Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday retweeted UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nayhan after the Emirati official shared an article by the Spectator magazine which argued that a “reformation” is taking place in Islam through a redrawing of the political map in the Middle East with the normalisation of Sunni Arab states and Israel.
I welcome the closer relations between Israel and many Arab states. The time has come for normalization and peace.
أرحب بالتقارب الذي يحدث بين إسرائيل والكثير من الدول العربية. لقد آن الأوان لتحقيق التطبيع والسلام. https://t.co/MdDd0q8Jh0
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) December 21, 2019
The article authored by self-proclaimed reformed Islamist extremist Ed Husain claims that a new geopolitical order is emerging in the region, namely due to a common perceived threat faced by Sunni Arabs and Israel against the “menace of Shiite political Islamism”. The Arab-Israeli wars and hostilities are a thing of the past, which according to Husain was simply based on an “anti-Semitic craze to destroy Israel”.
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The now edited sub-heading to the title previously stated “There’s a new peace between Israel and Sunni Islam” before being changed to “New maps of the Muslim mind are being drawn and old hatreds are on the run”.
"Islam’s reformation: an Arab-Israeli alliance is taking shape in the Middle East. There’s a new peace between Israel and Sunni Islam"
Dumbest headline for the dumbest article tweeted by the dumbest Foreign Minister. https://t.co/SstvzSutWW
— Ibn Firnas (@Ben_Firnas) December 21, 2019
Husain also cites the aftermath of the so-called Arab Spring bringing the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups at the forefront of Middle Eastern politics which has now been “viewed as a threat” to both Islam and Muslims and is therefore “rejected”. Israel, Husain contends, is seen by “moderate” Arab states as a reliable trade and security partner in comparison to the US which has previously “abandoned” Arab allies when faced with threats by the Brotherhood or Iran.
“There are enough historical and scriptural narratives of Muslim-Jewish fraternity to form the basis for rapprochement,” Husain concluded, believing this may bring a decade of peace. He made no reference however, to the on-going illegal occupation of Arab territory in Syria, Lebanon and Palestinian territory in the West Bank or continued attacks on the Gaza Strip in violation of international law.
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