Seek for moral behavior, not political calculation. Promote healing and reconciliation, not blame and recrimination. Consider the past for understanding, not rationalization. See hope in the future, not trepidation.
			Personal History: Ehab Abunuwara was born in 1963 in Nazareth, Israel to a Greek Orthodox Christian Israeli-Arab family. Nazareth is the largest Arab town in Israel, and the term Israeli-Arab is used to distinguish the Arabs inside Israeli from the Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza and around the world. This distinction is mostly political one as many of the Palestinians trace their origins to villages and towns from within Israel. Many of them see themselves still as "refugees" and meeting their needs and expectations is one of the most complicated issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Very few towns in Israel are mixed Arab and Jewish residence, so in essence most Arabs and Jews grow up in Israel with little significant contact with individuals of the other ethnic group. On the other hand, most of the Arab villages and towns are mixed Moslem and Christian. So growing in Nazareth, Ehab had Moslem friends, neighbors and classmates but limited interaction with Jews. It was in the summer time, at the beginning while vacationing on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and later during summer jobs in Jewish towns outside Nazareth that he would come in contact with Jews. Israeli-Arabs are trilingual as they learn Arabic, Hebrew and English in school. But for many Arabs most of the interaction with Jewish culture comes through reading the national Hebrew newspapers. It is not until later in life while working in Jewish areas or going to the University that a more personal interaction takes place. For schooling Ehab Abunuwara attended the Baptist School in Nazareth; a private school sponsored by the American Southern Baptist Convention. So even thought he belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church his religious education was by Baptists teachers which included daily devotional worship and infrequent Sunday Church attendance. Ehab had many friends and relatives who belonged to Catholic and other denominations and attending their own Church services was part of the social experiences of a teenager. But he credits his Baptist education with establishing his spiritual foundations with knowledge of the Bible and the evangelical attitude of committing one's life to God. Following high school Ehab attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem majoring in International Relations and Psychology. Soon after that he came in contact with some members of the Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and a more sincere search for spirituality ensued. A few months later he received spiritual confirmation and understanding of his relationship with God and His Son Jesus Christ. In 1983 Ehab Abunuwara came to the United States and attended Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah, a private University run by the Mormon Church. After graduating from BYU, Ehab served a two-year mission for the church in London England. Following his mission he attended Haifa University in Israel and received a master's degree in psychology. Ehab then returned to BYU and received his Doctorate degree in Social Psychology. It was soon after that he began working on his novel. Days of the Messiah: Pharaoh was originally published in the mid 90s by a small Canadaian company that did not have a good editing team and soon went out of business. Author's Note: My wife, who is trained in Theater, always asks about the one statement or theme that would summarizes a movie or a play. If I were to give a theme to my novel it is the danger of using religion as a political tool. It is a novel about searching for God in one's life events and ending up casting God in less than divine role. In writing the novel I draw on my experiences with the Middle East; where religious zealotry turns fundamental divine principles upside down and instead of piety the end result is spiritual perversion. I have always maintained that the real danger in the Middle East was in turning the Israeli-Arab conflict into a religious one. It is a common misconception that the conflict in the Middle East is religiously driven. But until recently religion was not a major factor in the conflict. Historically, the Zionist movement and the PLO are both generally secular; even though they see themselves as Jews, Moslems and Christians they did not see the conflict in religious terms. It is only toward the end of 1970s that Messianic and religious Jews began to have their influence in the struggle between Israelis and Palestinians through their settlement movement that pushed and pulled the Israeli government to sponsor the settling of the West Bank and Gaza and inflamed the conflict religious undercurrents. At the sometime, the specter of Islamic renewal was gaining support among the Palestinian population and the Islamic resistance movement was organized during the first Intifada. For the last few years, Hamas, the main Islamic movement has been the major source behind armed resistance and attacks on Israelis. In 2000, now Israeli Prime Minister, Arik Sharon visited the holy site in Jerusalem, known as the Temple Mount. This was seen as a religious provocation by the Palestinians and initiated the current Intifada that the Palestinians call the Al Aqsa Intifada, referring to the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple mount, thus branding the current conflict with religious terminology. One of the most devastating aspects of the current Intifada is the religiously motivated suicide bombing which has plunged the conflict into new levels of brutality and violence. Muddying the situation is the interjection into the conflict of the American fundumentalist movement, which constitutes the strongest base that President Bush, has and reflects a very strong influence in his administration. The involvement of religion fundamentally changes the dynamics of the conflict and turns it from a political-secular one to a religious-unholy one. There is no compromise when the settlements are the command of God, Jihad is the only way to cleanse Moslem lands from the Infidels, and the conflict is nothing more than the precursor for the Second Coming of Christ. send your comments to author@daysofthemessiah.com email author now

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