President Peres: These are dangerous words that could lead to an escalation between Jews and Arabs • Sheik Muhammad Ahmad Hussein caught on tape saying killing Jews is justified by Islamic text.
Yori Yalon, Mati Tuchfeld and Edna Adato
Sheik Muhammad Ahmad Hussein denies calling for the murder of Jews, but says Islamic text sanctions it. | Photo credit: Dudi Vaaknin  |
The Justice Ministry on Monday launched an initial investigation into the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestinian Authority representative Sheik Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, who came under fire recently for publicly calling for the killing of the Jews. The mufti said such murders were justified by Islamic text.
President Shimon Peres met with Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman on Monday and said the mufti's words were extreme and that law enforcement officials must use every means at their disposal to prevent similar public statements from being made. "The mufti's words are dangerous and could lead to an escalation in the relations between Jews and Arabs, including bloodshed," Peres said.
Neeman responded by telling Peres that he would instruct the Justice Ministry to thoroughly investigate the laws at its disposal for handling the case.
Earlier this month, Palestinian Media Watch reported that Hussein, on Palestinian television, had been filmed saying that according to the Hadith, an Islamic book believed to be a record of the words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad, the Islamic Resurrection would not come until the Muslims fought the Jews.
In the video, the mufti says: “Forty-seven years ago the revolution started. Which revolution? The modern revolution of the Palestinian people’s history. In fact, Palestine in its entirety is a revolution, since [Caliph] Umar came [to conquer Jerusalem in 637 C.E.], and continuing today, and until the End of Days. The reliable Hadith, in the two reliable collections, Bukhari and Muslim, says: 'The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call: ‘O Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’ Except the Gharqad tree [which will keep silent].' Therefore it is no wonder that you see Gharqad [trees] surrounding the [Israeli] settlements and colonies."
In 2006, Hussein said suicide bombings were a "legitimate weapon" in the Palestinian struggle for independence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- who asked Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein to oversee an investigation of the mufti -- denounced Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday over the mufti's outburst. "Someone who seeks peace should not permit this type of incitement and should not allow someone to call for the killing of Jews,” Netanyahu said. “These words were exceptionally severe, because they remind us of the words of another mufti who called for the destruction of the Jews -- Haj Amin al-Husseini -- who was one of the architects of the Final Solution, and also because they are being said by people who are supposed to be supporting peace between us and our Palestinian neighbors. What is most severe in my eyes is the fact that the Palestinian Authority not only did not condemn his words, but allowed them to be broadcast on official Palestinian TV. I expect senior PA members to condemn that act."
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman instructed Israel's ambassadors around the world to condemn the anti-Semitic tirade. Lieberman encouraged the ambassadors to publicly denounce the mufti's remarks, and to approach the governments of their host countries on the issue.
Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz said he was horrifed by the mufti's call. "He who wants to turn Jerusalem into a city of conflict has no place in this city and we should never forgive him. I call upon all religious leaders to condemn his words," Rabinowitz said.
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