Above all else, be kind.

A number of people reached out to me after my previous article and asked me to stop writing. Naturally I took them very seriously and have decided I will continue to post - this time with even more frequency and articulate even more clearly, what needs to be said.

"Impermanence in life is the ultimate truth. This very moment, whether pleasant or unpleasant will pass on. We can make ourselves miserable, or we can make ourselves strong, the effort is the same"

Those that know me well, will know that my political views are similar to and inspired by those of New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. It is for this reason I whole heartedly support the Abraham Accords and want to play my part and get involved in the ongoing efforts to promote normalization of relations between Israel and the Muslim world.

I happened to be in New Zealand during the Christchurch Mosque attacks. I witnessed first hand, the confusion and fear in the eyes of ordinary Kiwis who were perplexed at how something like this could happen in their country. It was clear to me that no one really knew how to respond, react or think about the situation. To say the entire country agreed and fully backed Jacinda and the actions she took to handle the crisis (at least initially) would be a lie. For the first few days, I heard plenty of murmurs on how Jacinda had taken things too far, how a simple statement of condolence (read as lip service) like every other world leader would have been enough, how she was 'pandering' to the Muslim and minority base for the next elections, and all type of nonsense that people say out of ignorance and fear.

I saw firsthand, how strong leaders ignore the noise and take charge in times of crisis and change, go against public opinion and the status quo, to show everyone the right way and lead by example. I saw how she broke every norm in the western world's playbook and bravely led New Zealand through one of its darkest of days through solidarity, kindness, empathy, compassion and tolerance. Every decision she made during that time could have had a potential backlash on her and her party, however she pushed through.

Within just a few days of the attack, Jacinda managed to breakthrough the powerful gun lobby - passing a law banning automatic style weapons, invited an Imam to speak at the floor of parliament, televised the Muslim call to prayer throughout the country and granted the families of all the migrant victims a permanent residence status in New Zealand. The entire experience, as an observer, both humbled and inspired me. One by one, she won over the ordinary kiwis, and just like that - the terrorist lost.

For her actions, she won the praise, respect and support of not just the international community, but also of Muslims all over the world. The UAE even honored her by showcasing her on Burj Khalifa. She also went on to win the elections in a landslide, with Labour securing its biggest win in over 50 years.

The reason I bring up this personal backstory is this, while I do not have a solution to the conflict our region has been experiencing (I am not old or wise enough to have the answers), the story above has lessons for all.

"It is true that kindness can have ripple effects with no logical end. Each tiny move towards a more positive mindset can send ripples of positivity through our organizations, families and communities".

The conflict in our region has gone unresolved for several generations and it is wishful thinking to presume it will be resolved by doing more of the same. The time to resolve it using logic has long passed. We need to accept the inconvenient truth that the previous generation (on both sides) has failed the world. The new generation should now try a new approach - to resolve our differences through kindness, empathy, compassion and tolerance. It is for this reason I firmly stand behind the UAE's stance on the matter as I see the broader warm intent and kindness in their actions. It should be remembered that standing up to your friends is sometimes even harder than standing up to your enemies. While all of us in the Muslim world have deep empathy and love for our brothers and sisters in Palestine, the reality is that supporting the Abraham Accords is the most pragmatic thing we can do at this stage to support them - albeit it is a much longer and drawn out process, I have faith we will get there in the end.

My eventual hope is that the Muslim world decides to collectively show kindness to Israel, and then the entire Muslim world (together with Israel) in-turn show kindness to the people of Palestine. There will be plenty of hard work involved to repair what has been broken but it needs to start somewhere - the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now.

Certain events occur in history every once in a while, which force the world to come together and decide which path they want to walk down. The election of Donald Trump in the United States was one such event, where the world briefly voted to go towards populism, division and isolationism - promoting the politics of hate rather than the politics of tolerance and inclusion, not because they are right but because they are easy. Such politics are the hallmarks of weak leaders because they provide overly simplistic, one sided solutions to complex problems rather than seeking to understand and compromise to find meaningful and transformative solutions. The Abraham Accords is another such event and the world now needs to decide which direction we want to see our world go.

For me the choice is clear.