Perplexing questions

A group claiming to be al-Qaida yesterday calling itself Al-Qaida in Palestine, warned of assasinations and more killings. It said its next attack in Israel would be "more destructive" and would use "trucks full of explosives."

Folks, we consistently hear Muslims provoke, invoke, demand, command, preach and pray that Israel "should not exist", "will not exist", "never existed", "does not exist", "can't exist". Ok, so let's say Israel doesn't exist. In an imaginary scenario, Israel is not there, there are no Jews there, it is gone. What was once Israel, is now eliminated.

Let's explore what the non-existence of Israel provides to the Muslim base. What does this Israel, this piece of land and its Jewish inhabitants, represent to Muslims that Muslims simply cannot tolerate? We have all heard the propaganda that Israel is a virus, Israel is a cancer, yes, we have heard all of that, but we have not heard what the actual threat is that Israel represents to Muslims.

A cause to rule out is Jews don't proselytize. They don't ask others to convert to Judaism. In and of itself the existence of Judaism would eliminate why Muslims feel threatened. If a Muslim's faith in his god is unwavering, there should be no logical basis to feel threatened.

Ok, so the source of Muslim Israelphobia is not faith based. Maybe the source of Muslim Israelphobia is racism. But since Jews come in every color and race, we have to reject attempts to legitimize political differences that Muslims have with Israel based on race. Racism refers only to racial issues, not to views on culture, religion, or ideology.

So maybe it's territory. In this imaginary scenario of a Middle East without an Israel, Muslims would have more territory. The fabricated palestinian Muslims would occupy what once was Israel.

Perhaps this is all about land. Muslim Israelphobia is just a case for a land grab. In political economics, lots of land is a good thing. The more land owned by Muslims allows for the spread of more Muslim supremacy. But how can that be true?

According to the Koran, no person, people or religious community can claim a permanent right of possession over a certain territory, since the earth belongs exclusively to God, Who is free to entrust sovereign right to everyone He likes and for as long as He likes:

Say: O God, King of the kingdom, Thou givest the kingdom to whom Thou pleasest, and Thou strippest off the kingdom from whom Thou pleasest. Thou endurest with honor whom Thou pleasest, and Thou bringest low whom Thou pleasest. All the best is in Thy hand. Verily, Thou hast power over all things. (Koran, Sura 3:26, "The Imrans")

From this verse one can filter a basic principle of the monotheistic philosophy of Judaism and Christianity, both which preceded Islam: God can control relationships between people and countries. Sometimes God gives a land to a people, and sometime He takes land back and gives it to another people.

Maybe Muslims hate Jews simply because Muslims politically identify with others who look, act and behave like Muslims. It's hard to ignore the parts of the Koran which asks Muslims to kill or abduct all those who refuse to become members of their belief. This is the precise and official text given by Mohammed:

"So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." (Koran, surat IX, 5)

But then it's just too difficult to ignore the racism one finds in the Koran. Islam officially encourages racism and discrimination which is contrary to Human Rights and democratic laws:

"O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people." (Koran, surat V, 51)

As Shaykh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi writes, "The idea of Islam as a factor that prevents Arabs from recognizing any sovereign right of Jews over Palestine is quite recent and can by no means be found in Islamic classical sources. To see anti-Zionism as a direct consequence of Islam is a form of explicit misunderstanding which implies the transformation of Islam from a religion into a secularized ideology."

So it does come down to ideology. Palazzi says the most common argument against Islamic acknowledgement of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem is that, since al-Quds is a holy place for Muslims, they cannot accept its being ruled by non-Muslims, because such acceptance would be a betrayal of Islam.

Yet, Muslims seek to convey to non-Muslims that Islam is a tolerant religion. Why then are many of the world's imans also the most hostile toward non-Muslims? Why are the Friday night sermons of Imams full of Jew-bashing?

Professor Moshe Sharon writes "There is no Fundamental Islam. Fundamentalism is a word that came from the heart of the Christian religion. It means faith that goes by the word of the Bible. Fundamental Christianity, or going with the Bible, does not mean going around and killing people. There is no fundamental Islam. There is only Islam full stop. The question is how the Koran is interpreted."

Muslim Israelphobia is clearly a matter of how the Koran is interpreted. The more one studies the Koran, the more clear the idea becomes that by removing Israel, the whole Middle East world would become a Moslem world. And moreso, that the whole world would be subdued under the rule of Islam. Professor Sharon teaches that

"The Koran sees the world as divided into two - one part which has come under Islamic rule and one part which is supposed to come under Islamic rule in the future. There is a division of the world which is very clear. Every single person who starts studying Islam knows it. The world is described as Dar al-Islam (the house of Islam) - that's the place where Islam rules - and the other part which is called Dar al-Harb - the house of war. Not the "house of non-Muslims," but the "house of war." It is this house of war which has to be, at the end of time, conquered. The world will continue to be in the house of war until it comes under Islamic rule. This is the norm. Why? Because Allah says it's so in the Koran. God has sent Mohammed with the true religion in order that the truth will overcome all other religions."

But folks, the most dificult content to digest regarding Muslim hatred of Israel is the way in which it is to be fulfilled. The Koran teaches Muslims to give their lives in exchange for assurances of paradise. Suicide bombings is one example. Suicide bombings are condoned by major authoritative Muslim voices. Suicide bombings are absolutley unacceptable by Judaism and Christianity. The accounts of Muhammad's actions and personal statements (hadith) elaborate on the Koran, providing specific dictations regarding treaties, pay, booty, prisoners, tactics, and much else. During his years in power, Mohammed engaged in an average of nine military campaigns a year, or one every five to six weeks. Conquering and humiliating non-Muslims was a main feature of the Mohammed and his jihad.

We can say for sure that Islam is not at all like Judaism and Christianity.
Evidently there is more than one reason why Muslims share such pronounced Israelphobia. And no, the Koranic texts were not taken out of context. The Koranic quotes aforementioned were made in context.

Perhaps the answer is best described here:

"Jerusalem is a symbol for every Muslim in the world. The claim of the Jews to the right over it is false, and we recognize nothing but an entirely Islamic Jerusalem under Islamic supervision..."
--- PA Mufti Ikrama Sabri, Al-Bilad, July 31, 1997

Although the Koran never mentions Jerusalem once, and regardless that the Torah mentions Jerusalem over 600 times, these will be just more facts relegated to the back alley of Muslim ignorance and blood libel, to be used as a religious rationale for Muslim imperialism.