Not Wise for Pakistani Religious Parties to Be Angry at The UAE For Its Independent Decision
By
Saleem Safi
August 25,
2020
After
Makkah and Medina, Jerusalem is the holiest place on earth for Muslims all over
the world. There is no Muslim who has no respect for Masjid al-Haram in Makkah,
Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem – the first Qibla
for Muslims.
Jerusalem
is under the direct occupation of the Jewish state of Israel since 1948. It is
the duty of every Muslim to strive for its liberation as per his/her capacities
and abilities. However, the Holy Quran informs us that “Allah does not charge a
soul except [with that within] its capacity”. Allah and His last Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) has taught us wisdom and sagacity. Islam does not
teach to close one’s eyes and hit a wall. Instead, it asks us to understand
ground realities, take wise steps and move forward tactfully. So, let's see the
ground realities about Palestine, Israel and relations with the Muslim world.
Though very
painful for Muslims, it is a glaring reality that 162 countries of the world,
including the US, China, France, Germany and Russia, have recognized Israel and
have established close diplomatic relations with her. The US – the world
superpower – has become Israel’s patron-in-chief. However, Muslim countries
like Pakistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Cambridge, Djibouti, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,
Tunisia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Mali, Niger do not accept Israel as a legitimate state and thus do not
recognize it. Three non-Muslim countries – Bhutan, Cuba and North Korea – also
do not recognize Israel.
It is also
a reality that Turkey was the first Muslim country that recognized Israel in
1949. Iran became the second Muslim country to establish diplomatic relations
and close cooperation with Israel in 1950. However, after Imam Khomeini's
revolution in 1979, the Israel-Iran friendship turned into animosity. But
Turkey's diplomatic relations with Israel remained intact and friendly even
after Recip Tayyip Erdogan became prime minister. In 2005, Erdogan visited
Israel along with a large group of businessmen, met then Israeli prime minister
Ariel Sharon, laid a wreath at the Holocaust memorial and called Iran’s nuclear
ambitions a threat not just to Israel but to the entire world. To reciprocate,
Ariel Sharon visited Turkey in 2007 and got the honour to address the Turkish
Grand National Assembly.
However,
relations deteriorated between Turkey and Israel after the Gaza Flotilla raid
by Israeli forces in 2010, and remained strained for few years. Diplomatic
relations between the two countries normalized in 2016 as a result of secret
meetings. Though Turkey threatened to end diplomatic relations with Israel when
the US recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017, so far Turkey’s
diplomatic relations with Israel are intact.
In the
past, Turkey also tried to mediate between Palestine and Israel. Even meetings
between the then Pakistani foreign minister Khurshid Mahmoud Kasuri and Israeli
officials during the Musharraf era were held as per the wishes and mediation of
the Turkish leadership.
Besides
Turkey and Iran, Egypt, an Arab country, established diplomatic relations with
Israel in 1980 after the Camp David Accords. Though Oman – a member of the Arab
League – has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel, close cooperation and
trade links have been established between the two. Moreover, the Central Asian
Muslim states such as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan have
also established friendly diplomatic relations with Israel. With the mediation
of President Bill Clinton, Jordon signed an agreement with Israel in 1994,
paving the way to close trade ties and opening of several crossing points at
border for tourists. Syria and Lebanon are two neighbouring countries with
which Israel now has strained relations. But these two Muslim countries have
fallen into internal chaos and civil war and are thus unable to pose any threat
to Israel. However, Qatar is the only country in the Arab world that has very
strained relations with Israel.
It is also
a fact that, in the past, the Palestinians' struggle for independence against
Israeli occupation was led by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and
Hamas under the patronage of Saudi Arabia. Iran – a historical foe of Saudi
Arabia – was sponsoring Hezbollah and the Syrian government.
There was a
time when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as Iran
considered Israel their enemy number one. But unfortunately, instead of
struggling against the common enemy for the peaceful resolution of the
Palestine issue, Iran and Saudi Arabia started a race for regional superiority
and hegemony through proxies. Now Saudi Arabia sees Iran as a greater threat to
its regional hegemony and interests than Israel.
On the
other hand, after 9/11, the situation in the Arab world, like the rest of the
world, changed radically. Extremist organizations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS have
become a threat to Arab governments. Moreover, the Arab Spring shook Arab
rulers and caused a great sense of insecurity among them. So, Saudi Arabia and
its close allies gave up Hamas’ patronage and left it alone. The void was soon
filled by Iran and Qatar.
Moreover,
Turkey under the leadership of Tayyip Erdogan has come in direct competition
with Saudi Arabia and the UAE with a strong historic desire of leading the
Muslim world once again.
In this
context, the US has also put pressure on Arab countries in the Middle East to
improve relations with Israel. Thus, due to pressure by the US and animosity
with Iran and Turkey, Saudi Arabia and UAE etc have decided to reduce their
hostility with Israel. The UAE starting diplomatic relations with Israel via
mediation by the US seems the first step of the strategic policy shift in the
Arab world.
It is also
a reality that national interests are the guiding force of every state’s
foreign policy, relations and engagement. So one could question why some,
especially some religious parties, in Pakistan are putting the country in an
unenviable position of being seen as hostile by the UAE, by blasting the latter
country’s decision to establish diplomatic relations with Israel?
Pakistan is
facing one of the worst economic crises in its history. Islamabad needs friends
not foe in this critical time.
Pakistan
itself should never give up its principal stance on Palestine and should never
recognize Israel as per the wishes of most Pakistanis. That is our sovereign
decision and right. But what is the justification of our anger at the independent
decision of other sovereign states? Will we also protest against Turkey and
China tomorrow because these two countries also have diplomatic relations with
Israel? Will we now also protest against Iran for its close relations with
India?
At this
critical stage, we should be concerned about our country own challenges. It is
not a wise approach by our religious parties to be angry at the UAE for its
independent decision at this critical juncture when Saudi Arabia has already
been offended by the government.
-----
Saleem
Safi works for Geo TV.
Original
Headline: Israel, Pakistan and the Muslim World
Source: The News, Pakistan
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/not-wise-pakistani-religious-parties/d/122711