by MEMRI
"The boycott has not harmed Israel but rather Sudan"
In
a conference titled "On [Religious] Awakening and Dialogue," held in
the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on February 6, 2017, Sudanese
oppositionist and cleric Yousuf Al-Koda, a former member of the Sudan
Scholar Organization and currently the head of the Islamic Wasat Party,
gave a talk on "The Relations with Israel – Religious Aspects." In his
talk he called on Sudan to declare a truce with Israel and establish
diplomatic relations with it, saying that there is no religious
prohibition to prevent this. As evidence he mentioned the Hudaibiya
agreement that the Prophet Muhammad signed with his infidel rivals.
Al-Koda
added that boycotting Israel does not hurt Israel but rather Sudan, and
that other countries in the region, such as Turkey, Qatar, Jordan,
Egypt and even the Palestinian Authority, maintain ties with Israel. He
noted further that Sudan holds ties even with certain countries that
occupy Sudanese land, without naming these countries.
The following are excerpts from media reports on Al-Koda's statements at the conference.
According
to a report on the news website Sudanese Online, "Al-Koda said that,
regardless of his opposition to any occupation of land, the occupation
of the Al-Aqsa Mosque does not prevent establishing relations with
Israel. As evidence he presented the Hudaibiya agreement[1]
that the Prophet Muhammad signed with the infidels even though the
infidels had taken over the Kaaba and even though most of the
[agreements'] clauses were detrimental to the Prophet's companions. As
further [evidence] he mentioned that the Palestinian Authority itself
maintains ties and [security] coordination with Israel. [He added that]
neighboring sister states are occupying land in northern and eastern
Sudan, but this has not prevented [the Sudanese government] from
maintaining close relations with them, and that some Arab and Muslim
countries have relations with Israel."[2]
The website quoted Al-Koda as saying: "The
fact that Jerusalem is in the hands of the Jews should not prevent us
from maintaining ties with them, if the people want this. I am not
saying we are obligated to maintain ties with them. My statements are
not meant to [urge people] to go and establish ties [with Israel]. I
merely want to clarify that this is perfectly permissible according to
the Muslim shari'a and that there is nothing wrong with it."
He was also quoted as saying: "The boycott
has not harmed Israel but rather Sudan, and despite all the time that
has passed [since its imposition] there has been no discussion of the
boycott, as though it is an end in itself or a religious duty." He
wondered: "Why shouldn’t we propose reassessing this position and
adopting a different one in its place?"
According to the report, Al-Koda said that
"as an observer, he had noticed that Israel was now ready to hold ties
with Sudan and with other countries and that he did not think this was a
problem. He clarified that relations with Israel did not mean avoiding
talking about the settlements or about Israeli violations."
Al-Koda delivering his address at the conference (Al-Jamahir, Sudan, February 6, 2017)
Al-Koda added: "The Prophet's biography tells not only of fighting but of warding off danger and of reconciliations, truces and alliances... Why then do we know only about the fighting and the jihad, as though they are the only option and there is no other option, in any form and under any circumstances?"[3]
According to a report in the newspaper Al-Jamahir,
Al-Koda said in this context: "Why do we not declare something other
than jihad and fighting? I prefer [to declare] a truce [with Israel]. A
truce does not mean making concessions. Very powerful countries that are
not major parties [in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict], including
Turkey, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt, have normalized [relations with
Israel]."[4]
According to the Sudanese newspaper Al-Jarida,
Al-Koda claimed that people had threatened to kill him if he delivered
the talk and "opened the gates of evil," but that he was willing to risk
his life and even the lives of his children in order to express his
opinion.[5]
Another report in the same newspaper stated that Al-Koda's remarks
elicited a response from 'Abd Al-Rahman 'Abdallah, the representative of
the Al-Tahrir party at the conference. The latter "condemned [Al-Koda]
for presenting [the fact that] that some [Muslim] countries do not
boycott Israel and that even Palestinian President Abu Mazen maintains
ties with it as evidence for his position, saying that 'people's
behavior does not constitute evidence [that something is sanctioned by
the Islamic shari'a].' ['Abd Al-Rahman 'Abdallah] also criticized the
Sudanese government for normalizing relations with the U.S., seeing this
as [a step] towards normalizing relations with Israel and adding that
this was 'a twofold [act of] treason'... Al-Koda responded that 'even
the Hamas leadership is funded by Qatar, which maintains normal
[relations] with Israel, and noted that Sudan was unable to confront
Israel [militarily]. The Al-Tahrir party representative interrupted him,
saying: 'The Muslims are capable of defeating Israel,' to which Al-Koda
replied: 'You cannot defeat Israel by sitting at home.'"
Al-Koda, said the report, "claimed that
Sudan had lost a lot by declaring its hostility to Israel, and added:
'Sudan lost on the moral and material level when Israel breached its
sovereignty by staging attacks on its soil, and [also] due to all the
damage done to it by the U.S. because of its bad relations with Israel.'
He denied that the [Sudanese] government was behind his initiative,
saying that he still opposes the government. He explained that his call
to reassess the position on Israel stemmed from a wish to stimulate
public debate on this issue."[6]
[1]
In the agreement, signed between the Prophet Muhammad and his Meccan
rivals in 628 for a period of ten years, the Prophet accepted the
humiliating terms dictated by his rivals, recognizing his inferior
strength. The agreement was violated two years later, after Muhammad's
conquest of Mecca.
[2] Al-Koda said he did not wish to name the countries occupying Sudanese land. See Al-Jamahir (Sudan), February 6, 2017.
[3] Sudaneseonline.com, February 6, 2017.
[4] Al-Jamahir (Sudan), February 6, 2017.
[5] Facebook.com/aljareeda.sudanese.newspaper, February 7, 2017.
[6] Facebook.com/aljareeda.sudanese.newspaper, February 7, 2017.
MEMRI
Source: https://www.memri.org/reports/sudanese-cleric-islamic-sharia-permits-normalizing-relations-israel
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