By Mawlana HASAN ANYABWILE, tntmirror.com

THE prime minister's recent visit to Israel should raise some serious concerns in the general Muslim community and especially amongst Muslim supporters of the People's National Movement (PNM). Before going into this matter, there are some things that need to be said.

Any criticism of Israel or Jewish people today is considered as anti-Semitism, which distracts appreciation of the issues involved and deflects constructive critcism.

As Muslims, we share a lot with Jews in laws, worship and diet. Israelite prophets and scripture are also ours.

Muslims cannot be anti-Semites because our prophet (S) is a Semite, our Scripture is a Semitic text, our language of worship is a Semitic language and the Arabs are a Semitics people: facts that are lost on many when discussing the Palestinian Question!

Arabs, Babylonians, Assyrians and Phonecians are Semites and connect directly to Shem than the European Jew (Ashkenazi) of the Khazar tribe, who accepted Judaism.

Their chief decided to accept Judaism because Muslims considered Jews as "People of the Scripture" and Christians considered them as "Chosen people by God," (see the Thirteenth Tribe).

Ancient Egypt, Phut, and other North Africans as well as East Africans speak a variety of Hamitic languages, which are related to Semitic.

So, as a person of African descent, I cannot be anti-Semite either because Semitic tribes integrated with African tribes all over Africa and Semitic is a member, branch or subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages.

My problem with the current state of Israel is political and religious.

Religiously, Israel was scattered over the face of the earth except the tribe of Judah and a remnant of Dan and Benjamin.

Jesus the Messiah (A.S) the last of the Jewish prophets had a mission to gather the lost sheep of the tribes of Israel.

The Jews rejected him and he eventually became a redemptive god under Paul's teachings.

Millennialists elements within Christianity along with the Zionist movement in England led to the re-establishment of the modern Israeli state in 1948.

They believed that the return of the Jews to Israel will hasten the return of the Messiah, Jesus (A.S), and salvation for the Jews.

Politically, modern day Israel was established on the dismembered corpse of the Ottoman Khalifate by secular states based on a religious text which can't stand up to textual or historical scrunity.

The establishment of the state of Israel is the "result" of Arab betrayal and rebellion against the Khalif.

This state has committed ethnic cleansing of Palestinians since 1948, which initiated mass exodus of Arabs from occupied Palestine. Its refusal to obey UN resolutions is well known.

Amnesty International's 2005 report condemned Israeli abuses which constituted of crimes against humanity and war crimes by the Israeli Army, including unlawful killings, extensive and wanton destruction of property, obstruction of medical assistance and targeting of medical personnel, torture and the use of Palestinians as "human shields".

Israel has failed to recognise the 1931 ruling by the International Commission: "To the Muslims belong the sole ownership and the sole propriety right to the Western Wall, seeing fit that it forms an intergral part of al-Haram al-Sharif area.

"To the Muslims there also belongs the ownership of the pavement in front of Maghrebi Quarter opposite the Wall."

They also ignored the International Court of Justice, which ruled in 2004 that the security wall is "... an illegal structure and demanded Israel to bring it down".

The advisory ruling also judged that all Israeli settlements built within the 1967 borders, including East Jerusalem, were illegal and in violation of international law.

The Gaza pullout was farcical because settlements increased in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which makes the reality of the two-State solution a mockery to the sensibilities and rationale of the oppressed Palestinians.

Palestinians often reply with rockets, suicide bombings and snipings of Israeli citizens.

Israelies military response against Palestinians is equally bloody. This circle of spiralling violence leads to further injustices on all sides, which have no basis in any religious sripture.

It is pointless to argue who is wrong, but the scales of justice must be settled at some point.

In light of this, the prime minister's visit is curious, especially since it is was concerned with security.

In modern history, we know that Jews have developed certain skills and experience in "dealing with" Muslims.

Every country that has a problem with Muslims, socially, politically and militarilly, seeks to engage the services of Israel's military or intelligence, which only excacerbates the conflicts because of Jewish attitude and world view in respect to Islam and Muslims.

Since the fall of the towers, it is important that we know where we stand in the face of this worldwide Inquisition of this brave new civilisation.

In Iraq, hundreds of women are in prison for the novel crime of "being potential suicide-bombers".

Secret prisons, Abu Gharib, Guantanamo, Diego Garcia and all the other secret CIA facilities and Gulags are set up inside and outside of America, where torture is now common occurences.

This current "war on Terror" willfully ignores International Law, Treaties and Agreements in their treatment of Muslims youths.

To think or comment is dangerous and could land one in prison or "rendered" to an Arab dictator for torture.

On the evening of September 11, 2000, it is reported that the President said: "I don't care what the international lawyers say, we are going to kick some ass."

According to America's former anti-terrorism chief Richard Clarke, this was Bush's response when he was reminded of the constraints of international law on that fateful evening.

Muslims in this country must demand that the PNM answer the difficult but necessary Palestinian Questions, such as: what is their view of UN Resolution 242, the issue of just settlement for refugees, the right of return, the future of the Occupied Territories, Palestinians right to militant resistance as one means of securing their goals, the pursuit of "la paix des braves" (the peace of the braves) as a legitimate strategy and what of the peace process etc.?

I wonder if they even have one?

The imam of Jamaat al Murabiteen Mosque in San Fernando, Imam Ibraheem Muhammad, will be asking these and other questions of the prime minister.

This is not like in the past!

We need to know publicly what is the government's policy on this issue, which is close to the hearts of all Muslims, if we are to engage construtively with the disappointment and anger of Muslim youths who want to do something, anything.

Gone are the days where the government could mamaguay Muslims leaders behind closed doors, who then leave "intoxicated" by being close to power so that they could boast the next day by the village stand-pipe.

Shaloam Trinbagonim!

http://www.tntmirror.com/sunday/2005/dec04/story07.htm