“ZIONIST IMAM”
“Zionist Imam,” Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdul Karim al-Issa, addresses the Hajj in Mecca, sparking hopes for peace between Israelis and Arabs. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s choice of cleric to address important Muslim gathering seen as rebuttal of teachings that Islam can never accept Israel.
Israel Today Israel was abuzz over the weekend after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman tapped a man known in the Middle East as the “Zionist imam” to address the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. Could this move portend normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia? Has Islam’s rejection of the Jewish state come to an end?
Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel is today seen as a foregone conclusion.
Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdul Karim al-Issa is an interesting figure. A former Saudi justice minister and head of the Muslim World League, he has become known to Israelis for visiting Auschwitz, inviting rabbis to meet him in Riyadh and speaking at Yeshiva University in the US.
Clearly the man has an affinity for the Jewish people. Israeli media commentators interpreted Al-Issa being chosen to address the hajj as a “significant signal” that Saudi-Israeli peace is around the corner.
The normalization process with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco has proved a resounding success thus far, and citizens of several other Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, are calling to immediately join the Abraham Accords.
But from the start, there’s been a nagging question for those those who acknowledge the spiritual aspect of the Middle East conflict. Can Islam, a religion that insists all land its followers have lost must eventually be reconquered, coexist with Judaism, a religion that insists its people must live and rule over a particular piece of land that Islam once ruled?
Because that is the situation in Israel, and it is why groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and the ayatollahs of Iran view the Jewish state as wholly illegitimate.
When the Holy Land was conquered by Mohammed’s successors, it became part of Dar al-Islam, that part of the world under the sway of Islam and submissive to Allah. When it was liberated by the British and handed back to the Jews, it reverted to being Dar al-Harb, that part of the world that is in “chaos” and which must be brought under the sway of Islam.
It is naive to think that devout Muslims are now prepared to abandon this foundational tenet of Islam and accept that at least one small sliver of the earth, the Land of Israel, will forever remain outside Islam’s political and religious sphere. But at the same time, some Islamic commentators have taken a more holistic view of the Koran and say passages in which the Promised Land is identified as belonging to the Children of Israel are still relevant today.
These same voices insist that jihad is no longer a matter of the sword, but rather of compassionate proselytization, reaching non-believers through goodwill. That was the main thrust of Al-Issa’s hajj address in Mecca.
From an Israeli Jewish point of view, that should be cause for both optimism and skepticism. It essentially echoes the transformation of the Christian Church, went went from trying to violently convert the Jews to realigning with the Jewish people and the reborn Jewish state.
Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa’s Courageous Work To Combat Anti-Semitism
andrewblackadder says
This is most certainly a huge step in the correct direction, but when I see a muslim Cleric speak in a Synagogue I am glad but I will be even more glad when I see a Rabbi speak in a mosque.
Years ago a friend mentioned to me that peace with Christians and mulsims in Egypt are getting better as an Iman was speaking in a Christian Church in Cairo which ended with him screaming allah akbar, so I suggested to this friend that I will believe peace when I see a Christian Minister speaking in a mosque and he ends with Jesus is Lord…
This friend does not speak with me anymore… Too much truth being thrown at him I guess.
Leonie Z. Pipe says
“Can Islam, a religion that insists all land its followers have lost must eventually be reconquered, coexist with Judaism, a religion that insists its people must live and rule over a particular piece of land that Islam once ruled?”
The Zionist Imam gives me hope, but this will be a hard sell because pisslam, unlike Christianity, remains stuck in a medieval rut. For now, it’s encouraging that several Arabic states are moving towards peace with Israel.
mjazzguitar says
It was a long time ago, but in one of the breakaway nations that was part of the former Soviet Union, I saw where an imam said he saw nothing in the koran that said Israel shouldn’t exist.
BLR says
that’s what we like to hear about progressive muslims ones who look to the future and want peace and prosperity for their people and the smart ones know Israel and their technology is were that future is found ,
Israel is the power house to fuel the future not all the crude oil bought and sold in the middle east can match her future with friends of trust and vision
Linda Rivera says
ASTONISHING!
I believe this is temporary. MURDEROUS GENOCIDAL hate for Jews is a major teaching in Islam. Second is murderous hate for Christians and after that murderous hate for all non-Muslims.
Sahih Bukhari (52:177) – Allah’s Apostle said, “The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. “O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.”
Az gal says
Talking about Jew hatred… I noticed online I (& others) can freely discuss the similarities between Mohammed & Hitler. Why? The Muslims don’t contest the content, they like Hitler & consider it a compliment. As long as no one complaints, the content is not censored.
Az gal says
Jew hatred is too ingrained in Islam. I predict further splitting of the Sunnis. Perhaps the royal family will be brought down. Maybe all of them. After I’m dead & gone.