Trump, Netanyahu and Saudis the stars in a comedy of errors
AVERITABLE comedy of errors? No, I’m not referring to Joey Rasdien and the events at an elite Sandton conference on marriage which set off an unprecedented series of challenges for South Africa’s ulema – Ulema or Molvis/ Muftis who, by the way, happen to belong exclusively to one particular ethnic group.
While these developments sparked a flurry of claims and counter-claims, revolving around Ramaphosa and the Eidgha; Rasdien and 40 000 Hadith; Ahmed Kathrada and his funeral; Al Qalam and its boycott; the Palestinians in Al-Quds rose above all their internal divisions to point to al-Aqsa as the key focal point for the Muslim Ummah.
While the Palestinians stood up to confront Israel’s military juggernaut, a section of South Africa’s Muslim community revolted against one another – in a pathetic attempt to draw lines in the sand in defence of one group of molvis against another.
Far removed from the noble sanctuary of al-Aqsa, these domestic squabbles elicited angry and ugly messages across many social media platforms. Yet the demands of al-Aqsa on the global Muslim Ummah for its protection from the boots of Israel’s illegal military occupation, despite being splashed on mainstream media, seemed to leave the warring factions wanting.
Nevertheless in Palestine, the power of unarmed resistance by men, women and children of the soil paved the path to victory and delivered the noble sanctuary to its rightful custodians.
Fortunately, the fallout between molvis is not reflective of the larger Muslim community – neither in terms of numbers nor in terms of ethnicity. Cape Town yet again excelled as Muslims took to the streets to protest against Israel’s barbarity.
Solidarity with the demands of Palestinian people also saw pickets, rallies and a host of activities in addition to the Cape Town march. It said to those in Jerusalem who dug in their heels in defiance of Israel’s “security” measures, that we stand with you. It also said to the Arab regimes that our inspiration is drawn from the protesters – young and old.
The jokers in the pack, whose conduct left no doubt that Palestine’s freedom struggle cannot depend on them, are the comedians I refer to. They are the unelected despots of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt. Ganging up against Qatar and making outrageous demands while imposing sanctions is turning out to be a poorly thought out script. Poor in judgment and bankrupt in strategy, the quartet’s comedy of errors is much worse than a joke.
While Palestinians in Occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank stood firmly in defiance of Israel’s attempts to subjugate al-Aqsa, the jokers of Riyadh and their allies insisted that their boycott of Qatar will continue to intensify unless Doha moves away from supporting “terrorism”.
After initially naming Hamas as one of the groups Qatar had to abandon in addition to a dozen more ridiculous demands, the Saudi quartet emphasised the term “terrorism”. Bewildering as it sounds, the fact is that their silence on Israel’s military in the sacred precincts of al-Aqsa, exposed an agenda driven by a need to cosy up to Netanyahu’s right-wing regime.
Qatar has no appetite for undermining its sovereignty – whether voluntarily or under duress – and by taking the squabble back to their Arab cousins, has thus far succeeded in thwarting Saudi designs.
Drawn into the foray is dimwit US president Donald Trump. His mission to the region where he boasted about an alliance of Arab dictators against Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, is in tatters – thanks to the stance of his friend King Salman.
The reconfiguration of the Middle East following Obama’s departure has been part of Trump’s foreign policy designs. Moving the US embassy to Jerusalem being one of his campaign promises. Allowing land grab and the expansion of illegal settlements is viewed as a profitable enterprise for his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s business interests, and woven into his foreign policy architecture.
Given the daily fallouts from Trump’s ill-chosen cabinet – the US president is turning out to be a huge liability for Israel and the rest of his Arab minions. Rasdien may have sparked a mini-crisis within a section of South African Muslims, but the real fallout from the comedy of errors by Trump, Netanyahu and the Saudi quartet remains on track with huge implications for the Muslim world.