They “sold their souls to the Devil” – Fatah on Indonesians at conference with Israelis in Jerusalem
They "sold their souls to the Devil"
- Fatah about Indonesian religious scholars
participating with Israelis in AJC conference in "occupied Jerusalem"
- Fatah: The participation of an Indonesian delegation of religious scholars in a conference of the American Jewish Committee in "occupied Jerusalem" is "a crime against Jerusalem, against the Palestinian people, and against Muslims throughout the world, and constitutes support for the criminal Israeli occupier against our fighting and resolute people"
By Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
When an Indonesian delegation of religious scholars came to participate in a conference of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in Jerusalem earlier this month, Abbas' Fatah Movement called it "a crime against the city, the members of our people, and Muslims throughout the world":"The Fatah Movement said that the participation of a delegation of Indonesian religious scholars in the Jewish-American Relations Conference (i.e., the American Jewish Committee Global Forum) that will be held in occupied Jerusalem is a crime against Jerusalem, against the Palestinian people, and against Muslims throughout the world, and constitutes support for the criminal Israeli occupier against our fighting and resolute people."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 12, 2018]
A spokesman of Fatah said the participants had "sold their soul to the Devil":"Official Fatah Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi said in a press statement that the participation of Secretary-General of the [Nahdlatul Ulama] Association Yahya Staquf in this conference in occupied Jerusalem is a betrayal of the religion, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Palestinian people, and the Arab and Islamic nations. Al-Qawasmi demanded that the senior Indonesian officials and the Indonesian people, which is honorable and supports the Palestinian cause, settle the account with those who have sold their souls to the Devil and agreed to serve as pawns in the hands of the Zionists and Israelis."
Fatah's defining the participation of Yahya Staquf, Secretary-General of Nahdlatul Ulama in Indonesia - the largest independent Muslim organization in the world - in the AJC conference as "selling his soul to the Devil" is reminiscent of other hate-speech by Palestinians who have compared Israel to the Devil or even stated that Israel "is Satan."Palestinian Media Watch exposed that Abbas' advisor on Religious Affairs, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, taught that Jews have supported Satan throughout history and therefore Israel is "Satan's project":
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Similarly, PA TV has had at least six Palestinian children recite a poem that includes Antisemitic hate speech, stating that "Zion is Satan with a tail."
A preacher at the Al-Aqsa Mosque has taught that Jews sacrifice humans to Satan and wish to build the Temple to worship the Devil.
A cartoon for kids broadcast by the Fatah-run Awdah TV taught children that Jews do the work of "satans."
The PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the Indonesian delegation's participation in the conference in Jerusalem:
"The [PA] Ministry [of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates] condemned the participation of a delegation of Indonesian religious scholars... It emphasized that the participation in these activities is a blow to Palestine and to Jerusalem."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 12, 2018]
The following are longer excerpts of the reports on the condemnation by the PA and Fatah of the Indonesian delegation:Headline: "Fatah: The participation of a delegation of religious scholars from Indonesia in a conference in Jerusalem constitutes a crime against the city, the members of our people, and Muslims throughout the world"
"The Fatah Movement said that the participation of a delegation of Indonesian religious scholars in the Jewish-American Relations Conference (i.e., the American Jewish Committee Global Forum) that will be held in occupied Jerusalem is a crime against Jerusalem, against the Palestinian people, and against Muslims throughout the world, and constitutes support for the criminal Israeli occupier against our fighting and resolute people.
Official Fatah Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi said in a press statement that the participation of Secretary-General of the [Nahdlatul Ulama] Association Yahya Staquf in this conference in occupied Jerusalem is a betrayal of the religion, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Palestinian people, and the Arab and Islamic nations. Al-Qawasmi demanded that the senior Indonesian officials and the Indonesian people, which is honorable and supports the Palestinian cause, settle the account with those who have sold their souls to the Devil and agreed to serve as pawns in the hands of the Zionists and Israelis."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 12, 2018]
"In another statement yesterday [June 11, 2018], the [PA] Ministry [of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates] condemned the participation of a delegation of Indonesian religious scholars... in the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Global Forum conference that is taking place in Jerusalem between June 10 and June 13, 2018...
It emphasized that the participation in these activities is a blow to Palestine and to Jerusalem, and a heavy blow to Indonesia, as it is the largest Islamic state (i.e., the state with the largest Islamic population) in the world...
The ministry emphasized: 'Our region was and will always remain a beacon of thought and culture. It did not know any form of violence on ethnic and religious grounds until the thieving entity was established on the land and ruins of the Palestinian people.'"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 12, 2018]