Jamaat al-Muslimeen International Press Release
Pope is welcome guest, Christians are friends
but Recognition of Israel Raises Serious Questions
They say: "Become Jews or Christians if ye would be
guided (to salvation)." Say thou: "Nay! (I would rather)
the religion of Abraham the True, and he joined not
gods with Allah." (The Qur'an 2:135)
"Give good advice to the one who seeks your advice,
otherwise you have betrayed his/her trust."
Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, hadith narrated by Abu
Huraira, collected by Imam Abu Hanifa.
On April 6, 2001 the Pope who leads the Catholics of the
world
visited one of the oldest mosques of Islam, the Ummayad mosque in
Damascus,
Syria. Earlier, he was greeted by President Bashir Assad of Syria and
welcomed at the mosque by Muslim clerics. The Pope's words seemed to be
critical of the excesses Israel has committed against the Palestinians.
He
was also interested in visiting Quneitra, the Syrian town with numerous
Christian inhabitants, which was destroyed by the Israelis
house-by-house,
after they ended its occupation years back.
The Pope's visit should strengthen Muslim-Christian relations
and is
in that light a welcome visit. Islam considers Christians the friends
of
Muslims. Islam is the only religion other than Christianity which
reveres
Jesus (pbuh). Islam has never encouraged Muslims to fight Christians.
In fact
Muslims have a duty to defend Christian places of worship. During the
era of
the crusades too, it was the Christians who were the aggressors. When
finally
the Muslims, under Salahuddin, and later the Slave-Kings of Egypt,
defeated
the crusaders, they treated the Christians kindly and did not take
revenge.
The Pope's visit emphasizes the crimes Israel has committed
against
Palestinians, both Muslims and Christians.
However, there are underlying problems with the Pope's visit
which
need to be addressed.
1. This Pope reversed the entire outlook of the Vatican about Zionism
and the
role of the Jews in history. The Pope ended up recognizing Israel. With
this
recognition goes the assumption that Israel is a legal entity and that
Muslim
retaliation against this settler-criminal-terrorist state is not
legitimate
but is to be seen as "terrorism."
1a. The Pope has recognized Israel in the face of the teachings of all
his
elders from the past. The Vatican was very disturbed when the British
conquered Jerusalem from the Turks (through the treachery of Arab
rulers).
"The day after the British conquest of Jerusalem, (cardinal) Gasparri
told
(French representative Loiseau) that the Turks had been the most
faithful
custodians of the Holy Places and that their departure was liable to be
a
source of problems." He added that "The Zionists, to whom Balfour had
presented Palestine as a gift, were likely to cause new strife." (The
Vatican
and Zionism by Sergio I. Minerbi, 1990.)
That was 1917. Until the arrival of this Pope, the Vatican
was
steadfast in its opposition to Zionism and Israel.
1b. If the Pope is guided by God (as the Catholics believe), on what
basis
would it be possible to claim that "God was wrong all those years" and
it is
okay for this Pope to recognize Israel?
2. ASSAD's REGIME represents a tiny minority, the Alawites, who have
been
ruling Syria through the ruthless use of armed force. In 1982, Assad's
father
destroyed the entire city of Hamah on the excuse of crushing the
uprising of
the Muslim Brotherhood. Thus the great majority of Syria, following
Sunni
schools of thought, are disenfranchised in their own country.
2a. Mufti Kaftaru, who welcomed the Pope on behalf of the Muslims of
Syria,
is a helpless puppet of the playboy dictator of Syria. He is totally
unable
to express the sentiments of the Muslim majority of Syria. In that
context,
where the Muslims are helpless, how can the Pope's visit be seen as
valuable
Muslim-Christian dialogue? The new Syrian president has released some
political prisoners but thousands of Islamic prisoners, including
women, are
still in jail after having been tortured in violation of all
international
law against torture.
3. Despite Assad's rhetoric, the Syrian ruler's position vis-a-vis
Israel is
ambiguous. Recently Israel bombed Syrian positions, killing several
Syrian
soldiers in the process, for allegedly helping Hizbullah. THERE WAS
ABSOLUTELY NO SYRIAN RESPONSE. For 28 years, the Syrian regime has not
fired
a shot at Israel while it has killed hundreds of Palestinians. Only
recently,
the Syrians handed over an Islamist to the Jordanian king. He had
mistakenly
taken refuge in Syria. He faces death in Jordan.
In these circumstances, the meaning of the papal visit to a
mosque in
Syria is opaque. It raises more questions than it answers.
There is also a report that the Church might be preparing to make
a
claim that the 800-year old Omayyed mosque is built on the site of the
shrine
of John the Baptist. The Vatican needs to quash such reports, otherwise
it
would appear that the visit was not for fraternal purposes but for
taking
advantage of an oppressed Islamic nation (and Islamic world) which is
prostrate and helpless before the boots of Zionist and imperialist
aggression
both from within and from outside the lands of Islam.
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WE URGE OUR CATHOLIC FRIENDS TO SPEAK OUT FOR THE FREEDOM OF SHAIKH
OMAR
'ABDEL RAHMAN, IMAM JAMIL al-AMIN, AHMAD AJAJ and political prisoners
in
Jordan, Syria, Arabia, Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt. These are
the
people who represent the Muslim ummah's aspirations. The Pope is
talking to
non-representatives when the authentic people are in jail.
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2001-05-08 Tue 13:56ct