Islam is religion of peace but Muslims do not live in peace today. This is especially true for the Middle East where conflicts almost never end, including the ones from Syria to Sudan. Most of the Middle East conflicts are between Muslim groups with its sectarian, tribal and ethnic motives. The main reasons for the conflicts of our region are related to foreign interventions and big power competition but we cannot blame only other for the emergence of these conflicts. What about the Quranic principle of reforming between brothers?

After the collapse of the Ottoman empire, the Sykes-Picot order was imposed on the people of what is called the Middle East that includes the Arab world, Turkey, İran and Israel. The region is an intersection of three continents and seven seas and two oceans. The region is also the source of major oil and natural gas exports and has a good potential for trade. Therefore, there will always be an outside interest in the region since the time of the Macedonian Alexander to the Roman and Ottoman empires and today.

The outside influences do not negate our responsibility to seek solutions to our problems and conflicts that are abundant in our region.  We have the institutions such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League that fail always to achieve peace in the Middle East, jsut like the United Nations failed to achieve peace in the world. The armed conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Sudan along with several conflicts that involve Muslims in Africa and Asia.  In addition, both global powers and regional powers try to use terrorist groups or proxies to weaken other countries.

Are our hands tied against all these internal or Muslim-Muslim conflicts or rather what can we do? Islam orders us to mediate between spouses (Quran 4/35) and between fighting groups (49/9). So mediation is necessary between people or groups in conflict. If we apply these principles to our conflict we enjoy peace and prosperity and thrive. The current institutions such as the OIC and Arab League can be revitalized. However, there is not much hope as these organizations failed continuously until today due to narrow calculations and to lack of real willpower in that regard.

Today we live in a globalized and changing world and a new approach is necessary for intra-Muslim conflicts. This new approach would be to involve the intellectuals and civil society. Both Muslim intellectuals and civil society organizations can overcome tribal, territorial, ethnic and sectarian divisions. From Afghanistan to Sudan, old tribal mediation method sometimes solves the conflicts that the governments failed. We can build on this tradition to deal more effectively with modern needs and conflicts.

An effective mediation requires that conflicting parties must be tired of fighting and they seek a resolution. Sometimes the desire for revenge can sustain conflicts for years.  Then, a mediator can serve to bring them together to stop this vicious circle. Of course, the mediator must be respected by both sides. Fairness and win-win principle must prevail in the mediation process

The Chinese mediation between Saudis and Iranians was good for the region but we needed that long before from withing the region. We do not know how committed China is for such a mediating role in other conflicts in the Middle East. However, we can use this as an opportunity to build even a stronger vision and even a stronger organization just for peace mediation and conflict resolution in our conflictual region.

The Islamic concept of ıslah bayn akhawain is more than just mediating as it entails coercion on the aggressor after the mediation efforts fail. It justifies using force to stop the aggressor between two Muslim groups if one parts insists on maintaining the conflict. Maybe we cannot implement the coercive measures on aggressors today but we can definitely put pressure on those who prefer fighting over coming to the peace table. We should also keep in mind that those who fight with other today can become good friends tomorrow.