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| Pâ•qidꞋ Yi•rᵊmᵊyâhꞋ u |
Budapest, 2001.06.14, Frank Luger (International Society for Philosophical Enquiry Diplomate, Chairman and Founder of Mensa Israel) – In this paper, based on my extensive studies and personal experience, I shall endeavor to explain, albeit in a cursory fashion for the sake of brevity, why the Jewish State is still perceived as a most serious menace for Islam. Much of the background was gleaned from such excellent works as for example Professor Raphael Patai's: The Seed of Abraham: Jews and Arabs in Contact and Conflict [New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1986; first paperback edition (394 pages) by Collier Macmillan Canada, 1987- see my book review of it in Telicom, Vol. XIII, No. 2, March / April 2000, pp. 18-24], and my recent extensive travels in Israel as well as Islamic countries, from Turkey to Morocco, from Syria to Egypt, and from Lebanon to Jordan. Here, I present the essence of the conflict; and what I could conclude from all my sources and discussions with many parties, official as well as private.
"The peace process fundamentally contradicts our religion and ideology" -tried to explain to me Prof. Al-Khoury of the Ain Shams University in Cairo, who calls himself a secular muslim and an expert in Islamic history. At the same time, he endeavored to enlighten me concerning the stiff Palestinian resistance that the (from the Western viewpoint) so desirable resolution of the Middle-East conflict, for which so much diplomatic effort had already been wasted, has encountered over and over again. A whole system of irreconciliable (mis)beliefs appears to be the main issue.
In May 2001, a survey found that 76.1% of the Palestinians are in favor of a continual suicide-bombing campaign against Israel. The grounds for such consensus reach way beyond the 30-odd year Israeli occupation and the various injustices and sufferings that it entailed. Not even the homelessness of 3.5 million Palestinians is explained, or the fact, that so many Palestinian teenagers let themselves be turned into live bombs, that the parents are proud when their offspring voluntarily goes to death, and that the spiritual leaders openly sanctify the whole martyr-cult and call for more and more. A ruthless civil war is in the offing, based on blind faith.
The main reason for this bitter resistance of the world of Islam is to be found in religious teachings. Prof. Al-Khoury stated, on behalf of millions and millions of muslims, that: "…according to the teachings of Islam, we may not give up even a tiniest bit of Palestinian land". Such stubborn, inflexible attitude- why?
Well, Islamic teachings divide the World into two circles. One is the "House of Islam" (Dar al-Islam), which is also called the "House of Peace"(?!) (Dar e-Salaam); and this is any and all territory, where Islamic law (Shariyah) rules. Every country, in which Islam is the official religion, regardless of demographic statistics, belongs here.
The other circle of the World is counted as the "House of War" (Dar al-Charb). Every non-muslim country belongs here, even if it has muslim minorities. For example, Balkan states or several republics of the former Soviet Union fit this category.
A fundamental difference between Islam and Christianity surfaces here. From the biblical vantage point, the Kingdom of God starts in individual hearts, and extends from there to the communities of believers. What is decisive is what happens in individual lives, not property or occupation, not even valid rights or laws.
In Islam, contrary to Christianity, valid rights and laws are decisive; and that legal system is normative, which happens to rule over a given country or territory. This way, even such countries where the majority of the people is non-muslim, may be counted as belonging to the "House of Islam", provided that the prevailing legal system happens to be muslim. Until the establishment of the Jewish State of Israel, there was no problem, no confusion- all of Palestine was ruled by Islamic law, therefore all of Palestine belonged to the House of Islam. The majority-consensus partitioning resolution of the United Nations in 1948 notwithstanding, this is still supposed to be the case- i.e. the Jewish State has been a most vexing fly in the Arab soup ever since.
The means of islamisation of the World is "Jihad" or "Holy War". "Jihad" is everything that issues and extends from the House of Islam. This everything includes for example all war materiel sent to Palestinian hands, or every terrorist action of muslim radicals, or every call upon "unbelievers" to voluntarily surrender themselves (Holy Koran: Sura 2, 256; 3, 20; 8, 7-8; Chapters of the Koran are called 'Sura'-s).
It is a form of "Jihad", when a German-based Islamic center issues orders for marrying German (and presumably anti-Semitic) women. "Jihad" is also the placing of copies of the Koran into hotel rooms, or the building of mosques in Western countries. Anything and everything which serves the spreading of Islam counts as "Holy War"; including any and all method, which in a Christian sense, may be called a "mission" or "evangelisation". There's no such thing as neutrality in Islam.
The "people of the Book", as the Koran calls Jews and Christians, are merely second-class people, according to Islamic law (Shariyah); and as "dhimmi"-s (unbelievers), are entitled only to temporary or limited rights to live. Within the House of Islam, it does not matter what people think, feel, or believe. The only thing that matters, is the legal system which rules. This is how it had been possible for Muslims, Jews, and Christians to live peacefully side-by-side for centuries under the prevailing aegis of Islam. As long as the Shariyah rules, the rest is flexible.
However, Jews are entitled to a lower status than Christians. That's because according to the Koran, the Jews are on the same level as pagans or heathens; and they count at least as "hostile against the True Believers" (Sura 5, 41). Therefore, concerning Jews, Allah has declared: "In this World their sort is shame, in the Hereafter great punishment awaits them" (Sura 5, 41). Thus Jews are only worthy of shame in this life (they only deserve shame). And on Resurrection Day they "will be judged to merit the harshest possible punishment" (Sura 2, 85).
According to the teachings of the Koran, the House of Islam is ever-spreading. None of this is the makings of men, but that of Allah, who fights by means of His believers (compare Sura 8, 10.17). All over the World, more and more territory shall be conquered by Islam and ruled by Shariyah. Eventually, the omnipresence of Allah, as well as His omnipotence, shall be universally acknowledged and accepted. Thus, the religion of Islam has world-conquering ambitions.
That's because Allah is omnipotent- for Him, anything is possible. And: Allah is the only True God. The prophet Mohammed stated: "Islam must always consider that nothing is greater than Allah, our God". Hence the famous battle-cry: "Allah akbar" or "Allahu akbar" (God is greater or our God is greater, respectively).
This requirement is manifest in the call for the service of God, as the daily (5 times a day) call of the muezzin is louder than the sound of churchbells; and all this can be seen even in architecture, where a church and a mosque stand side-by-side, the minaret of the mosque is taller than the churchtower. This is the case, for example, in Bethlehem, concerning the Church of Nativity, or in Jerusalem, concerning the Church of the Grave.ä
The Koran says (Sura 5,56), that: "Those who are on the side of God, shall be victorious". The day will come, according to the teachings of Islam, when the whole World will become the House of Islam (Dar al-Islam). Every man's life shall be governed by Islamic law, the Shariyah; even if not every man will convert to Islam.
Therefore, the Kingdom of Allah is identical with the political spreading of Islam and with the increasing rule of Shariyah. Any territory, once under Shariyah, can never again be non-muslim- i.e. it can never again be detached from Islam. So, for example, Spain, or Hungary, or the Balkans, in muslim theology, are counted as "waqf", i.e. muslim territories by the ancient right of conquest (in Latin: Ius Victoriae). And the armies of Allah are both divinely and humanly obligated to reconquer all lost territory that was once rightfully under the rule of Shariyah.
The orientalist Moshe Sharon, Professor of Islamic History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has concluded, that in 1948, when the State of Israel was founded, many a muslim legality was broken concerning territories, holy places, and the status of Jews. It's bad enough, in this view, that the holy places of Islam fell into Jewish hands; but the fact that in Israel, Jews rule over muslims (contrary to the previous thirteen centuries while Islam was in the saddle) is simply intolerable.
This is why the Chief Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheik Ekrima Sayid al-Sabri has called upon all muslims in Israel and in Palestine on February 4, 2001, not to go to vote. Two days before Israel went to the polls to elect a new Prime Minister, the Chief Mufti, who counts as the most important spiritual leader of the Palestinians, warned every muslim in Israel as well as in the Palestinian Autonomous Territories not to acknowledge Jewish sovereignty and rule over what is perceived as traditionally Islamic lands, and thus abstain from voting.
Is there any hope, even temporary, for peace in the Holy Land?
Real (true) friendship between muslims and "unbelievers" is fundamentally out of the question (Sura 3, 118; 4, 89-90; 4, 144-145). The prophet Mohammed had warned his followers: "True believers! Do not accept Jew or Christian as friends! They may be friends with each other, but not with you. If any of you prefers their company, then he belongs to them, and no longer to the community of Believers" (Sura, 5, 51).
In other words: a muslim who enters into true friendship with an "unbeliever" or makes a true peace treaty with him, automatically forfeits his membership in the community of true muslims, and therefore must be excommunicated. No middle ground. With me or against me- sounds familiar? And yet, Islamic theology offers a way out. When a non-muslim enemy is too strong and can not be vanquished, then (temporary) cease-fire is permissible (compare: Sura 3, 28; 4, 101).
There is a precedent in Mohammed's own biography. When, in the year 628 C.E. he wanted to undertake the pilgrimage to his own native city, Mecca; he was unable to do so, because the city was occupied by the hordes of Kureish which did not acknowledge the prophetic supremacy of Mohammed. Because the garrison of the Kureish was too strong, Mohammed failed to vanquish them, and thus a cease-fire came into effect. As time went by, the Kureish felt safe enough to ground arms. This is how Mohammed was able to enter Mecca in the year 630 C.E. with 10,000 soldiers and to make such a bloodbath that was unheard of. By the way, manslaughter and breaches of treaties or contracts between "true believers" and "dhimmi-s or pagans" are legitimate according to the laws of Islam, because they are but tactical necessities and tricks or stratagems of Holy War, respectively; and thus serve the glory of Allah- no matter how strange that may sound, especially to modern ears.
Yasser Arafat stated, more than once, in front of his muslim coreligionists, that the Peace Treaty of Oslo may be legitimately broken, because it was a "Kureish-like" pact. With a much stronger opponent, at the most sham peace is possible. With a weaker opponent, it is the religious duty of every muslim, according to the teachings of the Koran, to pick up the gauntlet and to fight, regardless of the cost or the outcome. But "we are too weak" told me Assad Ashmawy, a simple Palestinian mechanic who lives near Zichron Yaakov in Israel and whom I know for 20 years by now. Assad does not believe that the Palestinians could ever find some compromise with the Jewish State, although he admitted, that most simple Palestinians like him would prefer peace despite the fact that neither his religion nor the religious leaders would allow it. As long as the Islamic fundamentalists believe that the Jewish State can be vanquished, they must fight again and again. Therefore, more bombs will explode and more innocent blood will be shed; and the end is nowhere in sight, while the current parameters remain unchanged.
The Jordanian newspaper "El Rai", on November 12, 1992, cited Faisal al-Husseini (who had a heart attack in Kuwait on May 31, 2001), who was Arafat's rival at the time: "We must admit that presently, the slogan: 'From Jordan to the Sea' is not realizable… Sooner or later the Israeli society will have no choice but to cooperate with the much greater Arab community; and this way, a gradual solution of the Zionist problem may be reached." However, the Palestinian "Boss" Yasser Arafat has so far always been reluctant to envisage a definite and permanent "conflict resolution".
Perhaps such reluctance explains the failure of the Camp David peace negotiations in July, 2000. Due to the insistence of the then US President Bill Clinton, former Israeli Premier Ehud Barak had offered to Arafat 97% (!) of the biblical land of Judea and Samaria, along with part of Jerusalem, and control of the holiest site in Judaism, the Temple Mount. In the text of the proposed Peace Treaty, there was a paragraph concerned with definite and permanent "conflict resolution"-alas, in vain.
"Whoever talks about the end of the Middle-East conflict, talks nonsense"- stated Moshe Sharon, advisor to the former Premier and Nobel Peace-laureate Menachem Begin. "This conflict is the war of Allah against His enemies". And thus, whenever the simple muslims wanted peace, they were not allowed to enter into such pacts. That's because if the State of Israel really had a future, that would be tantamount to the capitulation of Almighty Allah. In the case of muslim fundamentalists, concerning the very existence of the Jewish State built upon former muslim territories, the question arises: which is the true God? Is He the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" or the "God of Abraham, Ishmael, and Esau"?
As long as even the tiniest land which belongs to the House of Islam is expropriated and ruled by the Jewish State, the very existence of this State amounts to the bankruptcy of Allah- and is not, therefore, wholly or partially, permissible: now or ever. This frightening conclusion is sober reality. I leave the rest to the readers' imaginations.
Published: in Telicom (The Journal of the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry), Vol. XV, No. 10, September 2001, pp. 53-57; also in Commensal (The Philosophy Journal of British Mensa), No. 109, October 2001, pp. 18-22; and in Gift of Fire (The Journal of the Prometheus Society), Issue 127, April 2002, pp. 10-14.
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