LETTER: To Mr Recep Tayyib Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey.
I write to you with great humility and admiration and inspired by your leadership to steer the nation of Turkey in this very challenging time.
MAPIM is an organisation working for the advancement of the ummah for the last 18 years of existence. Our work has been directed to address the myriad of challengies facing the ummah with a broad agenda of policy framework of liberating (tahreer) and transformation (taghyir) of the ummah.
We have been engaging with the Turkish Diyanet in our collaboration to extend humanitarian assistance to the refugees around the world.
This letter is intended to seek your indulgence on our views for you to consider in light of the critical situation of the ummah. The most crucial would be issues pertaining to the Palestine cause and liberation of Al Quds.
The current situation in both the Gaza strip, West Bank and Baitul Maqdis are in a dire state. As you are particularly aware the crust of the Palestinian issue is the occupation of israel. Once the occupation is ended then all the other issues will be overcomed.
I respect your strong and consistent position on Palestine. Turkey has always been in the forefront of initiating a convergence of Muslim nations to address the Palestinian issue at a global level. The consistent stance that Turkey has adopted against the zionist state is firm.
Your initiative of communicating with the Muslim nations at the height of the the zionist military forces storming the Al-Aqsa mosque and the forced eviction of the Palestinians from the Syekh Jarrah neighborhood is of utmost importance since the Muslim nations are too weak to respond to the situation.
However, with the current brutality and the brute force of israel on Gaza, and every hour is crutial to save lives, i urge you to delay no longer to initiate an intervention.
Israel knows no peace until the whole of Palestine is subjugated. Its colonial occupation is to leave no land of Palestine unoccupied and the ultimate target is Baitul Maqdis and the Al Aqsa mosque. The two state solution is now no more a viable solution as the UN resolution 242 is now irrelevent.
As you have warned that Al Quds is a red line. I endorse this stance. Therefore, any affront to the holy site will not be tolerated.
Since Israel's occupation of Baitul Maqdis in 1967 , the storming and build up of the zionist israeli's forces in the Al Aqsa mosque have been regular and escalating by the day. Tensions have never subsided when the series of aggression by the Israeli forces are intentionally aimed to provoke a precedence of chaos to justify their aggressive actions.
I am earnestly calling Muslim leaders of the world that a strong and decisive action must be put forward immediately less the world will witness the worst violation of international law against the Palestinians.
We cannot continue with rethorics of words. The occupation is the key factor that has prolonged the oppressions from land grap and forced evictions to genocide of the Palestinian population.
I believe that you have the capacity to act as what you did for Libya. Now is the time to take a decisive action to reclaim Palestine and Al Quds.
Israel has announced to continue its military campaign in Gaza with full force. Meaning the bloodshed will persist, lost of innocent lives will surge and destruction of infrastrure will be huge.
All muslims around the world are agonised by the inability of their leaders to act. The situation depicts how Muslim leaders are in a state of disunity and trapped with the nationalistic thinking of "my country first" policy.
You know very well Israel's arrogance and complete negation of international law is fully backed by the western imperialist powers especially the US. Israel's strength derives from the US unequivocal support and the disarray of the Muslim nations.
The Muslims now do not have a strong leadership neither are they united. Muslims are crushed everywhere without any help. The Uygh
urs, Rohingyas, Kashmiris are being suppressed, some for decades.
I know that Turkey is under immense pressure from the foreign powers while you are also burdened with the Syrian refugees. We are amazed by your resolve to assist the millions of the Syrian brothers and sisters at the time of such enormous challenge of the economic slowdown by the covid pandemic.
But, we are counting on you to protect and reclaimed Palestine and save Al Quds and Al Aqsa. It is the duty of all Muslims to support the Palestianian cause. However the push has to come from a leader like you.
We stand in solidarity with you and will always render our support to Turkey to face the onslaught of the zionist israel agenda. I pray for your continued strength of leadership and well being. May Allah guides you to lead the ummah.
MOHD AZMI ABDUL HAMID
President, MAPIM
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times