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WorldWide Religious News（http://wwrn.org）
(1)Influential Islamic cleric visiting Gaza declares Israel has no right to exist
(AP, May 9, 2013)
Gaza City, Gaza Strip — A prominent Islamic scholar making a landmark visit to the Gaza Strip declared Thursday that Israel has no right to exist and voiced his support for rocket fire on Israel, giving a boost of legitimacy to the militant Islamist Hamas rulers of the Palestinian territory.
Yusuf al-Qaradawi is the latest of a few high profile figures visit Gaza, boosting the Hamas effort to break its international isolation. The U.S., EU and Israel brand Hamas a terror group, while the rival Fatah, which rules in the West Bank, enjoys Western backing.
Al-Qaradawi issued the strongest anti-Israel declarations of any of the visitors to date.
“This land has never once been a Jewish land. Palestine is for the Arab Islamic nation,” said al-Qaradawi, a Qatar-based cleric made famous by his popular TV show and widely respected in the Muslim world.
“The rockets made in Gaza are more powerful than the (Israeli) occupation’s rockets,” he added.
Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 following several days of fighting against the rival Palestinian faction Fatah. Since then, Hamas militants have launched thousands of rockets into Israeli towns. Israel carried out two punishing military offensives, one in the winter of 2008-2009 and another late last year which killed the chief of the Hamas military wing.
Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, but imposes a maritime blockade and controls the flow of goods coming from Israel into the territory. Gaza’s Hamas rulers and their backers still refer to Israel as “the occupation,” referring to Israel’s control of the West Bank and reflecting a belief that the presence of a Jewish state in the Middle East is an illegitimate occupation.
The Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, which governs in the West Bank, condemned al-Qaradawi’s visit, saying his presence is cementing the rift between the two Palestinian factions.
Fatah and Hamas have tried to reconcile their differences in recent years but failed. Western leaders have demanded that a unified Fatah-Hamas government must recognize Israel and agree to enter peace negotiations. Hamas has refused.
The emir of Gulf state of Qatar also visited last year, and Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he’ll visit by the end of the month, despite a U.S. plea that he delay the trip in order not to harm efforts to broker a reconciliation between Turkey and Israel.
Al-Qaradawi arrived in Gaza late Wednesday to an enthusiastic welcome by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and his Cabinet ministers. They hosted the cleric Thursday in a tent set up on the site of the prime minister’s office, which Israeli warplanes demolished in 2009.
・Disclaimer: WWRN does not endorse or adhere to views or opinions expressed in the articles posted. This is purely an information site, to inform interested parties of religious trends.
(2) Church of Scotland Report Angers Jewish Community
(AP, May 10, 2013)
Israel's ambassador to the U.K. has condemned a report by the Church of Scotland that questioned the divine right of Jews to the land of Israel.
Daniel Taub says the document "negates and belittles the deeply held Jewish attachment to the land of Israel in a way which is truly hurtful."
The 10-page discussion paper says that "promises about the land of Israel were never intended to be taken literally" and that the Bible should not be used to settle conflicts over land. It was due to be debated at the church's General Assembly later this month.
The church stressed that it does not deny Israel's right to exist, but conceded Thursday the report has led to misunderstanding of its position and that some parts needed to be rewritten.
(3)French ministers boycott talks with Muslim scholar
by Sophie Pilgrim (AFP, May 8, 2013)
French Socialist ministers Manuel Valls and Najat Vallaud-Belkacem refused to attend a conference on the future of the European Union in Florence on Wednesday after they discovered that controversial Swiss philosopher Tariq Ramadan would be attending the talks.
Swiss-educated Ramadan, whose grandfather is the founder of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, has been both praised as a reformist and denounced as a radical. His theories on Western society – which he says is in decline – and how modern Islam will take shape in Europe, have proved controversial.
In 1995, he was temporarily barred from entering France due to alleged links to Algerian terrorists. In 2003, he clashed with France’s then interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, when he refused to condemn stoning, instead speaking of a “moratorium on the death penalty”.
In fact, some of Ramadan’s most notorious encounters have been made in France, making him – along with his candid criticism of Sarkozy during his presidency – a household name in the country and a dangerously controversial figure for politicians.
‘Regrettable decision’
The sudden decision by Valls and Vallaud-Belkacem – interior minister and women’s rights minister respectfully – was met with disappointment by organisers of ‘The State of the Union’ conference on Wednesday.
Organised by the European University Institute and in partnership with French daily Le Monde and British daily The Financial Times, the annual event brings together politicians and thinkers to discuss the future of the EU.
Stephan Albrechtskirchinger of the European University Institute described Valls and Vallaud-Belkacem’s decision as “regrettable,” arguing that Ramadan had “irrefutable academic credits” as a professor of contemporary Islam at Oxford University.
Attendee Bruno le Maire of France’s conservative UMP party told Le Monde that Ramadan’s presence at the talks would not affect his own attendance. “I don’t usually give in to people whose views I don’t share – I fight them instead,” he said.
Others attending the talks include European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Italian economist Mario Monti and Labour Party leader Ed Miliband.
・Disclaimer: WWRN does not endorse or adhere to views or opinions expressed in the articles posted. This is purely an information site, to inform interested parties of religious trends.
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