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Special Dispatch - Palestinian Authority No. 82 March 29, 2000

Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
1815 H Street, NW Suite 404 Washington, DC  20006

 ".[Pope] Wojtyla free us from the Jews"

An interview with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem about the Pope's
Visit

Appointed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, the
Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Eqirma Said Sabri, Imam of the Al-Asqa
mosque is the highest religious authority in Palestinian Islam.
On the eve of the Pope's historic visit to the Al-Asqa mosque,
the Grand Mufti gave the following interview to the Italian
newspaper La Republica, March 24, 2000.  The title of the
article was "Too many lies about the Holocaust, [Pope] Wojtyla
free us from the Jews."

"'Six million Jews dead?  No way, they were much fewer.  Let's
stop with this fairytale exploited by Israel to capture
international solidarity.  It is not my fault if Hitler hated
Jews, indeed they were hated a little everywhere.  Instead, it
is necessary to denounce the unjust occupation endured by my
people.  Tomorrow I will ask John Paul II. to support our
cause,'" the Grand Mufti states. ".Question: Sheik Sabri, why
did you refuse to participate in the meeting with the
representatives of Christianity and Judaism? Answer: It was not
a personal decision.  In
'67, the Supreme Islamic Council
prohibited contact with the religious authority of the Jewish
State occupying Jerusalem.  Thirty-three years later that ban
remains valid.  Also, because the situation in the Holy City has
deteriorated.  The Rabbis oppose the peace process, they want to
continue the occupation of our land, and support Jewish
settlements.

Q: But in your life have you ever met a Rabbi?
A: Never.  Actually, not even my father, himself an Imam, has
ever wanted to meet one.

Q: Do you have the same problems meeting Christian bishops? A:
Not at all, we meet regularly.  The Catholic Patriarch of
Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, was at my house just two weeks ago.

Q: How does it feel to be the first Muslim to open the doors of
a mosque to a Pope? A: I will welcome him with respect.  His
visit to the Al-Aqsa mosque is a contribution to the improvement
of relations between our religions.

Q: What will you say to [Pope] Wojtyla?
A: Two things: First, I will remind him that according to
Allah's will, the holy Muslim places belong to us only.  Then, I
will ask for his help to end Israeli occupation and Palestinian
suffering.

Q: Will the Pope pray inside the mosque?
A: It would not be a good idea. Aside from the intentions, such
a gesture could be wrongfully interpreted by Christians in the
future.  It is good to follow the teachings of the Caliph Omar,
who after conquering Jerusalem refused to pray inside the
[church of the] Holy Sepulchre: wisely, he feared that the
followers of Islam would feel authorized to imitate him,
transforming a sacred place for Christianity into a holy place
for Islam.

Q: A Rabbi said that if the Pope went to the Wailing Wall
tomorrow with a cross at his neck it would be offensive to
Judaism.  Would it be a problem for you if the Pope came to the
mosque with a cross? A: Not at all.  Also the Prophet Muhammad
welcomed many Christian authorities that wore the cross into
mosques.  Let it be clear: the Wailing Wall is not a holy place
of the Jews, it is an integral part of the mosque [grounds].  We
call it al-Buraq, the name of the horse with which Muhammad
ascended to heaven from Jerusalem.

Q: Yet Muslims and Jews lived peacefully on this land until the
beginning of the twentieth century, while between Islam and
Christians there are centuries of bloody conflicts. A: The
Crusades were a conflict between the European Christian powers
and the Muslims.  But there has never been a war between the
Christians of Palestine and Islam, we are one Arab people; the
relations have been good for fifteen centuries, in fact during
the Crusades many Christian Palestinians fought on the side of
the [Muslim leader] Saladin.  It is true that we have lived in
harmony with the Jews also, until 1917, when the Balfour
Declaration recognized their right to a
'home' in Palestine,
and the Jews ended up taking it all.  Today we do not fight
against the Jews over religious issues.  The conflict is only
political..

Q: From a theological point of view would you consider
yourselves brothers of the Jews? A: In this case theology does
not count.  Let us consider the Pope's visit.  It was announced
as a spiritual pilgrimage.  But it is a political journey.  In
fact, the Jews are trying to manipulate it to obtain a green
light for the occupation of our land.  At the same time, Arafat
is doing his best to receive the Pope's support for a
Palestinian state.

Q: What do you think of John Paul II?
A: He is without a doubt the most enterprising Pope in history,
everybody esteems him as a  messenger of peace in the world.
Therefore, I hope he will forward to Israel our demand for
justice and freedom.

Q: Did you approve of the Pope's visit to the monument of the
Holocaust? A: Whether I approved of it or not, he would have
gone anyway.  The Jews have found a formidable way to gather
solidarity from the world.  The Holocaust completely dominates
international media, in Germany people only talk about the
compensation of millions of dollars to the Jews.  Well: the
Crusades lasted two hundred years, not five years like World War
II, and many more Muslims than Jews were killed under Nazism.
But nobody talks about the Crusades or compensation for us. 

Q: Do you agree with the Pope that the extermination of six
million Jews in concentration camps is a crime against humanity
and against God? A: Six million?  They were much fewer.  And
then how many times has genocide not been denounced?  Let us
think about the one just committed by Russia in Chechnya against
Muslims.  Why do people only insist on talking about the
Holocaust?  Of course we are against any crime, any genocide.

Q: Among your people there is controversy even about Jesus: was
he Jewish or Palestinian? A: According to The Koran Abram,
Isaac, Moses, and Jesus, were all sent to the world by Allah.
Jesus was born and raised in Palestine, for us he is an
important prophet and his mother Mary is a saint.  Jews instead
do not recognize either one.  I wonder why the Christian world
is so loyal to those who do not respect Jesus and his mother.

Q: Sheik Sabri, is Islam on the road to more tolerance and
democracy? A: After the defeat of Communism, the Western world
is searching for another enemy to destroy, and it is Islam's
turn [to be destroyed].  But we do not need any western power to
come and teach us its political system.  The Koran regulates
every aspect of our lives.  Why should we search for a system
created by men when we have one created by God?"


The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an
independent, non-profit organization providing translations of
the Arab media and original analysis and research on
developments in the Middle East.  Copies of articles and
documents cited, as well as background information, are
available upon request.


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