Our Journey to Israel and Palestine (6)

Published in the third of April    

Authored by: Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

CONCLUSION

He said to me: This series of articles about your journey to Israel and Palestine will get you more foes and enemies.

We said to him: With or without this series of articles, we get more foes and enemies every day and also more friends; of course, the number of foes and enemies clearly exceeds the number of friends. What matters most to our person, as a reformist thinker, is to provide an online archive of writings that will benefit readers and offer enlightenment to them.

He said: The people who are infuriated by your series of articles about your journey to Israel and Palestine will accuse you of being an agent who receive money from Israel.

We said: This false accusation has been leveled at our person since the days when we worked as an assistant professor at Al-Azhar University in the 1980s, though at the time, we never had any acquaintances outside our native village and outside the Azharite circles. Today, Arab tyrants are so happy when Israel is pleased with any of them.  

He said: Your foes and enemies will attack you more harshly than ever!

We said: Within their attacking, criticizing, and verbally abusing our person, they have used all pejorative terms, slander, insults, name-calling, and coarse language that you can imagine to be found in all dictionaries; even if they would use new terms of verbal abuse, they are specialized in them, whereas we specialize in (1) reformist endeavors, (2) defending the Quran, and (3) the peaceful, intellectual war of ideas. What will remain in life is what will benefit all human beings; i.e., our archive of writings, whereas any verbal abuse and insults will bring disgrace to the ones who say/write them, in this world and in the next one.

He said: Another point is the bad timing to this series of articles; you know that the Palestinians who have participated in the Land Day demonstrations in the Gaza Strip have drawn nearer the borders with Israel; many were killed and injured and this has shocked the whole world.

We said: The timing is not intentional; we have written about our journey to Israel and Palestine once we returned home to VA, the USA. In fact, the timing is perfect; we aim to expose the terrorist Hamas group members who deceive the ordinary Palestinians whose blood are shed within a planned scenario to increase the ill-gotten money/wealth of the Hamas members. No State on earth would accept intruders infiltrating into its borders; Israel is no exception to this rule. At one time, Sadat warned Kaddafi that he would use military weapons against him if Libyan demonstrators (gathered upon orders of Kaddafi at the Egyptian western borders to embarrass Sadat and force a unity between Libya and Egypt) would cross the borders and threaten the security of Egyptian borders. Thus, each State on earth (Israel, Egypt, etc.) must impose its sovereignty over its borders, and this is a basic political right.   

He said: Erdoğan has attacked Netanyahu for killing some Palestinians, whereas your articles praise some Israelis! 

We said: Erdoğan has attacked Netanyahu and accused him of being a terrorist for killing those who tried to infiltrate and attack Israeli borders; yet, Erdoğan has attacked Syrian borders and invaded a Syrian region, while massacring thousands of Syrians. Israel heals and treats some injured Syrians inside Israeli hospitals. Erdoğan dreams of restoring the Ottoman caliphate and manipulates religion to achieve his political ambitions, especially by issuing statements that appeal to the naïve, gullible masses of Wahabis; Erdoğan is a member of the terrorist MB group, and he exploits any events, incidents, anything, and anyone. We must not forget that Erdoğan has very good relations and diplomatic ties with Israel; the Turkish airlines constitute the most important passage to Tel Aviv now.     

He said: You are deliberately shocking and disturbing the minds of readers by your writings!

We said: Some cures and medicines have a bitter taste; they are better and less painful than ailments, sickness, and illnesses. Even if the words of reform are cruel and harsh, they are nothing when compared to bullets that kill the innocent ones. Countless bullets, bombs, and rockets were used to massacre many Arabs when Arabs have launched wars against one another; Arabs are very sick and in bad need of treatment by the Quranist reform and political reform that we suggest in our writings. It is normal to expect that sick people who are in pain would curse and verbally abuse their doctor!  

He said: You have to realize that Israel is a sensitive topic to most Arabs!

We said: You are perfectly right; therefore, it must be tackled more often and very frankly; we specialize in the peaceful, intellectual war of ideas; our words should help stop bloodshed and restore peace. In fact, peace is Islam in terms of behavior and demeanor. Peace is one of the Holy Names of the Lord God in the Quran. With our Quranist Islam, we undermine and smash all the religious, political, and intellectual holy cows of all Arabs. Chief among such holy cows is the intellectual war and propaganda launched by Arab tyrants to urge citizens to channel their fury and frustration against Israel and the USA instead of the real enemy; i.e., the tyrannical Arab regimes that fail in all fields except in oppressing and enslaving Arab citizens. We tackle these topics as per our firm belief that reformist endeavors entail defining the real enemies who hinder religious and political reform; i.e., Arab tyrants and their regimes as well as clergymen who support those tyrants. Arabs will never be reformed unless peace is restored with Israel and enmity towards Israel would come to an end after decades of propagating hatred towards Israel by the tyrannical regimes in the Arab world. Arab tyrants create imaginary external and internal enemies to justify their tyranny and their being enthroned under the pretext of protecting the citizens; tyrants are the worst arch-enemies of Arab citizens; the Arabs must be undeceived in this respect as soon as possible. 

He said: This is a complicated topic; enmity and hatred towards Israel have accumulated since 1948 in the Arab world within many generations.

We said: This is true; this is proved by this example: the Yemenis now face a war launched against them from their Arab brethren who are allied with one another against Yemen; tens of thousands of Yemeni children and women have been killed; the infrastructure in Yemen has been destroyed; Yemen is being ruined now; many Yemenis suffer from the cholera epidemic; yet, facing such ongoing aggression, the Yemenis chant slogans like (Down with the USA and Israel!) or (Death to the USA and Israel!). This is sheer madness; such madness is unparalleled, and we must face it with the power of our words in our Quranism website.    

He said: Many people have visited Israel upon receiving certain invitations and never spoke or wrote about their visit; why have you written about your journey to Israel and the Palestinian territories?!

We said: Our reformist intellectual endeavors are based on transparency; we have nothing to hide or to conceal; of course, we wished before (but we did not seek) to receive an invitation from any of the Israeli universities, research/academic centers, or peace groups to visit Israel and talk about how to restore peace and the role of Quranism in restoring peace and stopping bloodshed; in fact, we have never received any invitations of this kind, though we waited for them; yet, this never occurred. Later on, our son's wedding party in Palestine entailed our visiting Israel; we feel glad to have met Israeli professors and academicians and those who work for the sake of restoring peace; this experience was wonderful; we feel happy for getting acquainted with them. We have written about this journey to prove to the sick ones among the Arabs that Israelis are not pure evil; rather, they are like all human beings: they include extremists, moderates, and noble, pure persons. In fact, all Israelis we have encountered so far are noble people; they are among the noblest people we have ever met in the whole course of our life. We feel sorry to repeat here that Israelis in general are more elevated and refined in their behavior than Arabs, because Israelis live within a democratic, civilized society, in contrast to Arabs who live within the climate of oppression, terrorism, and corruption imposed by Arab tyrants who force citizens to spy on one another, fear one another, and lie to one another to get saved only temporarily.       

He said: Do you feel any sense of hope regarding Israeli extremists?

We said: Yes; they work for restoring peace and they desire security and safety to their progeny. Do not forget that peace movements in Israel are strong and they are heard attentively by everyone; this applies also to the Israeli Leftist trends. In fact, peace movements and trends have emerged in earlier decades in Israel, since the 1960s, whereas Arab countries since the era of Nasser until now have no similar peace trends.

He said: Who is more fanatic: the Hamas members or the Israeli extremists?

We said: In fact, Israeli extremists are less fanatic than the Hamas members; they are keener on preserving the lives of Palestinians more than the Hamas members; Israelis never kill people indiscriminately, in contrast to the terrorist Wahabi Hamas members and all Wahabis in general. Israeli extremists enjoy political flexibility shown in their current policies as they assume power now in Israel.

He said: Why do you feel a sense of hope regarding Israeli extremists?

We said: Without hope, one is miserable, pained, and depressed. Any reformist thinkers, like ourselves, should adhere to hope so that they go on within their intellectual endeavors; without hope, they will no longer write anything as they sink into despair. As for Israeli extremists, we address the good aspect inside them as we are keen on achieving peace for the sake of the future of both Arabs and Israelis.

He said: Does your stance agree with your Quranist vision as a reformist thinker?

We said: Of course; as per the Quranic teachings, we are not to hate the human beings who commit the evil deeds; rather, we should hate the evil deeds themselves; we preach evildoers so that they repent and atone for their sins. Repentance means that sinful human beings can be good; if they repent and make amends, this is good for them and for others around them. Thus, we do not hate evil persons; we only hate evil deeds.

He said: Does your stance here include Wahabis? You are attacking them harshly all the time, you know.

We said: Of course; our stance includes them; in the conferences and forums we have attended and in our writings, we have repeated that we are not against the MB members' involvement in political life and their trying to reach power through elections; we are not against any persons; we are against their manipulation of the name of Islam to reach power, authority, and wealth; we are against their wicked Sunnite Wahabi religion; we urge them to stop mixing politics and religion. We advise you to read our book published on our website titled "Warning Muslims against Mixing Politics and Religion".  

He said: Does your stance here include tyrannical rulers? You are attacking them harshly all the time, you know.

We said: Of course; our stance includes them, and we never despair of urging them to introduce reform, to make amends, and to reform themselves; for instance, within our recent interview with the London-based Al-Arab newspaper (found in English on this link: http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=18174), we have urged Arab tyrants to introduce partial reform by removing restrictions that cripple freedom of thought, free speech, and the absolute religious freedom; this will be the cornerstone for establishing the culture of democracy; this is the basis of democratic transition that will take a long time to influence the next generations. We have mentioned that such partial reform will make history books mention the name of any Arab tyrants favorably, and at the same time, this partial reform will not undermine their current tyrannical authority; people will be too busy by intellectual debates to focus on criticizing tyrants. This is why we have encouraged Al-Sisi when he has talked in 2014 about reforming the religious discourse in Egypt and we have offered many suggestions to him in this respect. When it turned out that he does not intend to introduce any religious reform, we have criticized and attacked him in our book titled "A Witness of the Earliest Months of The Presidential Term of The Egyptian President Al-Sisi" (found in English on this link: http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=77). Thus, we are not against any persons; rather, we stand against evil, harming, corrupt deeds and thought; this is the core of our peaceful reformist intellectual war of ideas within Quranism; we preach and warn those who commit evil deeds because we care about them, fear for them, and love them; we would like to save them and save others from any potential harm, and we bear patiently with our being persecuted, slandered, and verbally abused.    

He said: Do you feel any sense of hope regarding Abbas and Hamas?

We said: Undoubtedly; we address the good aspect inside them, because we are keen on restoring peace and we care very much about the future of the Palestinian nation; our greatest hopes lie on raising the awareness of the Palestinian nation; in fact, they learn more effectively and quickly when compared to other Arab nations; the Palestinians deserve a wiser leadership that serves them instead of corrupt leaders who serve only their own financial interests.

He said: Many persons accuse you of making the Israeli aggressors equal to the Palestinian victims; how would you deny this?

We said: This accusation has been refuted in our previous writings; let us focus now on peaceful political solution that will stop bloodshed and apply Islam in terms of behavior; i.e., peaceful demeanor. This is a historical fact: the Palestinians were the ones who first attacked the early Jewish/Israelite immigrants in Palestine in the 1920s and the 1930s before 1948; we will never defend such attacks against those who came to settle in Palestine; let us not focus on the past now; let bygones be bygones. Let us focus instead on the present and the future and on finding possible solutions; this is the useful talk that all sides need.   

He said: Have your articles about your journey to Israel and Palestine pleased all Quranists of your Quranism website?

We said: No; not all of them are pleased. Anyway, not all writers and commentators on our website are Quranists; some non-Quranists are more active in writing comments and articles; we are very pleased by their active presence on our Quranism website. Our articles in politics and other articles about other topics are being criticized by them. The principle that we follow on our website is that our views are never above correction and criticism. All of us are disciples whose only master is the Quranic text itself. All of us draw benefits from writings (i.e., comments and articles) of one another. Our website is an intellectual school of thought and reform; we are the generation of dialogue; we hope that the next generation will be the one of making choices (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=16851).

He said: What about the trend of Quranists in general?

We said: The Quranists now form an undercurrent or a subculture; they hide themselves under the surface of the mainstream culture and media of their respective countries, out of fear of being persecuted and incarcerated; one day, God willing, our Quranist trend will proclaim itself and be known to the whole world.

COMMENTS:

(1) Adel Bin Ahmad: Thank you Dr. Mansour, and may God bless you and grant you the best of health. One day, things will change for the better and the Muhammadans will wake up and return to the Quran and the Arabs will wake up and make good use of your archive of great writings (in politics and in religion). Your reformist ideas will never be expressed in vain. God says in the Quran: "He sends down water from the sky, and riverbeds flow according to their capacity. The current carries swelling froth. And from what they heat in fire of ornaments or utensils comes a similar froth. Thus God exemplifies truth and falsehood. As for the froth, it is swept away, but what benefits the people remains in the ground. Thus God presents the analogies." (13:17). As always, God says nothing but the Absolute Truth.

(2) Ben Levante: I'd like to assert here that despite the fact of backwardness of Arabs and their stupid mistakes regarding the Palestinian cause, this does not mean that the modern state of Israel, with its advancement and power, includes nothing but angelic citizens with high moralistic levels. Let us be reminded that aggressive Jewish gangs evicted Palestinians from their land in the 1920s and the 1930s; let us be reminded that Israel does not hesitate to massacre civilians in Gaza and the West Bank if this means to kill off the enemy. Of course, I am against the terrorist Hamas group; if Hamas had the similar weapons as Israel, it will not hesitate to commit the same massacres. I cast doubt on the surmise that Israelis desire peaceful coexistence with the Palestinians. The Israelis are worried about the demographics; i.e., the number of Palestinians increase as childbirth rates are very high; birth control might be successful if one State is established to include the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and all Arabs inside both areas would obtain the Israeli nationality and have better or decent standard of living. Yet, this is not happening anytime soon, if ever. Israel desires total submission of Palestinians to its dictates. Thank you Dr. Mansour. 

(3) Mustafa Ismail Hammad: I still insist that Dr. Mansour should revise his bias for Israel; his favorable views about Israel hurts many Arab Quranists and non-Quranists, especially his reader among our brethren the Palestinians. By the way, Israel never ceded anything before to achieve peace; the Palestinians have ceded almost everything and they continue to suffer. Why would not Israel go back to the pre-1967 borders?! Not all Israelis are angels or demons; the same applies to the Palestinians. Israel must stop its expansionist ambition and cease to commit military aggressions if its citizens desire peace. We implore Almighty God to help the weak, poor Palestinians.     

(4) Osama Qafeesha: I am a Palestinian Quranist; I assert here that I disagree with Dr. Mansour's siding with Israel. Cursed be Arab tyrants and cursed be Israel for its oppression, crimes, injustices, and tyranny committed against the poor, helpless Palestinians.  

(5) Saeed Ali: Dear Mr. Qafeesha, I remind you that Dr. Mansour is siding with human rights within a Quranist vision; he is not against Palestinians at all, and if you read and reflect deeply on this series of articles, without being blinded with fury, you will see what I assert to you. May God protect you from any oppression and injustices, but you have to keep on writing on Quranism website and respect the fact that people have the inalienable right to hold different political and religious views; Arabs must stop their old ways, their obscurantism, their backwardness, their empty words, and their ignorance, especially in the manner of discussion of different political views; the Quranism website is a school of thought where we express ourselves freely and within mutual respect and we learn from one another. Please keep on writing comments and articles so that we see your side of the story. Thank you.  

(6) Dr. Othman M. Ali: Of course, the Palestinians suffer restrictions at security checkpoints and oppression of the ruling leaders or the gang of thieves like Hamas and Abbas. I myself support the views of Dr. Mansour and I support the solution of one State (i.e., Israel) for all Jews and Palestinians to live in peace and equality as Israeli citizens. I never trust those Arabs who trade with and make money by exploiting the rights, the blood, and the hopes of the Palestinian people. Even if some words of Dr. Mansour have infuriated some of his readers among the Quranists or non-Quranists, we are to bear in mind that he offers a realizable vision of peace for all in order to put an end to the daily suffering of the Palestinians. To maintain peace is more difficult than ongoing wars; there are many challenges to face and much reform to be done. It is very mean to cast doubt on the sincerity of the stance of the peacemaker, the great reformist thinker Dr. Mansour, by accusing him of disregarding the Palestinian people and their rights. May God bless all preachers of peace and reform worldwide.   

(7) Dr. A. S. Mansour: Regarding the views that differ from ours, we assert here that we are not a Palestinian man; we desire peace and security in the region and we offer pieces of advice to both the Israelis and the Palestinians based on our short journey there. we aim to end the daily suffering of the Palestinians. We remind everyone that within political negotiations, no one takes everything; compromises are bound to occur by getting something and ceding something else. Arabs failed by their former strategy of insisting to take anything or nothing; they took nothing so far; this strategy of Arabs has helped Israel to succeed on all levels since 1948 until now. We have done our duty by writing the above views of ours in this series of articles. Typically, we never impose ourselves and our views or stances on anyone, and we never ask for praise or rewards from anyone; we never assume to own the absolute truth, and we pardon those who verbally abuse our person. After expressing our views and stances, we typically move on to write about other new topics. Peace be with all of you.