Arab leader: Muslims will rule Jerusalem
Pastor Dale Morgan
Arab leader: Muslims will rule Jerusalem*
Says city will be capital of new Islamic caliphate sooner than thought
Roee Nahmias
Ynet News
Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Raed Salah tells rally of 50,000 in Umm
al-Fahm: Jerusalem will be the capital of the new Muslim caliphate
sooner than is thought; says Sharon, Katsav, Clinton punished by Allah
for wanting to divide al-Aqsa mosque site
Head of the northern faction of the Islamic Movement Sheikh Raed Salah
said Friday that “soon Jerusalem will be the capital of the new Muslim
caliphate, and the caliph’s seat will be there.”
Salah addressed an audience of 50,000 attending the Islamic Movement’s
11th annual rally in Umm al-Fahm. “Caliph” refers to a leader of the
Muslim nation and in Arabic means the “heir” or “substitute” of the
prophet Muhammad.
Salah noted that history tells of many occasions in which the al-Aqsa
mosque in Jerusalem was occupied by foreign conquerors, but the
occupiers left after a short time, and thus will also be the fate of the
Israeli occupation.
“The Israeli occupation will leave Jerusalem soon. It will happen sooner
than is thought,” Salah said at the rally, which was held under the
slogan “Al-Aqsa endangered”.
'Punishment from Allah'
The sheikh added that former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President
Moshe Katsav were “punished by Allah” after they plotted to bring harm
to the mosque.
Sharon was punished because he planned to break into the mosque, and
Katsav’s punishment came in the shape of the sexual harassment charges
plaguing him after he supported the notion of dividing the mosque area
between Jews and Muslims. The site is also holy to Jews as the site of
the Temple Mount.
Former United States President Bill Clinton suffered a similar fate to
Katsav’s, and after backing the idea of dividing the site he became
embroiled in the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Salah declared that ideas to divide the site still exist, but he
reassured his audience: “There are all sorts of plans to divide the
al-Aqsa mosque but they will not succeed.”
During his speech the sheikh called on Arab nations to provide financial
support, whether with cash or with gold, to help save the mosque and
Jerusalem. He even called for the establishment of a fund for the purpose.
Salah responds to pope's comment
Salah also responded to the statements attributed to Pope Benedictus XVI
which were interpreted by many as being offensive to Islam. Benedict
quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century
Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian scholar
on the truths of Christianity and Islam.
"The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the
pope said. "He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that
was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as
his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'" Benedict did
not explicitly agree with the statement nor repudiate it.
The sheikh expressed hope that the comment did not portray the official
stance of the Catholic leadership. “I hope it was a slip of the tongue,
because if it is not, his words are a direct call to the nations of
Europe to stand behind President (George) Bush and Israel in their war
against Islam,” he said.
The former mufti of Jerusalem Ekrima Sabri and the archbishop of the
Greek-Orthodox church who is considered close to the Palestinian
Authority also spoke at the rally. Secretary General of the Arab League
Amr Musa also sent his blessings to the assembly.