Javeed Ali
I read a story in today’s Washington Post which was captioned as “Where would a US Embassy in Jerusalem actually go? It had all the contours of US plot how they are going to establish their embassy in Jerusalem. It follows after the irresponsible and ridiculous statement of US President Donald Trump wherein he has expressed his unrealistic dream of making the Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He further said that US embassy will be relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Donald Trump is one of the arrogant, immoral and wicked presidents of America who has a deep hatred for Islam and Muslims. He intentionally or inadvertently displayed his utter abhorrence for Islam at number of times through his insane deeds even in his Presidential election campaign. Now being as President, he always formulates foreign policies which always hurt the sentiments of Muslims.
But this time he has done a silly mistake which has provided us a great opportunity to unite a divided Muslim Ummah. We should try to make the best use of this foolish act of Trump to aware Muslim Ummah about the evil intentions of America and Israel against Islam and Islamic countries.
Israel illegally occupied Palestinian territories in the 1967 war, including East Jerusalem in defiance of the international community, and wasted no time in declaring the city as its “eternal, undivided” capital.
The first Qibla, Muslims prayed towards, is Al-Aqsa mosque or “Bait-ul-Muqqadas” (Holy place) which is now in Jerusalem (Quds). Most of the prophets of Allah were appointed in this city. This is one of the most blessed places on earth.
Prophet Mohammad (SAW) with Ahlulbayt (A.S.) and noble companions (RA) used to say their prayers facing towards direction of Quds. Prophet Mohammad (SAWW) offered his prayers facing Bait-ul-Muqqadas for thirteen years when he was in Makkah then for seventeen months after emigration to Medina. The foundation for Bait-ul-Muqqadas has been laid by Prophets of Allah Almighty and they used to spend their sacred life there besides offered their prayers there also. Prophet Mohammad (SAWW) has said that Masjid-ul-Haram in Mecca is the first mosque that was constructed in the world and then Bait-ul-Muqqadas was the second mosque which was build 40 years later after the establishment of Masjid-ul-Haram. According to the Holy Quran and Islamic traditions, Al-Aqsa Mosque is the place from which Prophet Mohammad (SAWW) went on a spiritual night journey (Al Isra Val Me’raj) from Makkah to al-Aqsa. Prophet Mohammad (SAWW) tethered Buraq to the Western Wall and prayed at al-Aqsa Mosque and after he finished his prayers, the Angel Jibril (A.S.) traveled with him to heaven, where he met several other prophets and led them in prayer.
It is well established fact that Quds is an important part of Islam and its liberation from the Zionist Israel is paramount for Islam. Therefore, whole Muslim Ummah, keeping aside their sectarian differences, should unite under one umbrella and fight for the Palestine freedom struggle with greater energy. We should all converge under one platform and we should use all the resources available to us for the just cause of Palestine.
We should never forget that the Arab Resistance Movement Hezbollah, the only entity that has defeated Israel ever, in 2006 had made a blueprint to liberate Quds and Palestine from the clutches of Israel but it was impeded by Israel with active support of Arab sheikhdoms who orchestrated a civil war in Syria and turmoil in Iraq immediately after the Hezbollah victory.
Israel along with its masters America with full backing and support from Persian Gulf Arab countries pumped petrodollars into the unjust war, created ISIS (Daesh) and plethora of other terror groups to divert the attention from the core issue: Palestine.
Now as the ISIS menace have been wiped off from Iraq and Syria, Israeli Zionist forces have started direct confrontation by launching missile attack on Syria. This is being done to hamper the reconstruction and rebuilding process in Syria as they never want Syria to stay stable in order to keep their illegal occupation of Palestine intact.
The Israeli forces are killing, bombarding and torturing the innocent Palestinian people in a planned manner. Palestinians are struggling against the forced and illegal foreign occupations since last 6 to 7 decades and Israel is using every possible oppressive method to suppress the voice of helpless people.
Aftermath the fresh statement of Donald Trump, the leader of Hamas Resistance movement Ismail Haniyeh has called for a new uprising against Israel. “We should call for and we should work on launching an intifada in the face of the Zionist enemy,” Ismail Haniyeh said in a speech from Gaza on Thursday. A spokesperson for Hamas previously said on Wednesday night that Donald Trump had “opened the gates of hell” by taking the provocative step of calling the occupied city Israeli.
Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said that the Muslim world should stand against the US plot to declare Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s “capital,” stressing that Palestine will eventually be freed from occupation. Speaking on Wednesday on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Ayatollah Khamenei stated, “Palestine today tops the political issues facing the Islamic Ummah and everyone is duty-bound to make endeavors towards its freedom and salvage.” The Leader made the remarks in an address to state officials, ambassadors of Muslim countries and participants at the 31st International Islamic Unity Conference underway in Tehran. Ayatollah Khamenei said that the enemies’ utterence to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of the Israeli regime stems from their “incompetence and despair.” “The Muslim world would undoubtedly stand against this conspiracy and the Zionists will be dealt a heavy blow with this move and dear Palestine will at last be liberated without doubt,” he added.
Traditional US allies like Saudi Arabia are among a growing chorus condemning President Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised US President Donald Trump‘s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying it would throw this region into “a ring of fire”.
I urge all the factions concerning Palestinian issue to unite quickly in order to have the strategy to confront the occupation of Palestine and the US administration policies inside the Palestinian territories. I request all the Muslim clerics of all sects to stop bickering on one another. We should ponder that our ultimate enemies are America and Israel and we should use our energy and resources against them not against our fellow Muslims. Stop using pulpits to spread venom against each other. These pulpits are not for dividing us on trivial issues but to unite as we Shias and Sunnis are two arms (Bazoo) of Islam. We should use the religious centres for Wahdat (unity) which was the fundamental ambition of all the prophets [Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse No. 213]
I want to conclude with the slogan, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free”.
-The author is a freelance writer and can be reached at javeedaliofkashmir@gmail.com
