Palestinians and Jordan: Will a Confederation Work?

by Khaled Abu Toameh • May 25, 2016 at 5:00 am

In a rare moment of truth, former Jordanian Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali admitted that the Palestinians were not "fully qualified to assume their responsibilities, especially in the financial field..."
According to the study, the Jordanian public is totally opposed to the idea of confederation, even after the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. They fear the confederation would lead to the "dilution" of the Jordanian identity, create instability and undermine security.
The reality is that the two-state solution has already been fulfilled: the Palestinians got two mini-states of their own -- one governed by the Palestinian Authority and the second by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Today, there is only one solution: maintain the status quo until Palestinian leaders wake up and start working to improve the living conditions of their people and prepare them for peace with Israel.

It is unlikely that prominent Jordanian politicians, who have recently talked about a confederation between the Palestinians and Jordan, are acting without the backing of King Abdullah (left). Meanwhile, a majority of Palestinians have seemingly lost confidence in the ability of their leaders, such as PA President Mahmoud Abbas (right), to achieve an independent Palestinian state. (Image source: Abdullah: World Bank / Abbas: US State Dept.)

Talk about a confederation between the Palestinians and Jordan has once again resurfaced, this time after a series of unofficial meetings in Amman and the West Bank in the past few weeks. Jordan, fearing that such confederation would end up with the Hashemite kingdom transformed into a Palestinian state, is not currently keen on the idea.

Many Palestinians have also expressed reservations about the idea. They argue that a confederation could harm their effort to establish an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

The confederation talk returned during a recent high-profile visit to the West Bank by former Jordanian Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali. During a meeting with representatives of large Palestinian clans in Nablus, Majali voiced his support for the confederation idea, saying it was the "best solution for both Palestinians and Jordanians."

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"Radical" vs. "Moderate" Islam: A Muslim View

by Raymond Ibrahim • May 25, 2016 at 4:00 am

According to Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim Khadr, the first loyalty of radicals is to Islam while the first loyalty for moderates, regardless of their religion, is to the state. Radicals reject the idea of religious equality because Allah's true religion is Islam; moderates accept it.
Radicals, Khadr charges, also marvel that the moderate "finds hatred for non-Muslims unacceptable."
If true -- and disturbing polls certainly indicate that Khadr's findings are prevalent -- the West may need to rethink one of its main means of countering radical Islam: moderate Muslims and moderate Islam.

According to Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim Khadr, the first loyalty of radicals is to Islam while the first loyalty for moderates, regardless of their religion, is to the state. Radicals reject the idea of religious equality because Allah's true religion is Islam; moderates accept it.

After his recent electoral victory, it emerged that Sadiq Khan, London's first Muslim mayor, had described moderate Muslim groups as "Uncle Toms" -- a racial slur used against blacks perceived to be subservient to whites, or, in this context, Muslims who embrace "moderate Islam" as, in his view, a way of being subservient to the West.

One of Iran's highest clerics apparently shares the same convictions. After asserting that "revolutionary Islam is the same as pure Muhammadan Islam," Ayatollah Tabatabaeinejad recently said:

"Some say our Islam is not revolutionary Islam, but we must say to them that non-revolutionary Islam is the same as American Islam. Islam commands us to be firm against the enemies and be kind and compassionate toward each other and not be afraid of anything..."

According to the AB News Agency,

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VIDEO: Countering Radical Islam – A Reformist Muslim Speaks Out

May 24, 2016 at 4:00 pm

How did a terrorist cell find safe haven in a Muslim community in Brussels and carry out two successful terrorist attacks over four months? "Who are the voices of moderate Islam?," asks Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, a founder of the Muslim Reform Movement. "Who are the voices that can take back Islam from the radicals?" The West's focus on fighting Islamic "militants" is failing, and needs to be replaced by a "tough love" strategy of countering political Islam as a whole, and supporting reformist Muslims who believe in democracy, freedom of speech, women's rights and gay rights.