision – one that recognizes the immense political, economic, and cultural potential of the wider Muslim world. Nations such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Emirates, Qatar, and even a resurgent Iraq or Iran in time, can be not adversaries, but essential partners in stability and growth. The future of energy, technology, trade, and security in the Middle East depends not on exclusivity, but on inclusion.

America cannot afford to see the region through the narrow prism of one nation’s insecurities. True friendship is not about blind defense; it is about honest counsel and moral balance. Israel has every right to exist in peace and security – but it must also understand that peace cannot be built on permanent occupation or expansion. If Israel seeks to be accepted as part of the region, it must adapt to the neighborhood it inhabits, not demand that the neighborhood adapt to its unwarranted ambitions.

Honesty Among Friends
It is time to speak honestly. Israel’s policies, from settlement expansion to the disproportionate use of force, have not only deepened the suffering of Palestinians but have also eroded America’s credibility across the Muslim world. When Washington turns a blind eye to such excesses, it weakens its own moral authority – the very foundation of its global leadership.

This is not about abandoning Israel. It is about restoring equilibrium. A friendship that depends on silence in the face of injustice is not friendship at all – it is dependency. A truly democratic ally should welcome America’s candor, not fear it.

A Civilizational Choice
The Middle East has given humanity some of its earliest sciences, philosophies, and spiritual insights. Its majority Muslim populations are not alien to American ideals; they, too, value justice, dignity, and peace. When approached with respect rather than suspicion, they have proven themselves willing partners – in commerce, education, and security.

America’s challenge, therefore, is not to choose between Israel and the Arab or Muslim world, but to choose between narrow favoritism and broad moral vision. The United States can remain a friend to Israel while also becoming a friend to justice – and it is the latter that will ultimately secure both peace and prestige.

The Moral Horizon
A new era in U.S. Middle East policy could begin not with confrontation, but with courage — the courage to admit that stability cannot be imposed through imbalance. The region will not find peace through dominance, but through mutual recognition. America, more than any other power, has the ability to help restore that balance – not by picking sides, but by reasserting the universal principles that once defined its greatness – to become Great Again.

If America can lead again with moral clarity, it will find that the Muslim world is not an obstacle to its interests, but a partner in its destiny.