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A caution before
the crusade By Reuven Koret September 20, 2001 President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan explained Wednesday night that his nation would cooperate with the United States for the sake of Islam. He cited the historical precedent of Mohammed making an alliance with an infidel tribe to defeat the Jews and conquer Mecca. He referred to the fact that Mohammed even agreed to remove the title of "Prophet" from his signature in signing such an agreement with the infidels. Musharraf was referring to the precedent that Mohammed, the seventh century founder of Islam, signed a 10-year peace treaty with the enemy tribe of Koreish, to more effectively prosecute his fight with the Jews. Two years into the treaty, Mohammed's position improved, so he tore up his "Hudibiyya Agreement" and slaughtered the Koreishites. The agreement should be familiar to students of the Israel-Palestinian peace agreements. Speaking to a rally in Ramallah on November 16, 1998, Yasser Arafat said, "When we chose the peace of the brave [his code-phrase for the Oslo and Wye Accords], we chose it with trust in the Prophet who agreed to the treaty of Hudibiyya." He has frequently assured Arab audiences that Palestinian treaties with Israel are only "temporary truces" rather than genuine, permanent peace agreements. In a 1998 interview on Egyptian TV, Arafat cited the same nuance as Musharraf: "When the prophet Muhammad made the Hudibiyya agreement, he agreed to remove his title "messenger of Allah" from the agreement." The result, Arafat explained, was that the deal was relegated to being an "inferior peace agreement." Although he expressed reluctance to compare himself to the prophet, he continued, "I do say that we must learn from his steps and those of Salah a-Din. Arafat was referring the Muslim leader who, breaking a cease-fire, declared a jihad against the Crusaders and captured Jerusalem. All Arab states condition their participation in the American-led coalition on the exclusion of Israel. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that Israel's inclusion would be "problematic." While Israel may participate quietly, with intelligence and logistical support, the reality is that the Egyptians, Syrians, and Palestinians are in while the Israelis are, formally at least, out. In the Gulf War, Israel absorbed a few dozen SCUD attacks without retaliating. This time around the stakes may be higher. Israeli intelligence estimates that this time around, with Saddam's regime threatened, Iraq may tip its missiles with unconventional warheads. American troops and the American people are at risk of similar attacks from the Islamic advocates of Holy War, as they were in 1991. The United States is walking into a terrible trap if it depends on unstable Islamic allies such as Pakistan for its anticipated attack on Afghanistan. President Musharraf and the other Arab partners in the coalition may at any time abandon support for the American effort. Or, more ominously, the Moslem masses may overthrow Musharraf's rule and seize control of his nuclear arsenal. By relying on unstable Arab and Islamic regimes, America is walking into quicksand. As it strives to "drain the swamp" of terrorism, it risks getting stuck in the muck. When President Bush used the word "crusade" on the White House lawn to describe his war against terrorism, he may not have realized the historical impact of his words in the region and in the imagination of its Moslem residents. bin Laden repeatedly refers to his cause as a struggle against the Crusaders. And he clearly sees himself, and is seen by many fellow Arabs, as a modern Saladin confronting Christianity in a holy war. The quest of America is indeed a holy and noble mission. The threat of Islamic terrorism endangers the free world. The attacks on New York and Washington are just a small foretaste of the horrors that the Holy Warriors of Islam have in mind for the West. Emboldened by the pain they have inflicted, intoxicated by the power of creating massive panic, the Islamic terrorists and their state sponsors are just waiting for the United States and its allies to ensnare themselves in the mine-strewn deserts and mountain passes. And the Arab States now making temporary agreements with the Americans will turn on them the moment it becomes advantageous. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stressed Wednesday that Jerusalem is an Arab land and must be restored to its owners, the Palestinians. He asserted, in a TV interview with the BBC, that neither Moslems nor Christians accept the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem. He implored the United States not to draw any conclusions regarding the latest attacks before a full investigation, and demanded that it not to attack any state because of a movement in that state. "If America attacks Afghanistan and kills Osama bin Laden, another generation will appear and follow bin Laden's way," Mubarak warned. The historical goal of each Crusade was Jerusalem.
The conquest of Jerusalem also happens to be, along with the purification
of Mecca, the goal of radical Islam in general and both bin Laden and
Arafat in particular. Both desire to follow in the footsteps of Saladin.
One can well imagine a situation in which the American Administration,
exhausted by its bout with Islam, will be tempted to impose a solution
on the Jews, either as payment for perceived debts to Arab and Moslem
"partners," as appeasement for its offense to Moslems, or to
prove that at least something was achieved in the region. Views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
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