By Jamal Elabiad
“In Europe, I found Islam without Muslims, while in Egypt I found Muslims without Islam.” said the Egyptian thinker Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905).
Muhammad Abduh’s statement came to my mind soon after I read that a British court issued recently a warrant for the arrest of Tzipi Livni, former foreign minister of Israel. Frankly, the news story about Livni made me remember how much I laughed when I was told that some Moroccan human rights activists were planning to hold a mock trial for her!
The reason behind the arrest warrant is the fact that Tzipi Livni, when she was foreign minister, was one of the main proponents of the Israeli war on Gaza (between 27 December 2008 and 16 January 2009) which claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Palestinians, including kids and women. In other words, Tzipi Livni is suspected of committing war crimes against the Gazans. That’s why she cancelled a planned visit to London as soon as she learnt of the arrest warrant. By the way, Britain is not the only European country a slew of Israeli senior officials have avoided visiting for fear of being arrested for war crimes in Gaza.
While Tzipi Livni is wanted by the British police, she can pay visits to Morocco as well as other Muslim countries, including Mauretania, Egypt, and Jordan whenever she wants, and she’s got nothing to be afraid of. She attended last November an international economic conference in Morocco. “ Livni was treated like a head of state in Morocco. She was given 20 bodyguards, including the country's only female guardian, and streets were closed for her motorcade.” reported The Jerusalem Post.
It’s true that the pro-Palestinian organization that forced the British judiciary to order the arrest of Tzipi Livni includes some Muslim members. But this is exactly, I think, the conclusion Muhammad Abduh arrived at after visiting Europe. It’s, in brief, the exception that proves the rule.
Liberating Palestine is a Muslim duty, which means it’s up to all Muslim countries to use all possible means to liberate Palestine or at least help achieve that goal. This, I am sorry to say, has become among the empty words which most of today’s Muslims are good at…!
el_jamal8@hotmail.fr