Written by Rafiq Ali.
The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) is reported to have said that “He who loves Allah should love me and he who loves me should love my Sahabah (Companions) and he who loves my Companions should love the Quran and he who loves the Quran should love the Masajid (Mosques)…” (Al-Qurtubi fi Tafsirihi wa Ibn Adi fi al-Kamil li al-Du’afa).
Consider, for a moment, a person or object that you love: your beloved child, your house which you have saved and saved to purchase and personalise, a photo which captures treasured memories. Consider now the emotions that would flow through your heart – and I pray that you do not find yourself in this position – if you were to find these items abused, vandalised and burnt.
If you are able to conjure up these hypothetical emotions, then know that Muslims across the globe are feeling these emotions of hurt and outrage at the actions of Israeli settlers. These settlers are not content on violating international law through the construction of a growing number of settlements on Palestinian land. They are not content with their abuse of Palestinian citizens. They have now gone further in articulating their hatred towards Muslims through the desecration of the houses of Allah and attacks on those areas that house the graves of our beloved Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them).
Israeli settlers targeted the 12th Century Nebi Akasha Masjid in Jerusalem. Since Israel’s war of 1948, Muslims have been prevented from using it as a masjid and, more recently, Israeli authorities have taken over the masjid and converted it into a municipal storage facility. This was a calculated move; the settlers were clearly aware of the significance of the Nebi Akasha Masjid. Built in the 12th century, the masjid is named after the sahabi Akasha Bin Mohsin (may Allah be pleased with him) as it was built on the site of his grave. Inside the masjid, there are three graves, believed to be those of some of Salahuddin’s commanders who were martyred while regaining Jerusalem in 1187.
Settlers attacked the Nebi Akasha Masjid on Wednesday morning. They desecrated it with graffiti defaming Islam and Arabs, including insults aimed at our beloved Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam). The settlers then attempted to set the masjid ablaze.
The words “price tag” were also sprayed on the walls, prompting commentators to link the desecration of the masjid to a wave of attacks by Jewish settlers and right-wing extremists in response to what they see as the Israeli government’s attempt to restrict settlement-building.
This attack on the house of Allah resonates deeply with Muslims. It is not, and cannot be seen, as a one off attack on what is dear to Muslims. Rather it fits into the long and relentless pattern of attacks by settlers, and others holding extremist views, against people of other faith in Israel. For example, the number of attacks on the blessed Masjid Al-Aqsa alone now number over 100. The Zionist movement is not discreet in regards to its plans to build a temple at the site of Masjid Al-Aqsa and these attacks do not go unnoticed.
This recent violent and insulting attack has taken place under the watch of Netanyahu’s Likud party. Its significance has caused voices in the UN to speak up. France seems to have continued its flow of more transparent communication in respect to Israel, with a joint statement from France, Germany, Britain and Portugal stating they were “dismayed by these wholly negative developments” and calling on the Israeli government to halt attacks on mosques and Palestinians by extremist settlers. “We condemn the disturbing escalation of violence by settlers, including the burning of the Nebi Akasha mosque in west Jerusalem and the Burqa mosque in the West Bank. It is clear that these deliberately provocative attacks on places of worship were designed to aggravate tensions.”
The voices from within the UN have encouraged Netanyahu to offer some hollow words of future change. He labelled the attack as “intolerable” and instructed security forces to “act aggressively” against those responsible.
Netanyahu’s words add insult to injury and bring to mind the words of the French Prime Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, who described Netanyahu to Obama as “a liar”. Does Netanyahu really believe that the world is unable to differentiate between his hollow words and his policy priorities?
Those who have been following events in Israel will be acutely aware of the systematic changes Netanyahu has been enacting; changes that will worry any individual who has hopes for peace or real democracy in Israel. Legislative moves by the Israeli government in this direction include attempts to block foreign funding for dovish non-profit groups, lowering the threshold for politicians to file libel suits against the media and, presumably to ensure legal decisions go in the “right” direction, a shift of control of Supreme Court appointments from an independent panel to parliament. Israeli citizens, fearing for their own future and the future of generations to come, have come onto the streets to protest against these changes. Protesters clashed with police on Tuesday evening in front of the headquarters of the ruling Likud party, blocking King George Street in the centre of the city. Police responded to the protesters with pepper spray. The protesters had marched from a demonstration of about 2,000 people held earlier in the evening at the square of the Habima Theater.
The international community, however, continues with its deafening silence. One is left dumbstruck when contrasting these legislative changes being pushed through by Netanyahu, despite the complaints of Israelis, to those changes being simultaneously forced down the throats of the Arab world as part of an international cry for “real democracy”.
This international silence persists despite a growing voice of concern within Israel. Danny Zaken, the head of the Israeli journalists’ association, recently commented on the “wave of legislation and other measures against a free press in Israel that very much worries anyone who cares about Israeli democracy”. This followed the closure of All for Peace, an Israeli-Palestinian radio station, at the command of Netanyahu’s Likud party. The radio station seems to have upset the Israeli government through its attempt to use the media to play a positive role in resolving the conflict. It currently reaches over 33,000 listeners.
The reasons put forward by the Israeli government for closing down the radio station seem somewhat confused. Danny Danon, a member of Likud, said the radio station was shut down following his claim that it “incited” against Israel. Danon described the station as a “radical leftist” institution that “must not be allowed to broadcast to the broader public”. Israel’s communication ministry, headed by a Likud cabinet minister, said in a statement that the station’s Hebrew-language broadcasts inside Israel were “economically damaging local radio franchisees.” It did not mention the issue of incitement.
The anxiety against the right-wing views of Netanyahu are also causing senior politicians to speak up. Netanyahu’s recent support of a ban on the use of loudspeakers in masajid across Israel was met with some common sense questions by deputy prime minister, Dan Meridor, who said there was no need for such a law and that it would only escalate tensions.
Michael Eitan, minister for the improvement of government services, described the ban as a pretext for those wishing to legislate against Muslims. The ban was proposed by MK Anastassia Michaeli. In response to her, Eitan said “If the desire was to combat sound, then a law against sound in all areas should be introduced, but the MK proposing the bill wants to combat religion. I met with her and she tried selling it to me as an environmental law. I said to her, ‘Look me in the eyes. You are not interested in the environment, but in Islam.’”
Nentanyahu’s glaring hypocrisy is further demonstrated through worry statistics on death. A 10-year study showed that a disproportionate number of non-Jewish citizens of Israel are killed in the country’s traffic accidents. A neglect of road infrastructure in non-Jewish areas over a prolonged period of time is now resulting in the unnecessary loss of life. The official State Controller’s report showed that while the number of Jews killed in traffic accidents dropped by 26% between 2006-2010, for non-Jews it rose by 18% during the same period of time. Perhaps the controllers of purse strings in Israel believe the cost saving is worth the loss of non-Jewish life.
Commentators are also increasingly voicing their concern at the behaviour and influence of the ultra-Orthodox political parties in Israel. Recently, Foreign Affairs commented on Israel’s bunker mentality demonstrating how these extremist groups have leveraged Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to transform Israeli politics and move the country to becoming an “increasingly cynical, despondent, and illiberal place”.
Divisions between the left and right have been exploited by the ultra-Orthodox parties, who are instrumental in driving forward the expanding settlement agenda, in order to move themselves into the position of “kingmakers” and win preferential treatment from ruling parties such as economic subsidies for their constituents. This real threat must be addressed if politics in Israel is to move in a positive direction that protects all of its citizens regardless of religion, and away from the current position of supporting extremist groups that are known to terrorise Muslim citizens.
International support for citizens being abused by their governments has rung loud and clear in the context of the Arab Springs. As people demonstrated against the draconian measures and violence perpetrated against them, directly or through groups loyal to the regime, countries across the globe vocalised their support for the people on the streets, sometimes evening sending in their own troops to help them. Where is the international support for the citizens of Israel?
One practical step we can take in response to the emerging situation in Israel is to voice our concerns, for both Muslim and non-Muslim Israelis, to our local MPs. As Israel steps up its abuse of Muslims and their heritage sites, we should not stay silent. As Netanyahu pushes forward legislative changes designed to transfer power from the people to the draconian state, we should be clear in our opposition to his plans. Though the voices of the international community are weak for fear of speaking out against Israel, our voices should continue to be heard, loud and clear.
May Allah give us the ability to truly feel the pain and hurt that should be entering our hearts as we hear of the abuse of our fellow Muslims and the houses of Allah. We ultimately turn to Him for help as He is the best of Helpers.