This article was submitted by Fritz Piepenburg, missionary to Yemen. True Mother's 40 country tour took her to Egypt, the only Arab country on the agenda. This is the reflections of a Yemeni participant, Fatimah Al-Huraybi, who is a quite well-known public figure there.
Cairo, the capital of Egypt, hosted a conference in the beginning of December to which women pioneers of peace came from five different parts of the Arab world: Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon and Sudan.
These women pioneers attended a festival of peace that was called for, directly and without government intervention or mediation, by the Women's Federation for World Peace.
The Republic of Yemen was represented by ten outstanding female personalities, all well-known figures in public life working for the sake of peace. They followed the invitation presented to them by the Federation and participated in the event.
The main objective of the conference was to let the woman pioneers of peace from the various Arab regions know the work and goals of the Women's Federation for World Peace. The attending delegates were briefed on the meaning of peace, its guarantees and ways of realization in light of the views of the Federation. According to Mrs. Hak Ja Han Moon, the President of the Federation and main speaker of the evening, the starting point of peace, from where it can spread to all mankind, is within the boundaries of the family. If peace can be secured at its very root, which lies deep inside the family, then its branches can spread and bear rich fruit in wider and wider circles of our society.
Marriage is the crucial starting point for laying the very foundation of our society. This also includes the careful preservation of the marriage institution, keeping it strong and safe, far away from all that could possibly threaten its delicate fabric, or even betray the other partner.
Love and affection should govern the relationship between parents and children, and among brothers and sisters within one family. With this call for love, the Federation is well in line with the tradition of the Prophet Mohammed (Allah's blessings be upon him) in which he says: "He, who does not respect our elders and show compassion to our younger ones, is not part of us." The degree of affection that exists among members of the family positively or negatively influences not only this family or the surrounding society, but the entire human society as well. Take for example the family strife and divisions prevalent in Western societies. Only a few families ~h- ~ built upon the foundation of genuine love and affection. The lack of love and affection in the family has had a negative impact upon Western societies. Crime rates are increasing and the spirit of egoism and living just for one's own sake has become prevalent. Families are breaking apart and morals are disintegrating, ultimately leading to such bitter fruits as the acquisition of AIDS, resulting from indulging in unnatural relations.
In our Islamic society, much of what the Federation calls for has already been realized. Yet, our family relations, to our great sorrow, are beginning to lose their exemplary character and tend to decline and even disintegrate. The husband of the President of the Federation started preparations for the establishment of the Women's Federation for World Peace already during World War II, beginning in North Korea, then moving to South Korea, finally settling his family in America. He has dedicated his life for the sake of serving the peace movement. Last year, in 1992, the husband of Mrs. Hak Ja Han Moon organized and officiated the marriage of 30,000 young men and women in one day. These young people came from different races and married with the goal of mixing and amalgamating the various peoples and races by entering the holy bond of marriage - by having illegal relationships.
I felt a certain religious dimension permeating the conference because it was calling upon the religions, which also believe that there cannot be peace without love and affection within the confinement of the family. The President of the Women's Federation for World Peace has - and now hold your breath thirteen children and more than 21 grandchildren who all live under one roof. Mrs. Hak Ja Han Moon believes that all members of one family should support and strengthen each other. Such a family will serve as a pillar of peace for the society, expanding peace until it covers the entire world.
Mrs. Fatimah Al-Huraybi was one of the 10 Yemeni delegates to the Cairo conference. She currently holds the position of Advisor to the President of the Agricultural Cooperative Union of Yemen.