Abdullah and Abbas Playing the Jerusalem Card

by Mudar Zahran
April 9, 2013 at 5:00 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3659/king-abdullah-abbas-jerusalem

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The "Judaization" of the British Mandate for Palestine was the very thing the Hashemites were committed to support, in exchange for establishing an Arab state under Hashemite rule. The terms of the agreement were clear: Jews were to settle in the British Mandate for Palestine with no exclusion of Jerusalem. Nonetheless, the Hashemites have not honored their part of the deal, which is: recognizing the Jewish right to the land.

On March 31, Jordan's King Abdullah II and the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, signed an agreement confirming their "common goal" to "defend Jerusalem and its sacred sites against Judaization" According to the agreement, Abbas recognized Abdullah as the "custodian of the holy sites in Jerusalem," and that "he has the right to exert all legal efforts to preserve them, especially Al-Aqsa mosque."
But do Abdullah and Abbas have any legal or political foundation upon which to build their joint agreement?
To start, Jordan's "custodianship" over the Islamic sites in Jerusalem -- including Al-Aqsa mosque -- were granted by Israel. The peace treaty signed between Israel and Jordan in 1994 gave Jordan the privilege of overseeing and managing Al-Aqsa mosque and other Islamic sites in Jerusalem. Therefore, Abdullah has no right or entitlement to "exert any efforts to persevere Jerusalem from Judaization" -- as his agreement with Abbas claims.
Further, Abdullah seems to forget that the Hashemite rule over Jordan came into existence based on the Faisal-Weizmann Agreement, signed in 1919 between Chaim Weizmann and the Hashemite Prince Faisal. Article IV of the agreement states the following:
All necessary measures shall be taken to encourage and stimulate immigration of Jews into Palestine on a large scale, and as quickly as possible to settle Jewish immigrants upon the land through closer settlement and intensive cultivation of the soil.
Therefore, "Judaization" of the British Mandate for Palestine was the very thing the Hashemites were committed to support, in exchange for establishing an Arab state under Hashemite rule.
Were it not for that agreement, Abdullah's grandfather would never have become King, nor would King Abdullah II. The terms of the agreement were clear: Jews were to settle in the British Mandate for Palestine with no exclusion of Jerusalem.
The only entitlement involving Jerusalem that the agreement offered to the Hashemites was that Muslims were to oversee the Islamic holy sites of Jerusalem.
Decades later, Jews are still honoring this commitment and allowing the Hashemites to oversee Islamic sites in Jerusalem. Nonetheless, the Hashemites have not honored their part of the deal, which is: recognizing the Jewish right to the land.
Further, in the Abbas-Abdullah joint declaration, Abdullah gained the title of "The Custodian of the Al-Aqsa Mosque," which sounds remarkably similar to that of the King of Saudi Arabia: "The Custodian of the Two Shrines" -- the Islamic holy sites in Mecca and Medina. The title originally belonged to the Hashemites who used to rule these two cities before the Saudi Kingdom took over the cities from the locally-hated Hashemites, and expelled the Hashemites to exile in Jordan. King Abdullah might well be trying to polish his image and gain public support by acquiring a title that connects his name to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
How legitimate, however, is it for King Abdullah to seek recognition as "The Custodian of the Al-Aqsa Mosque" from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas? Does Abbas have the authority to grant it to him?
As Abbas has overstayed his term since 2009, he is not even a legitimate president of the Palestinian Authority.
Moreover, according to the peace treaty signed between Jordan and Israel in 1994, The Palestinian Authority has no authority over the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem. How, therefore, can Abbas grant King Abdullah or anyone else any title or authority over them?
The Jordanian regime's connection to Jerusalem started when it occupied the city in 1948; in 1951, the Hashemites issued a constitution identifying the West Bank as a "permanent part of Jordan." Then, the Arab League opposed the decision and refused to recognize the annexation. Only three countries, in fact, recognized Jordanian rule over the West Bank: the UK, Pakistan and Iraq, which at the time was itself under Hashemite rule. King Abdullah's entire connection to Jerusalem is therefore based on an act of illegal occupation.
To get this straight: the Jordanian king's current connection to Jerusalem comes from a privilege given to him by the Israelis to oversee the Islamic sites, and now King Abdullah wants to "preserve" Jerusalem from the very Jews who allowed him that privilege.
While the Hashemites established their capital only 90 years ago in Jordan, Jews had Jerusalem as their capital 3,000 years ago.
The Jews' connections to Jerusalem started thousands of years ago; Jordan's king has no logical reason to try to "save the city from Jews," who belong there. The king really has no legitimate connection to Jerusalem whatsoever.
Abdullah and Abbas are both playing the Jerusalem card, probably to appeal to their angry citizens. Abdullah is facing trouble at home with ongoing protests in which some Jordanians are openly calling for him to step down; Abbas does not seem to be faring much better among the Palestinians.

Related Topics: Israel | Mudar Zahran

Muslim Persecution of Christians Escalating in Pakistan

by Mohshin Habib
April 9, 2013 at 2:00 am

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3664/christian-persecution-pakistan

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There is no provision in Pakistan's blasphemy law to punish a false accuser or a false witness. Since 1990, more than 65 Christians have been killed for "blasphemy;" more than 165 cases are waiting for verdicts.

In recent years, the Christians of Pakistan have become one of the most vulnerable religious communities in the world. Most of the time, the Pakistani extremists use two common accusations to persecute the Christians: defamatory remarks toward Mohammed, and burning pages of Quran.
Christians in Pakistan, a news site on behalf of the Pakistani Christian community, predicted that the situation is becoming alarming. The site alleges that there are currently many cases being reported of Christians being targeted, but no action to reform or address the problem by any government official.
In a recent incident in Badami Bagh near Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, Sawan Masih, a Pakistani Christian and two Muslims were quarreling over the drinking of alcohol. Four days later, on March 9, the Muslims accused him of insulting the Prophet Muhammad -- in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Iran, under blasphemy laws, an allegation punishable by death.
Police quickly arrested Masih, but a massive mob of 3000 Muslims wanted police to hand "the blasphemer" over to them. The mob attacked the Joseph colony, a poor Christian neighborhood, and burned 180 houses. Two churches were vandalized. The Asian Human Rights Commission stated, "on March 8, during the Friday prayers it was announced through the mosque loud speaker that Masih committed blasphemy by passing remarks against the last prophet of Islam. The police who were already prepared arrested Masih when a crowed attacked the community. In the ensuing incident they beat Masih's father seriously. The police asked the community to vacate the area, as there were chances of further attacks, totally ignoring their responsibility to protect members of the religious community. The police left the area thereby providing a perfect opportunity for the attackers to return the next day, March 9." In fear of Muslim reprisals, Christians rapidly fled the area, leaving behind homes and households.
There have been many persecutions like Younis Masih most Christians in Pakistan are named Masih], a Christian father of four, who has been on death row; Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five, who was convicted of blasphemy (allegedly making derogatory remark about the Muslim prophet Muhammad), and in 2010, sentenced to death by hanging. In 2012, a Christian Pastor was charged with blasphemy. These and dozens of others are still fighting against criminal charges. Rimsah Masih, a 14 year old Christian girl afflicted with mental disabilities, was arrested in August 2012 after being accused by a local cleric of burning 10 pages of the Quran. In addition, there is no provision in Pakistan's blasphemy law to punish a false accuser or false witness. Since 1990, either mobs or individuals have killed more than 65 Christians accused of blasphemy. 165 blasphemy cases are waiting for court verdicts. There have been many extrajudicial killings of Christians, seizures of Christian graveyards, and forcibly vacating from lands where Christian have been living for decades. Some people accused of blasphemy have been killed in prison or shot dead in court.
In 2011, two high-level Pakistani Christian politicians who had attempted to repeal the blasphemy laws were assassinated. Salman Taseer, the only Christian Governor and Minister in Pakistan's cabinet, was killed by his own guard. According to reports at the time, Pakistani lawyers, as well as street mobs, took the side of the murderer. Two months later, an Islamist killed the Minister for Minority Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti. According to a Human Rights Watch report in 2012, high-ranking officials of the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) called for the amendment of section 295(C) of Pakistan's penal code, otherwise known as the blasphemy law. However, the government succumbed to pressure from extremist groups and dropped the proposed amendment.

Related Topics: Pakistan | Mohshin Habib

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