From Jihad Watch; a Palestinian Authority Sermon:
We have ruled the world before, and by Allah, the day will come when we will rule the entire world again. The day will come when we will rule America. The day will come when we will rule Britain and the entire world – except for the Jews. The Jews will not enjoy a life of tranquility under our rule, because they are treacherous by nature, as they have been throughout history. The day will come when everything will be relived of the Jews – even the stones and trees which were harmed by them. Listen to the Prophet Muhammad, who tells you about the evil end that awaits Jews. The stones and trees will want the Muslims to finish off every Jew.
I love the observation Jihad Watch makes:
Humm, rule the world and kill the Jews…that was tried once before as I recall..
Vicious statements from certain parties on both sides are an old feature of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Of course, it doesn’t stop at rhetoric: non-combatants, even children, get killed on both sides. True, far more Palestinian non-combatants have been murdered than Israelis (the ratio being about four to one), but that imbalance should not blind us to the fact that every single life is valuable.
The problem at the root of all this, of course, is the political one. Here, I take the side of the Palestinians (Muslim and Christian) against the Jews. I do so not because of any ill feelings against Jews, but because of the concrete facts of the conflict. If by magic Palestinians became Jewish overnight and the Israelis Muslim, I would then be supporting the Jews. My religion, Islam, is above all for justice, and I will speak out against injustice commited by Muslims.
What is the bottom-line in this conflict? Ultimately, it is Palestinians who have been dispossessed of their lands and made into refugees by the millions. It is they who are deprived of civil/citizenship rights of any kind. It is they who suffer from military occupation.
It has been many years since Palestinians officially gave up the rights to their historical homeland, recognized the state of Israel, and offered to give Israel 100% of the land that International law entitled it to. Had Israel accepted this offer, the conflict would have ended overnight. Even now, if Israel takes the offer, the conflict will disappear immediately. Israelis did not accept the offer, and they kept building settlements, and choking the Palestinians through brutal military occupation and economic siege.
There are Israelis who wish for a just peace. The Taba negotiations which were conducted under Mr. Barak, and ruined by Mr. Sharon’s election, in which Palestinians and Israelis came very close to a settlement, were a testament to the fact that some Israelis do aspire to a just peace. The problem is that the current, dominant Israeli policy does not aim at a just peace. Israel is using its military superiority to impose on the Palestinians a unilaternal, Israeli outcome to the conflict rather than a negotiated, mutual agreement.
Allah bless,
Muhammad
Muhammad, I find it interesting that you claim the root problem is a political one. It is my understanding that it is a teaching of Islam that all Jews are to be killed. Hence it would seem to me that the root problem is one of the teaching of Islam rather than a political one.
Joe, I find it astonishing to hear anyone say that “it is a treaching of Islam that all Jews are to be killed.” The Qur’an and traditional fiqh (Islamic law) are quite clear that this is not the case.
And in terms of the premodern historical reality, Jewish minorities in Muslim lands were treated better than Jewish minorities in Christian lands. Although Jewish and Christisn minorities were second-class citizens, the general reality was that their lives and properties were respected, they were allowed to practice their religion, and they were normally allowed to run their communities according to their own religious law. Historically, religious tolerance was the rule and repression the exception, just the opposite of the situation in Europe.
Muhammad