Review of A Dream For Peace
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Simo Noubissi
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Review of A Dream For Peace
[Following is a volunteer review of "A Dream For Peace" by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah.]
A Dream for Peace is an autobiographical memoir written by the deceased Dr. Ghoulem Berrah that outlines his diplomatic exploits at the heart of Algerian independence from the French and the struggles of Côte d’Ivoire's first president, Felix Houphouët-Boigny, to raise his country out of the doldrums of imperialistic exploitation, amongst other political overtures that define the bulk of his storied career. Espousing values like hope, sincerity, the importance of dialogue in the stead of brutal wars resulting in the loss of life, long-suffering as well as an impassioned desire to forge relationships across all demographics on the basis of being human, Berrah presents himself as the embodiment of the multifaceted aspects of the struggle for peace.
Berrah's writing takes a simplistic path where the reader is taken down the rabbit hole into the politics of the Arab World in North Africa and the Middle East. I enjoyed how the details of his efforts at the forefront of the resistance by the Algerians against French imperialism and Algeria's volatile relationship with sister country Morocco were easy to follow. The extent of my knowledge of Arab politics extends so far as the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the endeavours of the West to introduce "democracy" to the Gulf nations like Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.
There were a handful of spelling errors I noted in the book, but that is attributed to a few words and phrases that were lost in translation. This is a mistake that any open-minded reader would be willing to excuse because it doesn’t sully the content of this valuable political treatise. It is also worth mentioning that the book offers an olive branch to members of all religions. This olive branch was taken from the tree of mutual understanding that was cultivated by Berrah's longstanding desire to address the restrictive borders separating one religious denomination from the other. He mentions, quite matter-of-factly, that, "The Holy Qur’an clearly states that Muslims must respect the People of the Book, the Torah and the Holy Bible, because they predate ours, and further, they must embrace all of God’s creatures" (pg. 611).
He uses his love for God as a shield to which he deflects all forms of hatred and as the object unto which all those who are religiously affiliated will establish middle ground. Just like his adopted father Houphouët-Boigny who constantly mentioned that, "It is not the label that matters, but the content in the bottle" (pg. 222), Berrah uses this philosophy to reflect on the realisation that regardless of what name anyone puts on their branch of Abrahamic faith, the bottom line is that all the prayers are received by "one unique God" (pg. 372).
A Dream for Peace is a religiopolitical account of an author who prioritised–just like the title of the book suggests–a reality where world peace becomes a common facet of life on earth. This book has earned the rating of 5 out of 5 stars, and would make a priceless addition to the bookshelves of the custodians of world peace who require a guide on how to go about bringing the people of the world together. A Dream for Peace is the manual from which a prospective peacemaker would do well to base their ideas on.
******
A Dream For Peace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
A Dream for Peace is an autobiographical memoir written by the deceased Dr. Ghoulem Berrah that outlines his diplomatic exploits at the heart of Algerian independence from the French and the struggles of Côte d’Ivoire's first president, Felix Houphouët-Boigny, to raise his country out of the doldrums of imperialistic exploitation, amongst other political overtures that define the bulk of his storied career. Espousing values like hope, sincerity, the importance of dialogue in the stead of brutal wars resulting in the loss of life, long-suffering as well as an impassioned desire to forge relationships across all demographics on the basis of being human, Berrah presents himself as the embodiment of the multifaceted aspects of the struggle for peace.
Berrah's writing takes a simplistic path where the reader is taken down the rabbit hole into the politics of the Arab World in North Africa and the Middle East. I enjoyed how the details of his efforts at the forefront of the resistance by the Algerians against French imperialism and Algeria's volatile relationship with sister country Morocco were easy to follow. The extent of my knowledge of Arab politics extends so far as the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the endeavours of the West to introduce "democracy" to the Gulf nations like Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.
There were a handful of spelling errors I noted in the book, but that is attributed to a few words and phrases that were lost in translation. This is a mistake that any open-minded reader would be willing to excuse because it doesn’t sully the content of this valuable political treatise. It is also worth mentioning that the book offers an olive branch to members of all religions. This olive branch was taken from the tree of mutual understanding that was cultivated by Berrah's longstanding desire to address the restrictive borders separating one religious denomination from the other. He mentions, quite matter-of-factly, that, "The Holy Qur’an clearly states that Muslims must respect the People of the Book, the Torah and the Holy Bible, because they predate ours, and further, they must embrace all of God’s creatures" (pg. 611).
He uses his love for God as a shield to which he deflects all forms of hatred and as the object unto which all those who are religiously affiliated will establish middle ground. Just like his adopted father Houphouët-Boigny who constantly mentioned that, "It is not the label that matters, but the content in the bottle" (pg. 222), Berrah uses this philosophy to reflect on the realisation that regardless of what name anyone puts on their branch of Abrahamic faith, the bottom line is that all the prayers are received by "one unique God" (pg. 372).
A Dream for Peace is a religiopolitical account of an author who prioritised–just like the title of the book suggests–a reality where world peace becomes a common facet of life on earth. This book has earned the rating of 5 out of 5 stars, and would make a priceless addition to the bookshelves of the custodians of world peace who require a guide on how to go about bringing the people of the world together. A Dream for Peace is the manual from which a prospective peacemaker would do well to base their ideas on.
******
A Dream For Peace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
