Netanyahu citing the Bible

• Irony of ironies

Netanyahu’s recent Bible citation in justifying Trump’s Jerusalem move is highly ironic: that in persuading secular Europe to accept Trump’s decision, Netanyahu has to resort to religious scripture. Yet, it is true that whenever the fate of Jerusalem is discussed religion shall essentially be a part of the narrative. Since the Bible has been quoted by the Israeli prime minister, it is only natural for a Muslim to turn to the Quran to seek the truth and that is precisely the challenge, at the intellectual level, faced by all the Muslims, especially by the Muslims in Pakistan since it does not recognise Israel as a state.

Jews were promised the Holy Land by Lord Almighty but the Quran tells us that this was not an “unconditional” right. Rather, the Quran reveals:

“And We declared in the Zabur (i.e., the Psalms) which followed (Our declaration in) the Zikr (i.e., the Torah) that it is (only) those servants of Mine who are righteous in their conduct who would inherit the (Holy) Land.” (Chapter 21, Verse 105)

Therefore, the progeny of Israel has to be righteous in its conduct to qualify for a return to the Holy Land. Righteous people don’t have devilish arrogance in assigning in themselves a higher degree of merit or superiority by virtue of a birth right, and, therefore, declaring rest of the humanity as lesser beings. “An essentially godless Zionist Movement conned Banu Israil (The progeny of Israel) with a mountain of lies! One such lie was the false slogan “a land without people, for a people without land”. If the Arabs are not ‘people’, if they are just ‘grasshoppers’ as former Israeli Prime Minister Shamir once declared, did they not permit the Jews to dwell amongst them for more than two thousand years? The Arabs guaranteed to the Jews security of life and property while they lived amongst them in the Arab lands for more than two thousand years. The Arabs did all of this and more at a time when Europeans had closed their doors to the Jews, or had reluctantly allowed them to live in ghettoes. Arabs did this because they still possessed a ‘remnant’ of the religion of Abraham that had come to them with Ishmael (PBUH). That ‘remnant’ of the truth had taught them to show hospitality. To this day the hospitality of the Arab has survived. The same religion of Abraham should have taught those Jews to show gratitude to hospitable ‘grasshoppers’. (From Jerusalem in Quran by Imran N. Hosein)

The same religion of Abraham should have taught those Jews to show gratitude to hospitable ‘grasshoppers’. (From Jerusalem in Quran by Imran N. Hosein)

Does such arrogance have any place in a religious way of life? It is only apt that Netanyahu cites the Bible to his secular European colleagues as for a people of scripture such narrative to validate Israel’s oppression would amount to a heap of rubbish. Even the orthodox Jews, in following their scripture, and a righteous religious conduct, have protested at Trump’s Jerusalem decision, and people who are faithful to religious way of life are essentially against the persecution of Palestinians in the name of scriptures whether they be Christians, Jews or Muslims.

Both Christianity and Islam believed for centuries that it was righteousness that qualified the progeny of Israel (Jacob or Yaqub) for inheriting the Holy Land, hence it was only right for the Jews to go in a diaspora after their rejection of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. The advent of Zionism, therefore, was in conflict with both Orthodox Christianity and Judaism. Both these religions anticipate the coming of the Messiah and subsequent restoration of the holy state of Israel, and, therefore, for them, any attempt to restore the state of Israel prior to divinely ordained Messiah and the acceptance of his message would only deliver an imposter in the name of a religious state.

It was their scripture that made the Jews anticipate the coming of another Prophet in Yathrib (now Medina), but again they rejected the truth (other than a few faithful among them) owing to their arrogance whereby they thought of all other humanity, the gentiles, worthy not of receiving divine revelation. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), to the dismay of most Jews of Medina, was also the most prominent voice in history in denouncing Jewish rejection of the Messiah and affirming Jesus Christ’s claim of being the true Messiah. Hence there was no hope in Islam for the Jews to return to the Holy Land without the acceptance of divine revelation. They could go to the Holy Land but only as visitors and not to inherit the glorious age of Prophet David and Prophet Solomon.

When Jews living in Yathrib approached Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and asked him some questions which only a true prophet could answer they were greeted by a satisfactory response through divine revelation. Some of that response is registered in Chapter of Cave in Quran. This the chapter starts with a wonderful verse:

“Praise is due to Allah Who has sent down on His Servant the Book that He has ordained to be free from corruption.” (Chapter 18, Verse 1)

Hence the Quran points towards the distortion of earlier scriptures by Israelites and also provides a great challenge to all the falsehood that may be used to maintain claims like that of Netanyahu by delivering this ominous message that this book, Quran, in His divine wisdom and magnanimity, would remain free of all perversion and corruption. Therefore, whenever oppressive Israel would try to find excuses, like that of “unconditional” inheritance of Holy Land, through the corruption in religious scriptures, it is the duty of Muslim scholars to respond through the Quran which will not only be free from corruption but would point to the distortions made to earlier scriptures with remarkable deterrence.

In Quran, the chapter of ‘The Progeny of Israel’ further reveals that it was prophesised in previous scriptures that Jews would commit Fasad (the worst possible conduct) in the Holy Land and hence when they committed that Fasad they were severely punished for that. Also, Quran goes on to reveal:

“If you (Jews) return (with the same conduct), We shall return (With the similar punishment).” (Chapter 17, Verse 8)

And that is the challenge that the incorruptible Quran poses to a Netanyahu with a Bible in his hand.

Responding to this writer’s last week article, “Giving Trump his due”, senior contributing editor at The Jerusalem Report, Elliot Jager, proposed the reading of his book, to those “who feel they can tolerate exposure to an argument in favour of Zionism.” (Jager’s words in quotations)

I would also suggest Elliot Jager, humbly so, to read ‘Jerusalem in Quran’ written by ‘Imran N. Hosein’ to find more about the Quran’s view on the subject. The contents of Hosein’s book might be hard to ‘’digest” for someone in support of Zionism, but, still, it would be a good read if one wants to understand why some countries do not accept Israel as a state.