Muslim critics of Israel often say that Jerusalem's holy sites must be transferred to Muslim control, because of the central role they play in Islamic theology. For instance, the Dome of the Rock was built on the site where Mohammed is believed to have ascended to Heaven to receive the revelation of the Qur'an.
However, these people seldom actually quote the Qur'an itself. This is probably because, amazing as it sounds, the Qur'an actually supports the Zionist cause.
Specifically, Mohammed in Sura 5:21 quotes Moses telling the Jews to "enter into the holy land which Allah has assigned to you". While Mohammed later criticizes the Jews for their sins and their refusal to accept Mohammed's message, he never says that, as punishment, Allah has revoked their title to the land. Hence the title still stands, and Muslim anti-Zionists are apostates.
Indeed, this is the opinion of Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi, co-chairman of the Islam-Israel Fellowship, who condemns the Palestinian uprising as "fitnah" (sedition), which is forbidden in Islam as long as the Muslims are granted religious freedom.
A case could even be made that Israel's victory over the Arabs in the 1948 war was a judgement by Allah against the Arabs for their apostasy in opposing the Zionists.
This would be their just reward for transgressing Sura 2:190, which says, "Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities."
Moreover, Sura 60:9 forbids aiding the enemies of the Muslim people. Contrast this with the Palestinians' support of Saddam Hussein, whose hands were red with the blood of Iranian, Kurdish, and Kuwaiti Muslims.
The Jews' return from 19 centuries of exile is actually the fulfillment of Islamic prophecy. Sura 17:104 says that "when the promise of the Hereafter comes to pass, We [Allah] shall bring you as a crowd gathered out of various nations".
Sura 17:4 says, "And We [Allah] gave (clear) warning to the children of Israel in the Book, that twice would they do mischief on the earth and be elated with mighty arrogance (and twice would they be punished)!" The succeeding verses tell us that the punishment referred to was banishment from the land. But "twice" means twice, not three times; hence the Jews, having been banished from the land once by the Babylonians and a second time by Rome, will never again be banished from the land. According to the Qur'an, the State of Israel is eternal.
Moreover, "twice would they do mischief on the earth" means twice, not three times; hence the Jews will never again do mischief on the earth. In particular, the Jews cannot bear moral responsibility for the Palestinian refugee problem.
Sura 83:1 says, "Woe to those that deal in fraud"; yet the Palestinian Authority reneged on its promise to guard Joseph's Tomb in Nablus after the Israeli troops withdrew.
The Palestinians deny that there ever was a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. But Sura 17:7 records the destruction of the First Temple by Babylon and the Second Temple by Rome, and Mohammed never contests the Bible's claim that the Temples were in Jerusalem.
Sura 16:126 says, "If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted." Yet Ariel Sharon's nonviolent, if provocative, visit to the Temple Mount was met with rioting, including the use of firebombs and AK-47's.
Islamic law fundamentally forbids the killing of women and children in Jihad [holy war], and the evidence for it is in the Hadith [prophetic tradition] of Ibn-Umar [Vol. 4, Book 52, No. 257]: "A slain woman was found during one of the Prophet's military campaigns, and following this the prophet forbade the killing of women and children." The only exception is if they take part in combat, spread propaganda, or otherwise support the war effort. Targeting discos and pizzerias packed with children - especially in left-wing areas such as Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem - is clearly forbidden.
The Palestinians are hypocrites. "Allah akhbar!", they chant; "G-d is great!" Yet they flagrantly transgress their own cherished Scriptures. Is it any wonder that they have allied themselves over the years with such villains as Adolf Hitler, Yosef Stalin, and Saddam Hussein?
