THE liberation of Palestine, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, from Jewish clutches is of the greatest concern to Muslims. They are badly in need of such brave rulers as Salahuddin Ayyubi or Nuruddin Al-Zanki who led holy wars to liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the Crusaders. Salahuddin was so determined and single-minded in achieving his goal that, according to some historical reports, he did not smile until Al-Aqsa Mosque was freed. His source of strength was trust in the unfailing assistance of Almighty Allah. Until a ruler with such unflinching determination comes forward to undertake a jihad, it is obligatory on all Muslims to assist the fighters who volunteer for martyrdom in this cause. Every Muslim and Arab should participate in the jihad for the holy lands.
Jihad has various forms. Jihad with wealth is the foremost among them because the Holy Qur’an gives priority to jihad with wealth over jihad with the body. “Those who believe, and suffer exile and strive with might and main, in God’s cause, with their wealth and their persons, have the highest rank in the sight of God.” (Chapter Al-Tauba, Verse 20. “But the Messenger and those who believe with him, strive with their wealth and persons.” (Al-Tauba, Verse 88.) As Muslims are aware of the importance of donation, they rush with money and other materials to the aid of the Palestinians.
President George W. Bush and the US media watch with suspicion all Muslim and Arab donations to their Palestinian brothers. Bush and his associates believe that every Palestinian man, woman or child is a terrorist. This is only because they view the Palestinian struggle for independence from Ariel Sharon’s standpoint. The US president has even dared to demand that we Arabs and Muslims stop supporting and sympathizing with the families of the Palestinian martyrs. He calls them murderers. The American Jews used to collect donations for Israel with the slogan “Pay a dollar to kill an Arab!” Our slogan, on the contrary, is — and was — “Pay a riyal to save an Arab.” We have never demanded money from the people “to kill a Jew.”
Bush has never uttered a word of disapproval about the inhuman war crimes committed by Sharon’s army in the Palestinian towns and cities. Sharon has converted the Jenin refugee camp into a massacre ground in every sense. His act is surely a disgrace to humanity.
In every one of his speeches Bush parrots his condemnation of the operations of Palestinian martyrs. He also sent his secretary of state to visit a place wrecked by a Palestinian martyr in Israel in which not more than 10 people were killed. On the other hand, the US secretary did not give a sympathetic glance at the sites where hundreds of unarmed Palestinians, including women and children, were killed, thousands taken prisoners and hundreds of thousands rendered homeless. The US charged the Palestinian martyrs with terrorism because they challenged the insurmountable Israeli Army as it attacked and leveled their homes to the ground. Bush makes demands upon Palestinians as though he were totally blind to what has been happening in the region. He demands the besieged Palestinian president, whose freedom is confined to two rooms in a collapsing building in Ramallah, to stop terrorism, arresting all whom Israel calls terrorists. How can the Palestinian Authority exercise full authority after its men have been killed or imprisoned and its infrastructure totally destroyed? Unfortunately, the PA has, under strong US pressure, condemned the latest act of martyrdom by a young heroine who is, in fact, a source of pride to all Arab and Muslim women.
Arrogant Sharon is not content with this condemnation but wants more from the imprisoned president who has no means of communication or authority. We are evidently living in a jungle where only the law of might is recognized. A prominent symbol of the Palestinian struggle, Marwan Al-Barghouti, has recently been captured by Israelis soldiers. He will be prosecuted on 50 charges, including the murder of hundreds of Israelis. If Israel can bring charges against Al-Barghouti, the PA should demand the prosecution of Sharon and the Israeli defense minister on charges of killing thousands of Palestinians. Not only these two but the entire government which supports the extermination of Palestinians should be prosecuted. The criminality of the Israeli government has further been revealed when its justice minister publicly regretted the failure of his county’s army to kill more people in the Jenin camp. Reacting to the Norwegian UN envoy’s condemnation of the Jenin massacre as a disgraceful chapter in the history of Israel, the arrogant and unjust minister of “Israeli justice” had the temerity to tell Norway to accommodate the Palestinian refugees rendered homeless by Israel. He forgets that the Israelis themselves came first as refugees to Palestine.
If Sharon has the right to demand the arrest of his tourism minister’s murderers, the PA has a similar right to demand the arrest of the murderers of the Palestinian leaders who were killed in their offices even during periods of peace. It was not long ago that Israel’s men assassinated Abu Jihad while he sat with his family in his Tunisian house. Why is that Israelis can kill any number of Palestinians with impunity anywhere in the world while Palestinians cannot kill the thieves of their lands who are only a few meters from them?
Whether Bush likes it or not, we will never go against the teachings of our religion to please him. The Zionists will never be pleased with us. Bush’s anger may be able to check Arab or Muslim governments but not their people, fighting with their wealth to support the intifada until it succeeds. No jihad can continue without money. The people will never refuse to donate money since they are already prepared to sacrifice their lives. We Arabs and Muslims are capable of donating generously by sacrificing some of our nonessential spending such as expensive wedding parties. Moreover, we could channel our zakah to the Palestinians because they have lost their homes, possessions and their means of livelihood. According to the fatwas of eminent religious scholars, jihad can be supported with voluntary charities, endowments, income from endowments and the property allocated by a will. Even doubtful incomes such as bank interest can be spent lawfully for our Palestinian brothers. Such money could be used for buying and supplying weapons. It was the shortage of ammunition that made the heroes of Jenin after eight days abandon their resistance against the third strongest army in the world, armed and financed by the United States.
