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Monday, October 29, 2001
President Hosni Mubarak Monday held an open dialogue with Islamic ulemas at Al Azhar International Conference Centre in Nasr City, inaugurated earlier in the day. The President greeted the ulemas on the occasion of the advent of the Holy fasting month of Ramadan which will start within few days. Asked on the events of September 11 and the attempts to link Islam with terrorism, the President said the September 11 are unacceptable and no one can agree on the killing of innocent people without a reason. “Terrorism cannot be halted unless the Palestinian issue is solved,” he said, adding that violence should never be linked with Islam, and there is no link in the first place. He referred to the lawyer who entered a court room in the United States holding a machine gun and opened fire killing eight lawyers and the Oklahoma explosions and other events. "People have reached a state of deep frustration that leads to more violence between the Palestinians and the Israelis," he added. The President pointed out to the Palestinian -Israeli negotiations in Camp David when former President Bill Clinton was in office, saying he was asked to help Arafat take a tough decision. ``I said I would support any decision Arafat would take.`` The problem at that time was AL Aqsa Mosque, as Israel wanted it to be under its sovereignty. ``I told Clinton that no Arab or Islamic nation would accept the Israeli sovereignty on the Holy mosque as these territories were occupied in 1967``. "The US administration understands that. However, the Israeli intransigence still holds the Islamic sanctities that should be returned. Al Aqsa should be returned." During the Camp David negotiations, Palestinian Leader YasserArafat reached some concessions with the Israeli side. Israel would hand over AL Aqsa to the Palestinian authority and in return the authority gives them the wailing wall and the Jewish quarter. East Jerusalem is divided into a number of quarters, a Jewish quarter, an Islamic quarter, a Christian quarter and an Armenian quarter. Arafat told them they could have the Jewish quarter along with the wall. But, no one would "dare" (dare not could) give up AL Aqsa Mosque or Jerusalem," he emphasized. "Asked how to combat terrorism without a clear-cut definition that would take into account the legitimate armed resistance by the people suffering under terrorism,” President Mubarak said. In one of my recent interviews I said that I believe what is going on in the palestinian lands and the efforts to restore the land is not terrorism, otherwise we would deem the Israeli acts in the occupied territories as terrorism``. He noted that some organization were angry and sent asking him whether he accept murders in casinos and inside Israel and whether he didn't consider them terrorism." "Is it Israel's right to enact a law allowing the hunting down and killing of Palestinians or what they call activists in the occupied territories," Mubarak wondered. He added that he has always been calling for convening an international anti-terrorism conference. On differences regarding the operations that take place on occupied soil, Mubarak said, "we don't consider them terrorism because whoever carries them out wants to restore his usurped lands." "Some countries said they would not agree to hold an international anti-terrorism conference because Muslims then would say that what is going on by the Palestinians is not terrorism," added Mubarak. “If all are searching for human rights, then we are all for human rights, but there are others who seek murder and bloodshed,” stressed the President. |
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