Abbas' advisor: We don't want religious conflict, but Israel does, attacks holy sites, great ugliness characterizes them
Official PA TV, excerpt of sermon by Supreme Shari’ah Judge, Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash at the mosque in the PA headquarters in Ramallah; in audience: PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Secretary-General of the PA Presidential Office Tayeb Abd Al-Rahim, Fatah Central Committee member and Fatah Commissioner for Arab and China Relations Abbas Zaki, PLO Executive Committee member Mahmoud Ismail, and Fatah Central Committee member and PLO Central Council member Jamal Muhaisen
Supreme Shari’ah Judge, Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “This organization [the PLO] is a national achievement, which it is a duty to protect. We must defend it like the apple of our eye with all our strength. We must provide this organization with all that it needs in order to exist and continue, because the goal for which the PLO was established has not been realized yet – the goal of liberation, which is in the name of this organization. The goal of liberation has not been realized yet. The establishment of the state has not been realized yet, nor has national independence. And therefore protecting the PLO, which is the home of all of the Palestinians, and the roof of all of the Palestinians… protecting it is a Shari’ah (i.e., Islamic legal) duty, a national duty, and a political necessity in order to realize the national goal…
Brother believers, in the framework of the conflict with the occupation we have always said, and the Palestinian leadership has repeated: We do not want to ignite a religious battle or religious conflict. We do not want to make the conflict religious. Because, simply put, we do not hate the religions, we do not hate people because of their faith, and our motto is ‘there is no coercion in religion’…
However, while we act in this way, every day several fools come out against us who fan the flames of religious struggle, and they want to make the conflict religious – starting with attacking the holy sites, targeting the holy sites, and targeting the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the mosques and churches in Palestine, and ending with one of the fools recently, a member of the Israeli Parliament, who comes out and says publicly while addressing the Palestinians: ‘During prayer you say “Allahu Akbar (i.e., Allah is greatest)” – you should say “Israel Akbar (i.e., Israel is greatest)”’ (sic., while P alestinian media outlets have attributed this quote to Israeli Parliament Member Yoav Kisch, PMW found no evidence that Kisch or any other Israeli Parliament member made such a statement). Think of it, how much this ugly thing hurts your religion, which is being said by this ugly person.
What would happen… if a Muslim went out and belittled the Torah, for example – Heaven forbid, we do not do something like this, and it is not fitting for us to do something like this. But if it happened, Heaven forbid, what would their responses be? What would happen if someone denied something from their history or religion – and we do not get into this. If that happened, what would their responses be? They would accuse us of ‘Antisemitism,’ as if they are Semites and we are from Mars. These people - our response to them is not curses, we will not curse them – they have enough ugliness that we do not need to curse them, as the curses would be less than the ugliness that characterizes them. Our response to them is greater adherence to our religion, and greater adherence to the right, and insistence on the principles, on Ribat (i.e., religious conflict/war over land claimed to be Islamic), on patience, and on implementing the word of Almighty Allah: ‘O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed (lit. “carry out Ribat” –Ed.) and fear Allah t hat you may be successful’ [Quran, Sura 3:200, Sahih International translation]…
O You who covers faults, cover our faults… Allah, pardon our sins and our excesses, strengthen our resolve, and grant us victory over the infidel people… and grant success to the rulers of the Muslims for the benefit of Islam and the Muslims, inscribe victory, strength, and success for us, O Master of the Universe, and inscribe honor and sovereignty in our lands for us.”
Supreme Shari’ah Judge, Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “This organization [the PLO] is a national achievement, which it is a duty to protect. We must defend it like the apple of our eye with all our strength. We must provide this organization with all that it needs in order to exist and continue, because the goal for which the PLO was established has not been realized yet – the goal of liberation, which is in the name of this organization. The goal of liberation has not been realized yet. The establishment of the state has not been realized yet, nor has national independence. And therefore protecting the PLO, which is the home of all of the Palestinians, and the roof of all of the Palestinians… protecting it is a Shari’ah (i.e., Islamic legal) duty, a national duty, and a political necessity in order to realize the national goal…
Brother believers, in the framework of the conflict with the occupation we have always said, and the Palestinian leadership has repeated: We do not want to ignite a religious battle or religious conflict. We do not want to make the conflict religious. Because, simply put, we do not hate the religions, we do not hate people because of their faith, and our motto is ‘there is no coercion in religion’…
However, while we act in this way, every day several fools come out against us who fan the flames of religious struggle, and they want to make the conflict religious – starting with attacking the holy sites, targeting the holy sites, and targeting the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the mosques and churches in Palestine, and ending with one of the fools recently, a member of the Israeli Parliament, who comes out and says publicly while addressing the Palestinians: ‘During prayer you say “Allahu Akbar (i.e., Allah is greatest)” – you should say “Israel Akbar (i.e., Israel is greatest)”’ (sic., while P alestinian media outlets have attributed this quote to Israeli Parliament Member Yoav Kisch, PMW found no evidence that Kisch or any other Israeli Parliament member made such a statement). Think of it, how much this ugly thing hurts your religion, which is being said by this ugly person.
What would happen… if a Muslim went out and belittled the Torah, for example – Heaven forbid, we do not do something like this, and it is not fitting for us to do something like this. But if it happened, Heaven forbid, what would their responses be? What would happen if someone denied something from their history or religion – and we do not get into this. If that happened, what would their responses be? They would accuse us of ‘Antisemitism,’ as if they are Semites and we are from Mars. These people - our response to them is not curses, we will not curse them – they have enough ugliness that we do not need to curse them, as the curses would be less than the ugliness that characterizes them. Our response to them is greater adherence to our religion, and greater adherence to the right, and insistence on the principles, on Ribat (i.e., religious conflict/war over land claimed to be Islamic), on patience, and on implementing the word of Almighty Allah: ‘O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed (lit. “carry out Ribat” –Ed.) and fear Allah t hat you may be successful’ [Quran, Sura 3:200, Sahih International translation]…
O You who covers faults, cover our faults… Allah, pardon our sins and our excesses, strengthen our resolve, and grant us victory over the infidel people… and grant success to the rulers of the Muslims for the benefit of Islam and the Muslims, inscribe victory, strength, and success for us, O Master of the Universe, and inscribe honor and sovereignty in our lands for us.”