In
an interview with a London- based
Arabic newspaper, Mufti Akramah Sabri
said a holy jihad should be declared
against Israel in word and
deed. Occupied Jerusalem - The mufti
of Jerusalem has criticized the lack of Arab and Muslim
action in support of the Palestinians. In an interview with
a London- based Arabic newspaper, Mufti Akramah Sabri said
Arab solidarity was
"the only means to salvation" and a holy jihad
should be declared against
Israel in word and deed. Sabri also said all Palestinian
factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, should
coordinate and find a "middle solution" to bridge
the gaps between their views. The mufti
said it would be extremely dangerous if Jews were
allowed to enter certain
Jerusalem holy sites and he said the Israeli government
would be fully
responsible for the consequences. The following are excerpts
from the interview with Jerusalem Mufti Akramah Sabri by
Abd-al-Rahman al-Mansur in Riyadh:
Al-Mansur: Israel reinforces its
occupation and its prime minister
persists in his terrorist acts by imposing the siege
and killing and starving
the Palestinian people. How can the Palestinians overcome
this tragic and despicable situation?
Sabri: Israel took advantage of
the New York and Washington events in
an ugly manner. It labelled all those opposed to it
as terrorists and extremists
and viewed itself as the owner of rights. It began
implementing colonialist plans brutally by building
settlements, demolishing houses, and confiscating and
tearing lands apart to
forestall the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Strangely, the USA itself
supports Israel's exploitation of the US events. This is
evenpreceded and followed by Arab silence. Had there
been genuine Arab and Islamic action, Israel would not have
gone so far. Apparently, however, each Arab country wants to
put its house in order alone
without caring for its neighbours. I think this is an
illusory order because
the Arabs will be powerful only when they are united. Each
country alone will remain weak and liable to the influence
and pressure of other countries. Arab solidarity is the only
means to salvation.
Once Israel suppresses the intifadah
and gets rid of it - in harmony
with its plans - it will be free to strike Arab
countries one after the
other. Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and other neighbouring
countries will be the first.
Borders from the Nile to the Euphrates
will not satisfy Israeli
ambitions. Israel seeks a sweeping colonialist
expansion. It plans to dominate the whole region and then
nobody would dare to come closer to it.
Al-Mansur:
Do you think that a
solution lies in a unanimous declaration of jihad against
Israel?
Sabri:
I do not want to discuss
this because Israel is willing to prevent me from entering
my country. I would rather return to my
homeland instead of living abroad and going from one
place to another. I want to be in Palestine near the holy
Al-Aqsa mosque.
Al-Mansur: Arab peoples,
however, blame it on the disagreement among their clerics.
Sabri:
We have been in jihad in
Palestine since 1967, but the problem
lies in the Arab peoples themselves, who are asleep
and yet they blame others.
Why do Arab and Muslim clerics outside Palestine not declare
a holy jihad
against Israel in word and deed? It is time that they know
what they should say and do.
Every Arab and Muslim in the world is
concerned about the question of
Jerusalem because this city represents part of the
Muslims' faith and belief.
Defending Jerusalem is to defend the faith of Islam and
stressing the strong belief in it. The current
intifadah has been persisting for one and a half years now.
It is a legitimate jihad.
Arab and Islamic rulers, clerics and
peoples should assume their
responsibility and do what should be done to end the
Israeli occupation. We have had enough denunciations and
condemnations.
Al-Mansur: The current
situation, however, requires a unanimous and unified fatwa
formal legal opinion by the nation's clerics.
Sabri:
I hope that the clerics will move, but we lack a popular
response. Moreover, there is a prevailing Arab and
Islamic silence. I think I will mention the opinion of
another party, which fears that a declaration of jihad by
the nation's clerics would create dissension among the
clerics and
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or a crisis between the
peoples and their rulers.
This would increase the
enemy's oppression against
us because the
dilemma would be among
Arabs and Muslims
themselves. This would
enhance the enemy's power
and ability. We would
become very weak and
vulnerable and it would be
very difficult for us to
rise again.
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Al-Mansur: What do you think of
the jihad trend among the Palestinian
public?
Sabri: Our people at home are
determined to continue the intifadah. They are not affected,
despite the losses. They have strength, patience
and tolerance. With or without the Arabs' agreement,
they view the intifadah as the only means. Regardless of the
solutions, the intifadah will grow stronger and would
persist until justice is done.
Al-Mansur: A large segment of Arabs and
Muslims used to support a just
peace with Israel. This segment, however, revoked its
position and concluded
that coexistence with Israel is not possible after the
escalation of the terrorism and brutality of Sharon's
government. Do you
think that this change of position will prompt the adoption
of a firm stand vis-a-vis Israel by the available means?
Sabri: Israel definitely does
not want peace. It wants surrender. By
means of the deceptive talk about peace over the past
years, Israel wanted
to win time to be able to settle down in the occupied
territories, expropriate more land, and build more and more
settlements. The owner of a right should not be accused of
terrorism. The Palestinian people are owners of a right and
they are striving to end the occupation of their usurped
land. They are carrying out legitimate self-defence although
it is a very simple defence that does not amount to the
siege, deportation and terrorist acts which Israeli PM
Sharon exercises against the youths, children and women of
Palestine. It is painful that this image is distorted
and our people are accused of terrorism.
The injustice and aggression increased
when the world thought Sharon
was defending himself with his oppressive method and
abominable terrorism.
When did the demolition of houses and killing of innocents
become self-defence? Is it logical to label a stone-throwing
child as a terrorist and someone who uses tanks, planes, and
missiles as a non-terrorist? We say an owner of a right - I
mean the Palestinians – has
the right to defend himself by the means he deems
appropriate.
Al-Mansur: Arab and Islamic
voices say that the Palestinian National
Authority PNA - represented by its President Yasir
Arafat - has written down its surrender by bowing to the
conditions dictated by Sharon.
Sabri: Was there one Arab
country that did not acquiesce to Israel or the USA? There
is no difference between any of them. They are all similar.
I do not defend anybody, but we should not blame others when
everyone else is suppressed. It is enough.
Al-Mansur: What if "Hamas"
and the "Islamic Jihad" abandoned the PNA's
trend vis-a-vis the developments in the occupied
territories?
Sabri:
It is essential that all
factions continue to coordinate because disagreement would
not serve the interest of the Palestinian question.
It
would have a negative impact not only on the PNA, "Hamas"
and "Islamic Jihad", but also on the entire
Palestinian society. I call
for continuous coordination and openness. All
Palestinian parties should sit down to discuss and exchange
viewpoints to persuade each other or agree on a middle
solution that bridges the gap among their
trends. There should be one goal adopted by everybody
because our situation
as Muslims today is similar to that during the former
crusades in term of weakness and division.
Al-Mansur: What will be the
consequences if the Israeli government allows Jews to enter
the holy Al-Aqsa mosque?
Sabri:
The Higher Islamic
Committee in Jerusalem warned the Israeli
government against desecrating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa
mosque. The guardianship of the blessed Al-Aqsa is an
Islamic affair and the Islamic waqf is the party in charge.
We do not allow non-Muslims to interfere in our religious
affairs and we hold the Israeli government fully responsible
for any desecration of the mosque's sanctity or any
tension in Jerusalem and the other occupied places.
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