By Rashid Samnakay, New Age Islam
28 January 2017
Around the Mediterranean coast almost all countries and those of the Middle East are supposed to be Semitic people speaking Arabic and other Semitic languages, such as Hebrew language that the Jews consider as their religious and national language, and therefore they all are counted as Semitic people.
For the Muslim nation as a whole, which considers Saudi Arabia, the cradle of Islam and the birth place of Messenger Muhammad, a samite, cannot by any stretch of imagination be branded as anti-Semitic. That would be thoroughly blasphemous. Therefore to say that Muslims, as followers of the faith Islam are anti-Semitic is compounding the felony since they, just as the Jews claim to be of the “nation of Ibrahim” because they follow the faith established by Aba Abraham, long before Moses and Muhammad were born.
Today anti-Semitism is exclusively taken as “hating the Jews”. In Europe, both the West and the East, which is not Semitic, hatred of Jews and persecution is well-documented history and well established practice of anti-Semitism there; culminating in the holocaust of six million Jews. The word holocaust is therefore exclusively applied today to the elimination policy of Jews in Germany, a European country and not a North African, Middle Eastern country, or Palestine. The later, country which gave the Jews sanctuary since Moses time!
Let us commemorate today, along with the Jews, the victims of that dreadful event called the holocaust, perpetrated in Europe!
The Christian Church in general and Catholic Church in particular have been scathing of Jews on religious ground and critical of its Zionist manifestation, till very recently. It was in our lifetime that Pope John Paul II who should be thanked for reversing the well-established Jew-hating culture of Europe.
There were very many people on both sides of the argument-fence, supporting or condemning the Jews/Zionists. But their actions, since the formation of the State of Israel are a bone of contention. There are even famous people who deny the holocaust, unbelievable as it may seem!
Such condemnation has in some quarters taken the form of hatred of Jews and can be considered as anti-Semitic but to generalise any legitimate criticism of Israel, its creators, its supporters as anti-Semitisms, is brattish, a sign of immaturity and a complex of insecurity on the part of Jews.
Zionism is considered by many as apartheid of the old South African kind practiced under the banner of Christianity, racism and colonialism of the worst kind and compared to conquistadors of South America. Expulsion of Palestinians and violence against them has become the hallmark of Zionist Israel. Not surprisingly the Reformed Jews were against the “return” to Palestine on religious pretext.
The Palestinians people as major stake holders were not even consulted and were not included in the negotiation process to grant their land to the Jews. Goodly sounding promises by the powers to be were made and humanitarian pledges given in political statement which were clearly not meant to be honoured and were not ever honoured.
Israel, the Jewish/Zionist State’s insecurity stems from its callous, unthankful and immoral actions of biting the hands that had nourished them with mana from heaven from the time of Moses who sought refuge with his few followers in Palestine, to escape from the brutalities of Pharaoh.
Thus Palestinian nation comprises of many different people including Jews; and Moses followers who settled there later. Palestine was never a Tera nullius as Zionist would have us believe. So it has never been an exclusive Jewish land to claim as its own. They were settled there under some given conditions – a “covenant” with God which they had broken number of times, hence lost the land as many times.
Recently, after the WWII, in sympathy for the Jews for having suffered persecution at their hands the Europeans felt pangs of conscience and supported the idea of giving the Jews land of their own. Perhaps also expecting as a by-product a solution in it to solve the problems they were causing in their countries. To that effect large piece of land was “offered to them in Uganda or Argentina” as if it was Tera nullius, said historian Professor Ali Mazrui of East Africa; which offer the Jews rejected. They wanted the holy land promised by God in spite of the fact God had bestowed it upon them number of times before and finally withdrew His favour on account of them having broken the “covenant” as many times. God is merciful but He too has His limit for He has to be fair and just!
The persecution of Palestinians by the Israelis is therefore all the more strange. Having been driven from one country to another over centuries, of all the people they should be more understanding of what it means to drive people from their home and hearth. Then also they are the people of the Book and no Book advocates such acts in its true essence. Thankfulness is a virtue. The insecurity of the Zionists is therefore resultant self- generated.
The Palestinians, particularly the land holders and feudal lords are also to be blamed. They sold their lands to the Zionists at asking prices and are enjoying themselves in foreign lands. Now the landless Palestinians are suffering the consequences of the greed, corruption and treachery of the elite. In addition to that the Palestinians are divided amongst themselves and divided people can never succeed to achieve a common goal.
There are other people and foreign nations too involved in maintaining the status quo for their vested interest. It seems that is the politics of the powers on earth.
Criticism of Zionist Israel is valid on many fronts, but to say that this criticism is anti-Semitism on the part of Muslims; as was the case with Catholic Church till recently, is naïve. Particularly in the context of Muslims in general, for they consider the Jews as their brethren in Faith. But the Israelis have adopted the stance that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic and immediately draw out that card, or hoist the holocaust flag!
The holocaust did occur; whether six million or six matters not. One does not have to wait for the Jews to displace and kill six million Palestinians for the world to accept it as holocaust. Even one such life taken is genocide of a nation and that is the justification for criticism, irrespective of who perpetrates the crime; Muslims, Semites and non-Semites. Man’s inhumanity to man recognises no boundaries and has not stopped from time immemorial!
Palestine could be and should be the multi-faith Capital State of the so called people of the Book, brethren in faith. If only Moses or Muhammad would reappear to sort this out it would be better for humanity as a whole. But alas neither of them is expected to do so and it is too late and beyond the ken of the likes of Aba Abraham!
The solution must lie in the sincerity of good intentions of those who masquerade as policeman and peace-keepers in the world, to really want to bring Peace on earth. On the contrary they have very obvious agendas of keeping the pot boiling so as never to let the WAR industry go bankrupt. It is bad economics as it causes huge unemployment at home!
While that policy is being implemented, it is self-evident truth that the Palestinians are being slowly but surely annihilated. The recent UN resolution against Israel is evidence of that. The US very kindly did not cast its veto to block it, but as a cowardly gesture abstained from voting for the resolution supported by rest of the world! How strange it is that when others say similar things, it is fair criticism but when a Muslim points it out, it is anti-Semitism and then inevitably other skeletons fall out of the closet.
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A regular contributor to New Age Islam, Rashid Samnakay is a (Retd.) Engineer
9:38 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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