From: rayes@Snake.mcs.kent.edu (Sandra Rayes)
Subject: Re: Fair Swap
Organization: Kent State University
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 06:07:13 GMT

In article <1992Sep11.205819.10064@colorado.edu> perlman@qso.Colorado.EDU (Eric S. Perlman) writes:
>In article <1992Sep11.073925.3382@mcs.kent.edu> rayes@Snake.mcs.kent.edu (Sandra Rayes) writes:
>>>
>>Baloney....it is mentioned in the Qur'an...Prophet Muhammad visited
>>there and many Muslims from the Sham and even further used to go there
>>in lieu of Hajj in Mecca (since they didn't have money and Jerusalem
>>was closer).  Al Aqsa is tied with the BEST personalities in Islamic
>>history.  I have met a lady who was educated there (pre '67).
>
>As with every institution, there are good and bad personalities
>associated with al Aqsa.  (Can anyone say Hajj Amin al-Husseini, for
>example?) This is not to discount its importance in
>Islam, just for perspective.  In any case, I was under the impression
>that it was the Mount itself which is mentioned in the Qu'ran, and that
>al-Aqsa dates from something like 50-100 years later.  Minor quibble.
>
The Qur'an *specifically* says Al-Aqsa...

"Subhana-ladhi 'isra bi'abdihi laylan min al masjid al haram ila 
al MASJID AL AQSA...  
meaning: Praise to Him (God) to took his servant (Muhammad) on a
journey by night from the Mosque of the Sanctuary (or Sacred Mosque,
the one in Mecca) to the Mosque of Al Aqsa (Jerusalem).

Perhaps, now you can realize why it is so important to Muslims.  Our
tradition of the Prophet's Isra and Miraj (Journey and Ascension), which
took place during our holiest month, Ramadhan, left us Muslims with
the sanctuary of prayer...  This is in the Prophet's life, and later
on 'Umar ibn al-Khattab visited Jerusalem.
	
>>Throwing out and retrieving convenient slogans is your trick, not ours.
>>Palestinians have always stressed their love for their land and culture.
>>Palestinians were traditionally peaceful (at a time when other Arabs
>>were fighting) and settled farmers who enjoyed their pace of life and
>>were blessed by the proximity of Al Aqsa, a holy site in Islam.
>>That has never changed.  What has changed is the fact that Europeans
>>have taken their land from them, treated them like animals, and
>>assigned to them the role of victim.
>
>Sandra, while now this definitely makes a lot of sense to a lot of
>people, even those such as Rashid Khalidi have stressed that the
>resurgence of Jewish nationalism - i.e. Zionism - triggered a huge
>upswing in Palestinian nationalism, and that Palestinian nationalism,
>such as it was, had its origins during the early part of this century
>(Jacob Baltuch posted some excellent information on this several months
>ago, which I unfortunately did not save).

As I said, the Palestinians were a settled lot, comfortable with their
ways, and before Zionism were unthreatened by the outside.  There would
have been no need for any upswing of "Palestinian Nationalism".

And remember, Eric, nationalism is an invention of the West.  Before
nationalism, the Arabs were all united under one Muslim state.  Their
idea of nationalism did not extend beyond their qabilahs (tribes, I
believe).  You cannot think of Mid Eastern ideology with a Western
mind...you will never make sense of it if you do.
									
>
>For centuries Palestine was ruled by the Ottomans - and under their rule
>*no one*, not Jews, not Armenians, not Kurds, and not Arabs, expressed
>much in the way of nationalistic feelings there.  Other parts of the ME
>weren't ruled by the Ottoman Empire for so long - and therefore their
>history reflects different characteristics.

Not correct.  Nearly ALL of the Arabic-speaking world was unified under
the Ottoman Empire.  But again, you are analyzing this through Western
eyes and nationalizing this.  There was no nationalism.  I used to do 
this also, until I realized that the Mid East mind does not think the
way a Western mind does.  My husband is from Northern Africa.  His
country was also under the Ottoman rule until Europe colonized N. Africa.
And this is where my husband starts his condemnation.  So once I said to
him (remember I too am a Westerner with the nationalist mentality that
comes with it): "How come you complain about France and Italy, but you
don't complain about Turkey...that's not fair...Turks aren't Arabs and
they occupied your country".  My husband said "Aha...there's where
your western nationalism ideology goes wrong.  For us, we accept the
Turks because they were MUSLIMS and started out with a MUSLIM state.
Arab or non-Arab--it makes no difference to us".

The point is, Palestine, although completely Arab, was part of a Muslim
empire.  Although everyone realized there were regional differences,
the Arab states were a "federation" of sorts, unified under the Ottoman
rule.  But that certainly didn't make Palestine (which is what the
rest of the Empire called that region) less Palestinian.  I believe it
is nationalism which has been the scourge of the Arab world and Arab
politics.  May Allah curse Nasser for picking it up and popularizing it.

Sandra.

>
>-- 
>"How sad to see/A model of decorum and tranquillity/become like any other sport
>A battleground for rival ideologies to slug it out with glee." -Tim Rice,"Chess"
>     Eric S. Perlman 				 <perlman@qso.colorado.edu> 
>  Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, Boulder


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