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A Muslim Call to the Israelis
by Harun Yahya
These days the Middle East is once again the scene of
fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Radicals on both sides
are employing the most ruthless and cruel methods against each other. The
Israeli Army is ruthlessly bombing Palestinian settlements, shooting at
children and trying to make Palestine uninhabitable. Palestinian radicals,
on the other hand, are attacking Israeli civilian targets and spreading
violence with their terrible suicide attacks aimed at women and children.
Our heartfelt wish as Muslims is for the anger and hatred
on both sides to die down, for the bloodshed to stop and for peace to come
to the Middle East. We oppose both the Israeli killing of the innocent and
the Palestinian bombing of innocent Israelis.
In our view, the most important condition for this blind
conflict to come to an end and for real peace to be established in the
Middle East is for both sides to genuinely and honestly understand and
implement their own beliefs. The conflict between Israel and Palestine has
taken on the identity of a
‘religious war’ between Jews and Muslims, whereas in fact
there is absolutely no reason for such a war of religion. Both Jews and
Muslims believe in God, love and respect the same prophets, and possess
the same moral principles. They are not enemies. On the contrary, they are
allies in a world in which atheism and hatred of religion are widespread.
Based on that fundamental principle, we call on the
Israelis (and all Jews):
-
Muslims and Jews believe in one God, the creator of the
universe and all living things. We are all God ’s servants, and to Him we shall return. So
why hate each other? The holy books we believe in are different, but we
all abide by those books because we believe they are the revelations of
God. So why should we fight one another?
Instead of Muslims, would the Israelis rather live among
atheists or pagans? The Bible is full of passages describing the
terrible cruelties inflicted on the Jews by pagans. The terrible
genocide and cruelty inflicted on the Jews by atheists and unbelievers
(such as the Nazis, anti-Semitic racists or communist regimes such as
Stalin ’s
Russia) are clear for all to see. The atheist forces in question hated
the Jews because they believed in God, and that is why they oppressed
them. Are not Jews and Muslims on the same side against these atheist,
communist or racist forces that hate them both?
Muslims and Jews love and respect the same prophets. The
prophets Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses or David are at least as
important for Muslims as they are for Jews. The lands where these holy
figures lived and served God are at least as holy for Muslims as they
are for Jews. So why drown those lands in blood and tears?
The fundamental values of Israel are also sacred to us
Muslims. The word ‘Israel’ is the name of the Prophet Jacob, who is
praised in the Koran and remembered with great respect by Muslims. The
Magen David (Star of David) is the holy symbol of the prophet David for
us too. According to the Koran, synagogues are places of worship that
Muslims must protect. (Koran, 22:40). So why should members of the two
religions not live together in peace?
The Torah commands Jews to establish peace and security,
not to occupy other lands and spill
blood. The people of Israel are described as ‘a light unto the nations.’
As Rabbi Dovid Weiss has said:
The Jewish people are commanded by
Almighty God to live in peace with all peoples and nations
on the face of the globe. Our agenda is simple It is to
humbly worship the Creator at all times. As Torah Jews we
are called upon to feel and express our sense of
compassion when any person or group of human beings
suffers.[1]
If the Israelis continue to treat the Palestinians as they
are now, they may be unable to account for that to God. Those Palestinians who kill innocent
Israelis, on the other hand, may be unable to account for those murders.
Is it not a duty in the eyes of God to put an end to the fighting, which
is dragging both sides deeper into satanic violence?
We invite all Jews to consider these facts. God commands
us Muslims to invite Jews and Christians to a ‘common formula:’
Say, "O People of the Book! Let us rally to a common
formula to be binding on both us and you: That we worship none but
God; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from
among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than God." (Koran, 3:64)
This is our call to the Jews, a People of the Book: As
people who believe in God and obey His commands, let us come together in
the common formula of ‘faith.’ Let us love God, the Lord and Creator of all
of us. Let us abide by His commands. Let us pray to God to lead us further
on the path of righteousness. Let us bring love, compassion and peace to
each other and the world, not hostility, blood and tears.
That is where the solution to the Palestinian question and
other conflicts in the world lies. Come, let us find a solution together.
The deaths and suffering of so many innocent people remind us every day
what an urgent task this is.
How Can the Palestinian Question be Resolved?
Based on the principles of toleration and moderation we
have outlined above, it is possible to solve the Palestinian question,
which has caused so much bloodshed in the Middle East over the last 50
years. In our view, the establishment of peace depends on these two
conditions:
-
Israel must withdraw from all the territories it
occupied during the 1967 war. The occupation that has existed since
must come to an end. That is an obligation under international law, U.N.
Security Council resolutions and the concept of justice. All of the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip must be recognized as belonging to an
independent State of Palestine.
-
Jerusalem must be administered by an international
commission attached to the United Nations. That commission must have
equal numbers of Muslim, Christian and Jewish members. This holy city is
a ‘religious
center’
of the utmost importance to all three religions. That is why Jerusalem
can never be the capital of any political entity. All Jews, Muslims or
Christians may regard Jerusalem as their own spiritual capital, but it
is wrong to claim it as a political capital. Jerusalem must be
demilitarized and made a free city in which members of all three
religions can carry out their obligations in peace.
When these conditions are brought about, Israelis and
Palestinians will have recognized each others ’ right to exist, shared the Palestinian
lands, and resolved the status of Jerusalem, the subject of a great
argument, in a manner satisfactory to the members of all three religions.
Note:
Harun Yahya
is a prominent Turkish intellectual.
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