Muslims Israel Dialogue
1. In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
2. Distinguished faith leaders, elected officials, community organizers, brothers and sisters, Muslim and Jewish New Yorkers, and fellow Americans, I stand before you today at a moment that is both solemn and hopeful. The inauguration of Muslim and Jewish New Yorkers Unite on this first day of a new year is not merely ceremonial; it is a moral declaration. It is a statement that we refuse to allow hatred, distortion, and fear to define our relationships or our future. It is a commitment to speak truth with courage and to defend human dignity without qualification.
3. Let me speak plainly, because moral clarity demands plain speech. Hatred of Israel fuels hatred of Jews. Hatred of Jews corrodes the ethical foundation of any society. And any ideology that normalizes antisemitism ultimately betrays Islam itself, whose core teachings demand justice, truthfulness, and the protection of innocent life. This is not a slogan; it is a moral reality that we must confront honestly if we are serious about peace.
4. Just days ago, I returned from the Holy Land as part of a week-long educational study tour made possible through partnership with the OHR Torah Interfaith Center of Israel and support from the Combat Antisemitism Movement. Alongside fellow Muslim leaders, women of faith, and interfaith advocates from across the United States, we traveled not as tourists, but as witnesses. We met Jewish and Arab citizens living under the same laws and the same democratic framework. We listened carefully, asked difficult questions, and heard responses that do not fit the simplistic narratives so often repeated from afar. More than once, Arab Israelis told us that even if a Palestinian state were established, they would choose to remain Israeli citizens because of the rights, stability, and dignity they experience. That truth does not erase Palestinian suffering, but it does dismantle the false claim that coexistence is impossible.
4. I speak today as a Muslim, as an African-born naturalized citizen of the United States, and as an interfaith leader. From that position, I must publicly acknowledge something too often ignored. Israel has quietly saved African lives. It has provided free, lifesaving medical treatment to Africans with severe illnesses, trained African doctors and medical students, and shared expertise in agriculture, technology, water treatment, and innovation. These actions were not demanded, and they were not transactional. Gratitude for such deeds is not weakness; it is moral honesty.
5. Much confusion has been created around the word Zionism, and that confusion has been exploited to justify hatred. At its most basic and accurate level, Zionism is the belief that the Jewish people, like all peoples, have the right to a homeland where they can live in safety and dignity. Islam itself teaches that love of one’s homeland is part of faith. The Qur’an recounts how God instructed Moses and his people to enter the Holy Land assigned to them. These are not political slogans; they are reminders that faith and attachment to land are not contradictions.
6. We must also confront a broader global reality that is too often ignored. After the Second World War, dozens of nations emerged through decolonization and the collapse of empires across Africa, Asia, and Europe. Israel is not an anomaly of history; it is part of that same global transformation. Yet Israel alone is relentlessly singled out. There are 193 countries in the United Nations, 57 in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and 22 in the Arab League, spanning millions of square miles and hundreds of millions of people. There are roughly sixteen million Jews worldwide, with Israel as their one homeland, a country smaller than many global cities, home to ten million people including two million Arab citizens. These facts demand serious questions, not shouted slogans: why perpetual rejection, and why the normalization of Palestinian statelessness rather than its resolution through constructive engagement?
7. For many years, Israel focused primarily on military defense while underestimating the power of public opinion, even as its enemies invested heavily in global misinformation and recruitment. The horrific terror attacks of October 7 were a brutal awakening, not only for Israel but for global Jewry, exposing how quickly moral clarity can collapse when hatred is disguised as activism. Since then, Israel has recognized that defending itself also requires defending truth, facts, and humanity. And we must ask honestly: where else in the Middle East do we find a democracy with free elections, an independent judiciary, free speech, and legislative representation for minorities?
8. While we were in Israel, yet another antisemitic massacre occurred, claiming innocent lives, including that of a Holocaust survivor. That tragedy underscores why silence is no longer an option. Today, I call upon people of conscience everywhere to reject antisemitism without excuses or euphemisms. Standing against Jew-hatred requires visibility as well as words. Raising the Israeli flag is not an act of provocation; it is an act of recognition—recognition of sovereignty, democracy, and the right of a people to exist in safety. What unites antisemites across borders is not theology but an obsessive hatred of Israel. That hatred must be confronted openly, courageously, and peacefully.
9. This moment is not about choosing sides in a conflict; it is about choosing truth over distortion, dignity over hatred, and courage over silence. Let us raise a generation of Muslims who are not taught to hate, and a generation of Jews who do not feel abandoned. Let us make New York a model of principled coexistence, where disagreement does not become dehumanization and solidarity does not require uniformity. May God guide us toward justice without vengeance, truth without fear, and peace grounded in reality.
10. Thank you, God bless you, God bless the United States of America, and may peace prevail in the Holy Land.
New York Forward,
Sheikh Musa Drammeh,
President,
Muslims-Israel Dialogue
718-822-5555
No comments:
Post a Comment