Against the backdrop of the normalization agreements signed recently by the UAE and Bahrain with Israel, Islamist Malaysian politician Abdul Hadi Awang, who is the deputy chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), published on the organization's website an antisemitic article against the agreements. The article quotes Quranic verses and Islamic traditions presenting the Jews as treacherous plotters who are hostile to Islam and cannot be trusted to honor treaties.
In reply to Muslim scholars in the Gulf who expressed support for the normalization agreements on the grounds that the Prophet Muhammad reconciled with the Jews, Awang states that the Prophet actually called to expel the Jews from the city of Medina by force due to their treacherous character and in compliance with the directives of the Quran. He added that, when the Muslims conquered Palestine in the seventh century, the Covenant of 'Umar was applied to the Jews there because of they were "in a wretched state, just like their infidel forefathers."
Awang stated further that normalization with Israel is an act of humiliation and capitulation that legitimizes its crimes against the Palestinians and constitutes recognition of its right to exist in Palestine. Given that the founding of Israel is one of the signs of Judgement Day and of the imminent demise of the Jews, he says, "any country that shelters behind Israel will [ultimately] be buried under its ruins."
Abdul Hadi Awang (Source: Ikhwanonline.com)
The following are translated excerpts from his article:[1]
"These are the words of Allah, the most reliable of speakers: 'You will surely find that those most hostile toward the believers are the Jews and the polytheists' [Quran 5:82]. Accordingly, it was the Jews and their Zionist parties that founded the state of Israel, which has violated every international law… This state was founded to realize the cursed Balfour Declaration, in the wake of the cursed Sykes-Picot agreement, in an unjust and tyrannical manner, for the lands were stolen from their owners [and handed over] to those who did not own them. Later they tried to turn it into a [normal] state, that is, to normalize the [Jewish] nation that had incurred Allah's wrath by rejecting His verses, unlawfully killing prophets and killing those who enjoined it to be just. For this reason Allah told them that they would [suffer] torment in this world and in the world to come…
"The most puzzling thing is that Arab countries, whose leaders speak the language of the Quran, have entered the circle of normalization, based on pretexts that were invented by the countries that defend Israel with the aim of causing [the Arabs] to become allies of Israel in the face of every move against it… We saw the normalizing countries hold a conference with [Jared] Kushner as a central [participant], [Kushner] who is an ally of Israel and the envoy and son-in-law of the American President, who now seeking [a second term in office]. It is said that more countries mean to join them, in order to found a new NATO [organization], ostensibly with the aim of fighting terror…
"Then [these Arab countries] appointed clerics to issue fatwas regarding the religious necessity of normalization [with Israel]. They instructed [mosque] imams to follow the [leaders'] orders, rather than Allah's directives, and [ordered] parrot-like preachers to explain to the public that normalization follows from the path of the Prophet, who reconciled with the Jews in Medina, as if that this is the whole story. [They instructed the preachers] not to mention that the Jews were forcibly expelled from the Muslim territories ruled by the Prophet, nor the period of the Righteous Caliphs [who succeeded him], during which [the Jews] hatched their dangerous plots. [The Quran] makes specific pronouncements regarding the character of the Zionist Jews, which will never change: 'And the Jews say, "The hand of Allah is chained." Chained are their hands, and cursed are they for what they say. Rather, both His hands are extended; He spends however He wills. And that which has been revealed to you from your Lord will surely increase many of them in transgression and disbelief. And We have cast among them animosity and hatred until the Day of Resurrection. Every time they kindled the fire of war [against you], Allah extinguished it. And they strive throughout the land [causing] corruption, and Allah does not like corrupters' [Quran 5:64].
"The Jews were expelled from Medina and its environs in the time of the Prophet Muhammad, in accordance with what is said [in the Quran] and in compliance with Allah's directive, after they violated treaties and acted against Islam and its Prophet. They were scattered across the continents of the world. In [our] era, they were placed in Palestine in order to solve the problem of all the countries in which they lived and which they corrupted. In order to solve its internal problem, each of these countries was in favor of sending them to any [other] country [willing to] have them. They expelled the Zionists from [their] countries and placed them in our holy land, based on [the Jews'] ancient history. [But the Jews] did not merit this, for the Land of the Prophets [i.e., Palestine] can only be inherited by honest people, whereas [the Jews] disobeyed the Prophets, rejected the Quran and violated the covenant of Allah and the Prophets.
"They wandered in the desert for 40 years because they disobeyed Moses and Aaron and refused the call to wage jihad for the sake of Allah in order to enter Palestine. They eventually entered it after repenting, but were exiled again after they disbelieved, disobeyed Allah and were corrupt. This was a fulfillment of Allah's promise… After Islam came to Palestine, the terms of the Covenant of 'Umar were set out, because [the Jews of Palestine] were in a wretched state, just like their infidel forefathers…[2] The terms [of this covenant] held until the [Ottoman] Empire was toppled by the treasonous Great Arab Revolt,[3] the implementation of the Sykes-Picot partition [plan], the founding of the countries of the region under the patronage of the colonialist allies, and the implementation of the treasonous Balfour [Declaration on] the founding of the Zionist state of Israel as a dangerous plague-like entity in the region. Normalizing relations with this entity is unacceptable, for it is a violation of the terms of the [Covenant of] 'Umar and is another act of treason.
"Everyone knows that the Zionist Israeli entity has committed countless crimes against the Palestinians, which reach the level of crimes against humanity. Hence, normalization is tantamount to accepting these crimes as normal [behavior] that enables treating [Israel] as blameless. Normalization with the Zionist entity means forming official and non-official ties with it, on the political, economic, cultural, scientific and intelligence levels. Normalization means recognizing its right [to exist] on the Arab soil of Palestine, and to build settlements, expel the Palestinians and destroy their villages and cities. Normalization therefore means capitulating and accepting humiliation and disgrace in the worst possible way, and relinquishing honor and rights… Normalization is nothing but a cunning policy of plotting against Islam and its blessed awakening. It is a realization of the planned colonialist policy that serves only the security of Israel …
"Given that the establishment of the Zionist state of Israel is one of the major signs of Judgement Day and of the [imminent] demise of the Jews, any country that shelters behind this state will [ultimately] be buried under its ruins…"
[1] Iumsonline.org, September 29, 2020.
[2] According to Muslim tradition, the Covenant of 'Umar is an agreement signed by the Second Caliph 'Umar bin Al-Khattab and Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem following Jerusalem's surrender to the Muslims in 638 CE. The covenant sets out the relationship between the Muslim regime and its non-Muslim subjects in Jerusalem, who are considered dhimmis, that is, residents under the protection of the ruling regime.
[3] An uprising led by Hussein bin 'Ali, Sharif of Mecca, against the 'Ottoman Empire during World War I in attempt to aid Britain in the war. Following the war the British appointed Hussein's sons as kings in Mandatory Syria, Jordan and Iraq.
