The Jewish Question

Wallahi Al-Theem, there is no other inquiry for the Islamic Nationalist, and indeed the entire realm of geo-politics as it relates to the United States and the Muslim world, than the human rights crisis in Israel/Palestine. Every haram, suicide bombing; every dead Palestinian child, whether Muslim or Christian; every act of terrorism up to and including September 11, 2001 and July 7, 2005: all have their foundations in the Jewish Question, and more specifically the state of Israel. Israel is a Hebrew word, derived from Aramaic, which means he strives with God. As believers in The One True and Living God-Allah in Arabic and Adonai in Hebrew, it strikes us as such a contradiction wrapped in oxymoron that this land could be so far from that which is truly the nature of God, or Allah and Adonai. Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent every year in destruction and death in Israel/Palestine. How different its present reality is from the words of Martin Lings, when he wrote:

Not one but two great nations were to look back to Abraham as their father-two great nations, that is, two guided powers, two instruments to work the Will of Heaven, for God does not promise as a blessing that which is profane, nor is there any greatness before God except greatness in the Spirit. Abraham was thus the fountainhead of two spiritual streams, which must not flow together, but each in its own course; and he entrusted Hagar and Ishmael to the blessing of God and the care of His Angels in the certainty that all would be well with them. Two spiritual streams, two religions, two worlds for God; two circles, therefore two centers. A place is never Holy through the choice of man, but because it has been chosen in Heaven. There were two Holy centers within the orbit of Abraham: one of these was at hand, the other perhaps he did not yet know; and it was to the other that Hagar and Ishmael were guided, in a barren valley of Arabia, some forty camel days south of Canaan…In the words of Genesis: And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said to her: what aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not, for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise and lift up the lad and hold him in thy hand, for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water.[1]

In truth, it is both the Muslim and the Jew who seemingly surrender their collective duty to Allah/Adonai for the passions of hatred, vitriol, and violence. Inshallah, we will attempt to find a solution at justice for this issue, stating that which is accurate. In other words, with the old adage of their being three sides to every story; one side, the other, and the truth, we seek to find the truth and thereby a conclusion that the Islamic Nationalist can propagate seeking the Pleasure of The One True and Living God. If the prophet Muhammad (SAAW) ruled in the interests of Social Justice, even when favoring the interests of a Jew over that of his Ummah, we will follow his example in this matter. There can be no doubt at all that Muslims and Jews lived peacefully in the same locales for centuries. In Muslim Spain, Jews were viziers in government, and held a wide range of positions within that society that only added to its health and well-being. Indeed, it is in 1492, with the ascension of Ferdinand and Isabella, that Jews and Muslims made an exodus to Morocco and other parts of North Africa. During the Holocaust, Algerian Muslims ensured that Jews were hidden from the Nazi occupiers of France. Jews and Muslims fought alongside one another in all three of the Crusades. Musa ben Maimon, more commonly known as Maimonides to the West, was born in Cordoba, Spain in 1135 and died in Egypt in 1204. His contribution to Aristotelian philosophy and Jewish Talmudic law has been so vital to both the Muslim and Jewish intellectual traditions, that the use of the word vital is truly an understatement. It was Maimonides who wrote, "It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death”; and this is a phrase seemingly lost to both al-Qaeda and the Zionist who kill and murder under the notion of collective guilt.

We all know the issues that exist in Israel/Palestine, and there can be no doubt that Zionism is the true ideological culprit that compels so many Israelis and Jews throughout the world, to term Arabs, whether Christian or Muslim, animals. It is truly ironic that with the millions of Jews murdered by Hitler and the Nazi apparatus during World War II, that these very victims would adopt a worldview that replicates the actions of what they were able to escape. There can be no doubt that it seems that far too many Jews have forgotten the true nature of their faith and what it means to be a chosen people. Being chosen by Allah/Adonai does not mean that you have a special right to land, to life, to anything of this world. Indeed, being chosen means that you are supposed to provide an example of what God’s Social Justice truly is. For the Muslim, having accepted the prophets of Bani Isra’il with the same love and reverence we attribute to the prophet Muhammad (SAAW), we recognize that which so many Jews deny: the covenant they have broken with Allah/Adonai. Yet, as Muslims, it would seem that a great many of us have forgotten that it is our mission to provide social justice, as did our predecessors throughout our history. For any Muslim to deny the Holocaust; for any Muslim to state that they Nazis did not kill enough Jews; for any Muslim to state that he wishes to ‘wipe Israel from the map’: this is a Muslim who is obviously not striving with God, but with Iblis! One can see the million of vitriolic, angry, hatefully sinful messages from the mouths of Muslims, attacking Jews. One can see the messages calling for the death of Jews, for the mere fact that they are Jews. Every atrocity committed by a Muslim, is loudly, but certainly erroneously blamed on the Jews. It is shocking to witness a Muslim forget the words of the prophet (SAAW), when he instructed a member of the Sahaba thrice: do not become angry. We are Muslims, and no matter what the right-wing segment of the Israeli/Zionist movement does, we should not follow them. We have our example.

Does this mean that we do not have a right at self-defense? Certainly not. The Muslim is not a pacifist, and if his life and that of his family is being threatened; if he is oppressed; then he should fight in The Cause of Allah. However, fighting in The Cause of Allah means doing so under the banner of Islam, Alone, and without partner, and according to the Rules of Engagement Commanded by Allah and His messenger (SAAW). Thus, suicide bombing or firing rockets at unknown targets, aimed at the killing of innocent non-combatants, in particular children is Haram. I lose patience with the argument that Palestinians do not have weapons, when I see Hamas supporters carrying the AK-47 or carrying out suicide missions with C4 explosives. Do not misunderstand, the Palestinian is the victim. We cannot blame the victim for that which he and she must encounter and live. And it is said without fear or trepidation, Palestine is the one place on earth where the Muslim has a legitimate claim at Jihad of the Sword, the Rifle, the Grenade, and all other weapons that claim lives. Yet, the lives claimed by the Muslims must be that of the IDF, and not people at pizzerias, weddings, buses, etc. The Muslim has a right to invade illegal Israeli settlements, and burn them to the ground, so long as all is done to protect the lives of non-combatants, women, and especially children. Palestinian children killed by Jews, is not an excuse for Muslims to engage in the tactic of Zionists. We must never forget who and what we are, for Allah Loves Not the transgressors.

Moreover, we as Muslims must never forget that there are millions of Jews who are defying the policies of the right-wing Zionist agenda of Mr. Netanyahu and others of similar thinking. Indeed, we have allies within Israel, and those of us in the West should do all we can to build alliances with said individuals to continue to present sound public relations to propagate with the rest of the world. Two Latin American nations have recognized Palestine as an independent country. Non-Muslim, non-Arab intellectuals, scholars, former government, and military officials have sent a letter to President Obama asking him to do all he can to stop illegal Israeli settlements being constructed in the West Bank. The winds of change are undoubtedly blowing in the direction of justice.

For the Islamic Nationalist, the Zionist, and the world the true question is Jerusalem. We submit that in relation to this city, made Holy, Sacred, and Beloved by Allah/Adonai, which both the Muslim world and the Jewish community honor United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, which reads:

Independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem, set forth in Part III of this Plan, shall come into existence in Palestine two months after the evacuation of the armed forces of the mandatory Power has been completed but in any case not later than 1 October 1948. The boundaries of the Arab State, the Jewish State, and the City of Jerusalem shall be as described in Parts II and III below. The period between the adoption by the General Assembly of its recommendation on the question of Palestine and the establishment of the independence of the Arab and Jewish States shall be a transitional period…Freedom of conscience and the free exercise of all forms of worship, subject only to the maintenance of public order and morals, shall be ensured to all…No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the inhabitants on the ground of race, religion, language or sex. All persons within the jurisdiction of the State shall be entitled to equal protection of the laws. The family law and personal status of the various minorities and their religious interests, including endowments, shall be respected…Except as may be required for the maintenance of public order and good government, no measure shall be taken to obstruct or interfere with the enterprise of religious or charitable bodies of all faiths or to discriminate against any representative or member of these bodies on the ground of his religion or nationality. The State shall ensure adequate primary and secondary education for the Arab and Jewish minority, respectively, in its own language and its cultural traditions. The right of each community to maintain its own schools for the education of its own members in its own language, while conforming to such educational requirements of a general nature as the State may impose, shall not be denied or impaired. Foreign educational establishments shall continue their activity on the basis of their existing rights. No restriction shall be imposed on the free use by any citizen of the State of any language in private intercourse, in commerce, in religion, in the Press or in publications of any kind, or at public meetings. (3) No expropriation of land owned by an Arab in the Jewish State (by a Jew in the Arab State) (4) shall be allowed except for public purposes. In all cases of expropriation, full compensation as fixed by the Supreme Court shall be said previous to dispossession…THE CITY OF JERUSALEM. The boundaries of the City of Jerusalem are as defined in the recommendations on the City of Jerusalem. (See Part III, section B, below)…The City of Jerusalem shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime and shall be administered by the United Nations. The Trusteeship Council shall be designated to discharge the responsibilities of the Administering Authority on behalf of the United Nations…The Governor shall study and submit for the consideration and decision of the Trusteeship Council a plan for the establishment of special town units consisting, respectively, of the Jewish and Arab sections of new Jerusalem. The new town units shall continue to form part the present municipality of Jerusalem…The City of Jerusalem shall be demilitarized; neutrality shall be declared and preserved, and no Para-military formations, exercises, or activities shall be permitted within its borders. Should the administration of the City of Jerusalem be seriously obstructed or prevented by the non-cooperation or interference of one or more sections of the population the Governor shall have authority to take such measures as may be necessary to restore the effective functioning of administration. To assist in the maintenance of internal law and order, especially for the protection of the Holy Places and religious buildings and sites in the city, the Governor shall organize a special police force of adequate strength, the members of which shall be recruited outside of Palestine. The Governor shall be empowered to direct such budgetary provision as may be necessary for the maintenance of this force.

In the land that strives for God, we submit that neither the Muslim nor the Jew honored the agreement that facilitated the State of Israel, and the independent Palestinian State that still has yet to manifest 60 years later. The Islamic Nationalist answer to the Jewish Question echoes from the past by which Maimonides and countless other Jews thrived. We, the Muslims, must realize, unashamedly, that we represent the highest form of life. We are a people who strive for God, and thus the word Israel is one that should summon love and adoration for us. Jews are not our enemy, for history-our history-has shown that we have a connection with these people; our spiritual cousins in a sense. Muhammad (SAAW) was a descendant of Isma’il (AS), who was the brother of Ishaq (AS), and both were the sons of the only man whom Allah/Adonai Termed His Friend in Ibrahim (AS). This is our Deen, and we must seek a solution to the Jewish Question that will manifest itself in that which supports and engenders life and Social Justice so as to be Pleasing to The Lord of the Worlds. This is the Muslim’s answer to the Jewish Question. It has been made painfully and deadly obvious that the Zionists has neither the temperament nor the capacity to strive with God, under the Covenant of Social Justice. The Muslim must once again show the world what the prophet Muhammad (SAAW) instructed his Ummah to perform, and that is to treat people, no matter their beliefs, as human beings. This is the answer to the Jewish Question, and Inshallah, we call the Ummah to uphold its Covenant with Allah (SWT) and follow the classical, Qur'anic exegesis of what being a true servant of God means.

I will never kill non-Muslims just for the sake of their being non-Muslims, for it is haram, un-Islamic, and contrary to the Deen of Islam as Commanded by The Lord of the Worlds and His final messenger (SAAW). I pray my brothers and sisters will follow. We have the right to fight the IDF, there can be no doubt in relation to this. Yet, we also must engage in the political work necessary to bring about the manifestation of UN Resolution 181 and work with anyone who is interested in positive results that lead to peace and life. Remember, the prophet Muhammad (SAAW) joked with the woman who ate the liver of one of his most beloved companions in Hamza. Remember he is our example, so follow him (SAAW) in relation to Israel/Palestine. 

Isma'il ibn Bilal

http://www.aaper.org/site/c.quIXL8MPJpE/b.6505245/k.6343/Sign_the_Petition_to_Urge_Obama_to_Support_UN_Action_Against_Israeli_Settlements/apps/ka/ct/contactus.asp?c=quIXL8MPJpE&b=6505245&en=klIQKaNXLcLTIbPLLcLULgN0JlIYJ9NXKkKZJoNaH

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39588769/ns/world_news

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgiTvvcP1GY

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[1] Martin Lings, Muhammad pg.1-2 (Genesis quotes are 21:17-20)