The Multicolored Leaves of Healing
About the Middle East Harmony logo.
In the late 20th century, an Arab diplomat contrasted his country with others in the region. “[Name] is the only nation-state in the Arab world,” he proclaimed. “The rest are just tribes with flags.”
Such comments can hardly lead to harmony.
It is easy enough to search for the identity of this diplomat and the country he loved. And perhaps there is a place for his pride. Each nation in the Middle East has a unique history. Some trace to ancient peoples. Others trace colonial borders.
Yet within all these entities there is honor. And sadly, moments of shame. There is humanity, longstanding in its attachment to land, family, culture, and religion. There is struggle. There is pain. There is sin. There is love. And, at times, there has been harmony.
I do not mention the name of the diplomat nor his country in effort to support this harmony. But we cannot ignore that it was said, nor the feelings of those in every other Arab nation, who often call themselves shaqiq. This Arabic word means “of the same parents.” It represents a tighter relation than the more general akh, or “brother,” which can apply to half-siblings and extended symbolically to include close friends.
Every family injures its own. Every family needs healing.
At the risk of generalizing diverse peoples, Arab culture is skilled at covering offenses, at saving face. Western culture, meanwhile, puts everything on the table for direct discussion. Both have their virtues. A Western solution works out a quick compromise but sometimes relegates the relationship as less important than the negotiated benefit.
An Arab solution preserves relationship at all costs. And as anyone who has entered a Middle East souk will testify, Arabs are also skilled negotiators. But the cost, however, can be high. Grudges can sometimes be carried for generations. The face was saved. The slight is remembered.
I claim no special insight into a mediating way. But I am confident that harmony calls for more than either Arab or Western culture has to offer. And to illustrate this hope, I pray that the logo of Middle East Harmony will speak to many.
As a reminder from the original “Welcome” article, the tagline of this project is taken from Psalm 34, “Seek peace and pursue it.” The logo image also derives from wisdom literature, this time, from Psalm 1. The blessed man is like a tree planted by streams of water, whose leaves do not wither. Everything he does prospers.
The blue color of this tree is a universal symbol of peace. But its leaves are green, red, and black—the primary colors of Arab world flags. These colors convey a history and a meaning that Arab nations do not precisely define. By contrast, the meaning of the red, white, and blue of the United States flag is conveyed by the government.
Red represents valor and bravery.
White represents purity and innocence.
Blue represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
Notice here that American blue does not signify peace. This is no commentary on US foreign policy, only that symbols are variable. The white cross on the Denmark flag, for example, clearly draws from Christianity. Yet the official foreign ministry site makes no reference to religion. On the contrary, it states, “Everyone uses and interprets the Danish flag in their own way. Paradoxically, this is what makes it a uniting symbol.”
The sentiment behind this statement is logical, as Denmark today is a diverse secular nation. But there is an implied message that renders religion a personal affair. Some Danes may desire the government to more forcefully assert Christian principles or celebrate its Christian heritage. Others, however, may simply lament the erasing of this history.
Modern Arab symbolic colors emerge within a similar historical development of nationalism. The 1916 Arab Revolt against the Turkish-led Ottoman Empire adopted a flag consisting of a red triangle with three horizontal strips in black, green, and white.
Desiring Arab unity, they likely drew from history.
The first Muslim empire, the Umayyads who ruled from Damascus, bore a white flag. They were followed by the Baghdad-centered Abbasids, who switched to black. From Cairo, the Shiite Fatimid empire chose green. Red, meanwhile, is the color of the Hashemite dynasty, which led the revolt. Some at the time desired to preserve and reform the caliphate that ostensibly included all Muslims. Following its abolition by secular Turkey in 1924, it gave way to colonial mandates and eventual nation-states, many of which continued the color scheme.
Symbolism is provided by a 14th century poet, Safi al-Din al-Hilli:
White are our deeds, black are our battles,
Green are our fields, and red are our swords.
Here the meanings are non-religious. All cultures can identify with the bravery of bloody combat, the beauty of fertile nature, and the purity of an honest life.
But beyond the imperial adoption of color by historic Muslim heroes—or villains, as some contest—there is an Islamic undertone as well. Muhammad flew both black and white standards. Tradition has him clothed in green garments, the attire also worn in paradise. Revolutionary Shiism has adopted the red of martyrdom. And Sunni jihadists identify with apocalyptic prophecies of “black banners coming from the East.”
Which meanings does Middle East Harmony endorse?
Here, the logo follows apocalyptic literature of a different form. Revelation 21 describes the final peace established by God, in which the kings of the earth will bring their treasures. Nothing impure will enter this city, but it will contain the glory and honor of the nations.
God will determine what qualifies, not this project. But the next chapter of Revelation extends this amazing promise. Within the city is a tree, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations.
Here, the Greek word is ethnos, which likely does not correspond to the nation-states of today. “Peoples” is a better fit, which begs the question: Will an American reside inside? What about an ancient Hittite? Surely an Arab is intended, but an Egyptian or Emirati? Will there be a Lebanese or a Phoenician? The Kurds are a people, but do they enter as Kurds, Iraqis, Syrians, or Turks?
Whatever once divided these ethnicities and political entities will be healed. Every injustice will be put right. Every grudge transcended, every slight forgiven. One day, there will be harmony.
Until then, seek peace and pursue it.
Yet there is one more qualification. Every reference in this description of the Middle East Harmony logo is taken from biblical literature. Note carefully how the circle that envelops the blue tree with its green, red, and black leaves does not include its roots. As described in the “About” article, this project has a Christian orientation. But not all do.
Some may say the Quran provides the best basis for harmony. Others may suggest that only a secular framework that sets aside religion can overcome local and regional conflicts. Some speak of universal human rights. Others of a necessary pluralism. Each of these conveys wisdom. All must be listened to.
But who is right?
Harmony does not demand an answer. It demands a conversation. It demands commitment. It may demand action. Please consider, and enter in. The city is secure. Its streets are paved with gold. The fruit from its tree is delicious.