On December 6 2017, US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish State of Israel. This, of course, caused an uproar of protest by Muslims all around the world. This is a brief account of what you need to know about Palestine, Jerusalem, Israel, and Zionism.
I am not writing this in defense of Palestine as a Muslim but rather as a human being and you have to read with all objectivity too.
WHAT IS PALESTINE?
Palestine is a sovereign Muslim state in the Middle East. It is the birthplace of Jesus and even the place where many of the Biblical events occurred as most of the prophets were sent to the people of Israel thus earning it a nickname as the Holy Land. It is the area that is also mentioned as Canaan where Jacob lived before he and his family moved to Egypt under the leadership of Joseph. This is where they returned to after the Exodus when Moses lead them out of Egypt.
The area is also known as the Promised Land when Allah made a covenant with Abraham.
The traditional capital of Palestine is Jerusalem, the birthplace of Jesus.
In the 7th century, Muslims conquered Palestine and was made a Muslim province under the Caliph throughout history except for some time when was briefly occupied by the crusaders.
Palestinians are of Arab descent in contrast to the Israelites who claim another ethnic identity for themselves as Jewish.
In 1947, the United Nations adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. After this, the State of Israel is founded on May 14, 1948.
Before 1947, Palestine is an area of religious tolerance under the Muslim majority where Christians and some Jews which were only 3% of the population live.
WHAT IS JERUSALEM?
Jerusalem is the state capital of Palestine. It is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is considered holy by Muslims, Christians, and Jews. It remains on neutral grounds because of this except for some incursions done by the Israeli Armed Forces in their crackdowns against the Muslims. President Donald Trump’s announcement hurts the peace in the city as it only shows that it is in total cooperation with Israel in its crime against humanity.
WHAT IS ISRAEL?
Israel is a nation that is now sharing territory with the state of Palestine in Palestinian lands. Since 1948 Israel’s occupation became wider and wider until the Palestinians are pushed into small evacuation areas and tent cities making some of the Palestinians the longest lasting refugees in the world as some families have been refugees for over 70 years now.
After World War 2, the Jews, with the backing of the United Kingdom occupied Palestine on claims of ancestral domain. Since 1917, after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and the end of World War 1, Palestine is under the control of Britain which supported the creation of the Jewish state. Britain promised a Jewish homeland as laid out in the Balfour declaration in 1917 without consulting the Palestinians in 1946.
The establishment of a Jewish state developed more support during the supposed Nazi genocide of the Jews during World War 2 and the terrorist attacks of Israelis against Britain especially the attack on King David Hotel.
Since the establishment of the Jewish state, forced evictions and human rights abuses of Israel against the Palestinians began forcing the Palestinians to retaliate.
ZIONISM
Zionism is the Jewish movement that aims to create a Jewish state. In 1897, at the First World Zionist Congress held in Switzerland, it has been announced that a Jewish State should be established in Palestine.
Israel’s claim on occupying Palestine is based upon two reasons. One of which is they are the Children of God and that Palestine or the Holy Land is the Promised Land or ancestral domain for them quoting Allah’s promise to Abraham as authority. But this claim is very far from the truth.
The claim of an ancestral domain is false. If you make sum total, since 1000 BC upon the conquest of Canaan and the occupation of the Israelites of Palestine until today. The Jews stayed there for less than 1000 years, while the Muslims have been staying there for 1437 years. This fact makes the Arab Palestinians more worthy of the lands of Israel. We also need to mention that many of the Palestinians are in fact from Jewish ancestors who remained in Palestine who converted to Islam.
The Jews never spent much time in Palestine or the area known to others as Israel. Babylonian captivity and their diaspora (dispersion) 2000 years ago under the Roman Empire meant that was no significant Jewish settlement in Palestine before 1947.
As for their being the Children of God, we are all the children of God. And being children of God does not permit one to commit human rights violations.
And what about the Promised Land? The Promised Land is meant for the believers. The Jews have already abandoned God so many times. When they worshipped the cow during the time of Moses, when they killed Zakariah and John the Baptist, when they crucified Jesus Christ and many others.
CONCLUSION
Is the international recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital good or bad? Yes. Donald Trump or anyone could not simply give away land that is not theirs or decide upon the fate of others to be at the mercy of people who are known for their human rights abuses such as the ILLEGAL ZIONIST JEWISH STATE in Palestine.
Before I became a Muslim, the Israel-Palestine conflict is something that is already clear to me – Palestine is for the Palestinians. As for the Jews, they can always go back to whichever European country they came from when they abandoned the Promised Land.
If you want to learn more about Islam watch Mensahe TV via Cignal Channel 184. Have a nice day.
