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Mufti of Jerusalem: Temple Mount ‘is Islamic and Only for Muslims’

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Imagine the outcry if a non-Muslim leader said Muslims were not welcome at the site of an ancient Muslim holy place. But no one will take any particular notice of this. On Wednesday, the Jerusalem Post reported that “the Palestinian Authority Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, on Tuesday warned of attempts by Jewish groups to establish a presence on the Temple Mount.” Hussein said: “We affirm, time and again, that the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque, with its entire area of 144 dunams [144,000 sq.m.], is Islamic and only for Muslims. There is no place for non-Muslims in any way in this mosque, whether through schools, churches or other places of worship.”

And the world remained silent, fearing charges of “Islamophobia.”

This is not the first time that a “Palestinian” official has said something like this. In fact, many have declared that no Jews will be welcome in a Palestinian state at all, not on the Temple Mount and not anywhere else. In November 2007, Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, the Dean of Al-Quds University, appeared on Al Jazeera and said: “The Israelis now living in the territories of the future Palestinian state should return to living within the borders of the state of Israel. No Jew in the world, now or in the future, as a result of this document, will have the right to return, to live, or to demand to live in Hebron, in East Jerusalem, or anywhere in the Palestinian state.”

Then in the spring of 2013, Sheik Hammam Saeed, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, appeared on Al-Aqsa TV and said : “We must not forget the enemy, which planted the Jews in our land. It is time we demanded that these enemies and especially Britain, be held accountable. It is time that we held these true criminals accountable.” The idea that the British must be held accountable for having “planted the Jews” in Arab land is false in several ways, but the fact that Saeed said it indicated that he considered the Jews, despite the fact that they have had an unbroken presence in that land for over 2,000 years, are a foreign presence that must be removed.

Saeed complains that “the slogan of the present stage is the seeking of a durable peace. The region’s rulers are seeking a durable peace. Even those rulers of Palestine are seeking a durable peace.” This bothers him because, he says, “a durable peace” means that “Palestine does not belong to us, that Palestine does not belong to its Islamic nation or its people.”Saeed asked rhetorically: “What is the ruling of Islamic law against such a person? This is heresy, according to Islamic law, because Allah says that Palestine belongs to the Islamic nation, while they say that Palestine belongs to the Jews. Anyone who says that Palestine belongs to the Jews has no place in the religion of Allah, and no room in this creed. This is an issue of heresy and belief.”

And Jews, in Saeed’s view, had no place, no room in Palestine: “There is only one case in which negotiations are possible. It is like when Saladin brought 20 Crusader kings, and put them to death, cleansing Palestine and leaving no trace of them in the pure land of Palestine. This is what we say to the Jews: We will not accept you on the land of Palestine.”

Then Saeed began issuing threats: “I say to you, oh Jews: The time of your reckoning has come. By Allah, we will hold you accountable for every drop of blood you have spilled, for every inch of land you attacked, and for every mosque-goer whose entry into the Al-Aqsa Mosque you have prevented. Woe betide you, oh Jews, do you realize that this is mentioned in the Koran and the hadith? The entire history of the nation points today toward Palestine.”

Then the crowd began to chant “Allahu akbar. Palestine is the land of our forefathers. It is the graveyard of the Jews.”

Shortly after that, in July 2013, according to Reuters, “Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas laid out his vision…for the final status of Israeli-Palestinian relations.” His final solution, as it were.

“In a final resolution,” Abbas said, “we would not see the presence of a single Israeli – civilian or soldier – on our lands. An international, multinational presence like in Sinai, Lebanon and Syria – we are with that,” he added, but the Palestinians state would be Judenrein.

Next to Saeed and Abbas, Hussein looks positively moderate. Expect the foreign policy establishment to shower a few billion dollars upon him any day now.

Article posted with permission from Robert Spencer


The Washington Standard

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