Middle East conflict discussed from Palestinian perspective

The Radio and Television building was the setting for a lively discussion Wednesday night on the crisis in the Middle East and the importance of Jerusalem to Muslims. Khalid Turanni, executive director of the American Muslims for Jerusalem, led audience members on a tour of the conflict in the Middle East from the point of view of Palestinians living in Israel.\nTuranni said the problems in Jerusalem are because of recent developments in the history of the area. He said Muslims have been a presence in Israel since 638 A.D. when, he maintains, they captured Jerusalem without shedding one drop of blood.\nTuranni said the 1,200 years of Muslim rule were a time of peace and harmony between all faiths and all people. During this time, he said, letters written by Jewish rabbis praised the Muslims for their fair rule, saying God must have blessed them with the Muslim leaders.\nFreshman Alaa Alawi Fadag said he went to learn more about the history of Jerusalem.\n"I think that it is very important to point out that in the past that Jews and Christians were treated justly under Muslim rule," Fadag said. "I think that it is very important to have discussions like this because the outcome of such an event allows people to have a better understanding of one another."\nTuranni said Muslims have a particularly strong claim to the land because "everybody and their mother went through that land and left. (The Muslims) stayed there."\nHe said Israel wasn't Britain's to give away and called the creation of a Jewish state a form of apartheid. Turanni said there is ethnic cleansing going on inside Israel today, not only of Muslims, but of Christians.\n"Christianity is dying in the land of Christ," Turanni said.\nTuranni cites statistics showing the falling numbers of Christians and Muslims versus the rising number of Jews. He said those of differing faiths are not choosing to leave, but are being forced out in a fit of ethnic cleansing.\nBut Fadag said he thinks it is possible for Muslims, Jews and Christians to live in peace.\n "It occurred in the past, so there is no reason why there would be no chance in the future. In my opinion, in order for that to occur, the killing of Palestinians must stop. I do understand that the Palestinians have rocks, but the Israeli soldiers have guns, tanks, helicopters shooting from above. I also understand that some Israeli soldiers were killed and that never should have happened, but compare the small number of soldiers to the almost 200 Palestinians that have been murdered."\n Freshman Aaron Minkus said he disagreed with Turanni's message.\n"On a topic such as the Middle East it is very easy to get carried away and get very angry and emotional, but he remained very calm and interesting," Minkus said. "Even though I do not agree with what the speaker was saying, I acknowledge where he is coming from. The only aspect that bothered me was the speaker used the phrase 'ethnic cleansing' and the term 'genocide.' Those words are meant to give people the image of Auschwitz or Kosovo. That image is simply false."\nMinkus said he went to the lecture to make sure the Jewish side of the story was covered. He said it is important people study both sides of this issue and educate themselves on the history of the area.\n"Many people don't know their history," Minkus said. "If you don't know the past, you can't understand the present."\nMinkus said open forums for discussion on the subject, "be they in Tel Aviv, Chicago or even here on campus" are important to the peace process. He said he hopes the lecture will be the first in a long line of forums between Jews and Palestinians.\nFadag said he believes "(Israel) is for people who are of all faiths. Anyone who wants to worship should be given the right to. This land belongs to no one but Allah (God)."\nMinkus said the crisis in the Middle East should be handled in negotiations and not in the streets of Ramallah or Hebron.\n"I feel that the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat have to stop throwing stones and go back to having peace talks," Minkus said.\nTuranni said the solution is to go back to the root of the problem -- Israeli occupation. He said there will be no way to move on with the peace process until the violence stops and there is an end to the occupation.\n"The most peaceful people on earth are dead people," Turanni said. "There will be peace either through a complete genocide or through an end to this occupation. This is the only apartheid system that exists anywhere in the world today. Israel is considered an oasis of democracy in the Middle East. People say (the Israelis) have made the desert bloom. I don't want the desert to bloom. Leave my desert alone"