Islamic Zionism
Muslims who support Jewish self-determination in the Land of Israel.
Islamic Zionism refers to Muslims and cultural Muslims who support the right to self-determination of the Jewish people and the existence of a Jewish homeland in the Southern Levant, corresponding to the modern State of Israel. This orientation is widely considered rare within the Muslim world, where support for Israel's right to exist is a minority stance amid the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian and Arab–Israeli conflicts. Some Muslim clerics and figures believe the return of Jews to the Holy Land and the establishment of a Jewish state aligns with Islamic teachings.
Quick Facts
- Notable muslim zionist figures
- Abdul Hadi Palazzi
- Muhammad Al-Hussaini
- Nemat Sadat
- Ed Husain
- Tawfik Hamid
- Early pro-zionist muslim figures
- Hussein bin Ali
- King Feisal I of Iraq
- As'ad Shukeiri
- Hassan Bey Shukri
- Sheik
Facts from the source article.
History
After World War I, the Sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali, and his son King Feisal of Iraq expressed pro-Zionist views. On March 23, 1918, the Mecca daily Al Qibla printed support for the Balfour Declaration, calling on Palestine Arabs to welcome Jewish immigrants: 'The resources of the country [Palestine] are still virgin soil and will be developed by the Jewish immigrants... The return of these exiles to their homeland will prove materially and spiritually an experimental school for their brethren.' On January 3, 1919, King Faisal I and Chaim Weizmann signed the Faisal–Weizmann Agreement, in which Faisal conditionally accepted the Balfour Declaration. As'ad Shukeiri, a Muslim scholar from Acre and father of PLO founder Ahmad Shukeiri, rejected the Palestinian national movement and opposed anti-Zionism, meeting routinely with Zionist officials. In the 1920s, the Muslim National Associations was founded by Muslim Arabs employed by the Palestine Zionist Executive, led by Haifa mayor Hassan Bey Shukri and Sheikh Musa Hadeib from the village of Dawaymeh near Hebron. In July 1921, Shukri sent a telegram to the British government supporting the Balfour Declaration and Zionist immigration. Hadeib was killed in Jerusalem in 1929, reportedly for his collaboration with Zionists. In the late 1930s, Amir Abdullah of Transjordan and Abd al-Rahman Shahabandar offered Zionists a Jewish autonomy in Palestine under the Transjordanian throne, though not an independent state.
Israeli Arab supporters of Israel
During the 1947–1949 Palestine war, many Bedouin switched sides to join Zionist forces against the regular Arab armies. Negev Bedouins, about 12% of Israeli Arabs, tend to identify more as Israelis than other Arab citizens, and many serve in the Israel Defense Forces, with 5–10% of draft age volunteering annually. Bedouins often saw their tribe as their primary identity rather than a Palestinian one. They had long ties with Jewish communities, helping defend them during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt. In 1946, Sheik Hussein Mohammed Ali Abu Yussef of the al-Heib tribe sent over 60 men to fight with Zionist forces, forming the Pal-Heib unit of the Haganah. During the 1948 war, this unit defended Jewish communities in the Upper Galilee against Syria. Sheik Abu Yussef said in 1948: 'Is it not written in the Koran that the ties of neighbors are as dear as those of relations? Our friendship with the Jews goes back many years.' Maj Fehd Fallah, a Bedouin from Saad in the Golan Heights, stated: 'Yes, I have fought against Muslims in Gaza... And I would fight again if I had to. Israeli Muslims who don't serve in the IDF should be ashamed for not serving their country.' Ismail Khaldi is the first Bedouin deputy consul of Israel.
Muslim supporters of Israel by country
Notable Muslim supporters include Tawfik Hamid, a former militant-turned-author; Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi of the Italian Muslim Assembly, who believes the return of Jews to the Holy Land is in accordance with Islamic teachings; Tashbih Sayyed, a Pakistani American author and journalist; Prof. Khaleel Mohammed, an Islamic Law scholar; and Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, a Bangladeshi journalist. Additional figures who have publicly voiced support for Israel include Irshad Manji, Salim Mansur, Enes Kanter, Abdurrahman Wahid, Reza Pahlavi, Mithal al-Alusi, Kasim Hafeez, Abdullah Saad Al-Hadlaq, Zuhdi Jasser, Asra Nomani, Nuseir Yassin, and Khaleel Mohammed. The 2020 Abraham Accords marked a shift, enabling Muslim social media influencers like Loay Al-Shareef and Fatema Al-Harbi to promote positive narratives about Israel. Cross-cultural trips organized by NGOs helped participants see Israelis as 'normal, nice people' rather than occupiers.
Zionist interpretations of the Qur'an
Several Muslim supporters of Israel believe the Quran regards Palestine as Jewish land. Imam Abdul Hadi Palazzi, leader of the Italian Muslim Assembly and co-chair of the Islam-Israel Fellowship, quotes the Quran to support Judaism's connection to the Temple Mount, stating that the most authoritative Islamic sources affirm the Temples. He says Jerusalem is sacred to Muslims because of its prior holiness to Jews and its role as home to biblical prophets and kings David and Solomon, all sacred in Islam. Palazzi claims the Quran expressly recognizes that Jerusalem plays the same role for Jews as Mecca does for Muslims. He argues that the Quran specifies the Land of Israel as the Jewish people's homeland given by God, and that it announces the Jewish people will return from many countries to retake their heritage. Khaleel Mohammed notes that Sura 5 verse 21 of the Quran and medieval exegetes say Israel belongs to the Jews.
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