In an Op-Ed in The Wall Street Journal, the grand mufti of Egypt writes about Islam’s relationship with the West. The piece by Ali Gomaa is titled “Islam, Israel and the United States,” which gives the misimpression that it’s about Israel. It’s not.
Here’s the only time Israel is mentioned:
The violence and the aggression to which many Muslim countries have been subjected are the main sources of a deep and legitimate sense of grievance, and they must be addressed. Israel’s occupation of Palestine must be brought to an end; its continuation is an affront to the fundamental tenets of justice and freedom that we all seek to uphold.
Here’s the question I’d like to ask the mufti: When you say Palestine, do you mean all of historic Palestine — that is, that Israel should be dismantled — or just the West Bank?
The mufti is in Washington this week for the Common Word Initiative, a conference of religious leaders hosted by Georgetown University’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He said he plans to use the opportunity to call for the conference’s expansion to include “representatives of all the Abrahamic faiths” — i.e. the Jews.
This would also be a good opportunity for him to clarify his position on Israel: Does he support the idea of its existence (his government already has made peace with that idea), or is he calling for Israel’s destruction?