The Religion factor in the Palestine issue

 

First I would like to hint that I don't attack the Jewish people or their religion here as I respect all religions and faiths

Dear Manal El-Tahawy, the famous international Egyptian Journalist wrote for Saudi Debate attacking or blaming Sheik Youssef El-Karadawy for changing the Palestinian cause from a human one to religious one and in my humble opinion this is unfair and the Sheikh whom I am not considered to be one of his fans and followers is not that wrong or mistaken because simply the Palestinian issue or problem when it had started ,it started with religion .

 I remember that I once wrote that the Arabic - Israeli conflict was in the beginning from the Arabic side was a geo-political one that turned in to a religious one after the six days war and the occupation of East Jerusalem and that what made it complex. This is a fact that I don't think we can deny, if you returned back to pro-1967 you will find that the middle east was much peaceful, much quitter and for sure there was less tension unlike now, there was Arabic nationalism movement not religious sectarian movements like now was standing as counter to the Zionist movement as a nationalist movement. Yes there was the Muslim brotherhood fighters in the 1948 who stood I guess against the radical Jews from the other side.

Yet on the other side since day one in the world Zionist Organization Herzl made it clear that:

"At Basle I founded the Jewish State...Perhaps in five years, and certainly in fifty, everyone will know it."

and he was right, the famous Zionist Organization worked very hard to establish the Jewish state after that in Palestine, if you notice anything in his famous quote you will find that he used the term "Jewish" referring to the Jews, referring to the Judaism which is as you know a religion, he didn't say Hebrews but Jews not like now when they say the Hebrew state, it was clear that it was religious from the Zionist side, already what is the Zionism??

Well according to the encyclopedias, the international ones the definition of Zionism is

·         Wikipedia: Zionism is an international political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel 

·         MSN Encarta: Zionism, movement to unite the Jewish people of the Diaspora (exile) and settle them in Palestine

·         Britannica: Zionism is a Jewish nationalism movement with the goal of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine.

·    High Beam: Zionism is a Jewish nationalist movement advocating the return of Jews to the land of Zion (Palestine).

Did you see the term "Jewish”??

Yes it was a secular movement in the beginning but it depended on religion turning it to some religious duty to return back the Jews to the land of Zion

The secular leaders used the religion factor to encourage the Jewish people to move to Palestine as it is the land of Zion with the blessing of Rabbis and dreams of the return of David's Kingdom which would stretch from the Nile to Euphrates to the end of all those hopes and of course we should not forget the humiliation the Jews were suffering during that period in Europe that made Palestine from them not only Israel or

 It was if the Palestinians were doomed to lose their land due to some prophecies of another religion.

The conflict for us as Arabs was more geographical to protect the land, where as for the Jewish people was more religious to fulfill the prophecy despite that the Zionist movement since day one put its eye on the holy city of Jerusalem and there was the famous international plan of the UN to put under international control, the plan which was refused by both the Arabs and the Israelis as the State was declared then.

The Arabs were clamed when the holy city was put under the Jordanian control and the Israelis kept planning for it, they wanted to return back since the 6 century A.D, they didn't hide their intentions of what they want to do in the holy city they wanted to re-build again the temple of Solomon which they were and thinking in the same place of our third holiest Islam place in the world in the place of Al-Aqsa Mosque. A strategic planning to change the map of the Middle East, to change the feature of a holy old city with expected consequences from the other faith believers the Muslims in our case all based upon a religious belief!!

The Secular Zionists wanted a national id from this where as the radical Jews wanted the temple so much while the remaining of Jewish people wouldn’t hate it.

If you notice back in the history in the 20th century , the conflict was more Arabic Versa Israeli ,yes there was an Islamic support but it was countering the Jewish support, of course not on the same standard.

People back then knew the difference between the Jews and Zionists and the evidence that in many countries in the Islamic and Arabic countries there were and are still Jewish communities ,yes in some countries they had some hard times like in the Nasser era in Egypt but let's speak the truth they were not suffered because they were Jews in the first place but they suffered because of the Nationalization policies that hurt everyone had money and business then being a Jew was an extra charge to make easy to deceive the people saying that what Nasser was doing was to liberate the Egyptian Capital money from the western Zionist control or what ever , but the people themselves didn't hate the Jews or attacked them on the contrary , they were wise .

Yet the six days war happened and the Israelis entered the holy eastern city dancing in circles chanting Hava Naguila , not only them but most Jews around the world, they entered the city mocking with huge voice the prophet of Islam "Mohamed" PBUH" as if it were some religious vengeance making a war not between them and the Arabic armies from Muslims and Christians but a war between them and the Muslims, they also were said to enter the holy Mosque drunk and naked with no respect what so ever to the holiness of the place

 Next year the Muslim world woke up on the burning of Al-Aqsa mosque by some radical Australian Jewish dentist and the Islamic world began to see the threat now crystal clear , their third holiest place in the world now controlled by the Zionists sorry radical Israeli now we are talking about the 1960s the new class of leaders not the secular ones like Ben Guerin no, Israel now had new radical groups led by crazy rabbis and new generations and also immigrants from around the globe believed that they were on a holy mission and you know the rest

The attempts to destroy Al-Aqsa mosque didn't stop whether by the Israeli government and the excavation or from the Jewish fanatics, the attempts of change the Arabic identity of the ancient holy city didn’t stop and don’t stop till now.

Decades passed and the Arabic Nationalism became history and the rise of the religious nationalism began especially with the Iranian revolution and its attack on the Israel and American, the great Satan and it didn't need much to prove the hate between the Israel and the Muslim world as there is a huge big record, on the other the radical stream began to hold more and more power in whether in the society or the government.

Before turning this in to some kind of historical long debate all I want to say we can’t cancel the religion factor from the Palestinian issue, in fact I wish it is only a human issue like dear Manal wants and sees it; it is a human issue from the suffering of the Palestinian people who are seemed as I said earlier were doomed because some old prophecies that may not happen after all, as far as I know Prophet Jesus Peace upon him told the Jews that the temple would be destroyed and never to be restored again !!

If Sheikh Youssef El-Karadawy speaks in a language that is full of hate towards the Jews and the Israelis, I see it normal not because of the daily attack on of the Islamic but because the other side we have got the Rabbi Ovadia Yosef who described the Arabs as the children of snakes!! A mutual hate that we must understand, Nasser and Guerin presented the nationalist face of the conflict where as El-Karadawy and Yosef presents the religious face of the conflict and unfortunately these two faces are for one coin and that’s what makes a very difficult conflict, you can not find an easy solution to satisfy all parties

And what worst that it is not even the Judaism anymore but we got also the Christian Zionism and the new trend in Washington D.C

Unfortunately we can’t omit the religion factor from the conflict because in the base of the conflict is the religion and that’s why we should expect people like El-Karadawy and Yosef to make it their religions holy war, also we try to solve it we should put in our consideration this factor whether we like or not

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