Draft:Haj Amin al-Husseini

Haj Amin al-Husseini
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Haj Amin al-Husseini, originally named Muhammad Amin al-Husseini, was the Grand Mufti of Palestine and one of the first leaders of the Palestinian movement against British and Zionism dominance in the 1920s. Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the Zionist regime, has claimed in statements that Hitler did not intend to destroy the Jews and a Muslim named Haj Amin al-Husseini convinced him to do so.

Biography

He was born in 1315/1897 in Jerusalem. He was the son of Muhammad Tahir and was born in Palestine. Under the supervision of his father, who was the Mufti of Palestine, he learned the Principles of Religion, recitation of the Quran, and Arabic literature, and then proceeded to study some modern sciences. He then completed high school and afterwards devoted two years to learning the French language. In 1330/1912, he went to Cairo to continue his studies and engaged in study and activity at Al-Azhar University, the School of Dar al-Da'wa wa al-Irshad, and the Faculty of Arts at Cairo University. While establishing contact with Muhammad Rashid Rida at Dar al-Da'wa, he became familiar with the thoughts and ideas of Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Asadabadi and Muhammad Abduh. With the onset of World War I in 1914, al-Husseini left his studies and returned from Cairo to his birthplace.

Religious Scholar or Political Figure

Although Amin al-Husseini acquired the title of Mufti of Palestine, he was never counted among the jurists and religious scholars. He was more of a political leader than a religious scholar. Although he viewed politics from a religious perspective, he never followed the usual tradition of Muftis. According to Amin himself, the blood of mujahideen flowed in his veins, not the blood of scholars.

Attention to the Palestine Issue

Haj Muhammad Amin al-Husseini developed a special attention to Palestinian issues during his studies in Cairo and became aware of the phenomenon of Zionism and its objectives regarding this land. In 1914 CE, he joined a group of his compatriots who had established an anti-Zionist population. In 1915 CE, his father sent him to Istanbul to continue his studies, but he entered the military academy and after graduation joined the Ottoman army in Izmir. With the occupation of Palestine by the British in 1917 CE, Haj Amin joined the ranks of Palestinian fighters and engaged in recruiting volunteers for the forces of Faisal bin Hussein, the ruler of Syria.

First Political Activity

• Haj Amin's first political action in Palestine was the establishment of the Al-Islamiya Al-Masihiya Association, which took place after the Balfour Declaration. His goal was to create coordination among all Muslim and Christian Arabs against Zionism and to neutralize the British divisive tactics among the followers of these two religions. In the first congress of this association, held in November 1918 in Jerusalem, Amin played an important role.
• In this year, an association named "Al-Nadi Al-Arabi", chaired by Amin, was established in Jerusalem, the goal of which, in addition to fighting Zionism, was unity with Syria.
• Other associations were also established with his support and leadership to fight Zionism and the British, among which "Al-Jam'iya Al-Arabiya Al-Filastiniya" can be named.
• Another revolutionary organization under the influence of Haj Amin was "Al-Kaff Al-Sawda", which changed its name to "Al-Fida'iya" in 1919 CE. Members of this secret organization had taken an Oath to sacrifice their lives for Haj Amin.

Arab Club (Al-Nadi Al-Arabi)

With the issuance of the Balfour Declaration in 1917 CE, Amin al-Husseini established a political organization named the Arab Club (Al-Nadi Al-Arabi) to counter it and assumed its presidency. This club played an effective role in the Palestinian national movement, especially in the years 1918–1919 CE. Haj Amin al-Husseini also cooperated with some underground organizations. He had contact with an organization named Al-Kaff Al-Sawda (The Black Hand), which was formed in 1337/1919 in Jaffa.

Cultural Activity

Among Amin's important scientific and cultural measures was the establishment of centers for educating Palestinian youth. Instead of the orphanage that was previously in the possession of foreigners, he created the Industrial Orphanage, the goal of which was to educate orphans while teaching industry and profession. In 1924 CE, he established the Islamic College to teach new sciences to Palestinians, which remained until 1937, the year of his departure from Palestine. Many subsequent Palestinian fighters emerged from these centers. He also sent groups to study at Al-Azhar and other centers.

Prevention of Jewish Immigration

The most important issue of those years was the increasing immigration of Jews to Palestine. Haj Amin made extensive efforts to prevent this immigration and the sale of Palestinian lands to Jews. In 1934, the people of Palestine in Jaffa, led by Amin, rose in revolt in protest against the entry of Jews into Palestinian soil, which was suppressed. He himself religiously prohibited the sale of land and called for the issuance of similar fatwas. Following violent clashes, in 1935, the revolt of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam occurred. Abundant evidence indicates that this revolt took place with Amin's knowledge and cooperation. In the same year, at Amin's initiative, the Army of the Holy Jihad was formed with the membership of small secret groups to begin an armed struggle. Amin chose Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni as the commander of this organization. Around this time, Abd al-Rahman al-Banna (brother of Hassan al-Banna), during a meeting with Haj Amin, announced the Muslim Brotherhood's support for the Palestine movement.

Controversial Activities

File:Haj Amin al-Husseini and Hitler.jpg

Perhaps Amin's most controversial action was his connection and cooperation with Germany and Italy during World War II. This connection dates back to when Hitler came to power in 1933. In those days, when the immigration of Jews to Palestine was increasing, Amin asked the German consul in Palestine to have his government prevent the immigration of German Jews. At that time, given his anti-Zionist and anti-Colonialism positions, he had no choice but to resort to the famous saying, "The enemy of your enemy is your friend," and from that day sought aid from anti-Jewish allies and those against Britain and France. He himself stated regarding this: "The Palestinian nation could never defend itself alone, and therefore, needed a support that was stronger than the enemy. My ultimate goal was for the Arabs to take up arms and fight, but not for the victory of the Axis powers, but for the freedom of the land of Palestine."

Nevertheless, Amin later admitted that his joining the Axis powers brought no benefit. But he emphasized that at that time, nothing else could be done by him.

Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the Zionist regime, has claimed in speeches that Hitler did not want to destroy the Jews and a Muslim named Haj Amin al-Husseini persuaded him to do so.

Connection with Germany and its Allies

During his residence in Iraq, having become completely disappointed with Britain regarding the resolution of Islamic world issues and the vindication of the rights of the Palestinian people, he thought of drawing closer to Germany and its allies. In the same year, he secretly dispatched his special secretary, Uthman Haddad, to that country to negotiate with German officials. The result of this trip was the drafting of an agreement in six categories. Among other things, it was stipulated that Germany and Italy should have no ambitions regarding Egypt and Sudan. Al-Husayni negotiated with Mussolini on October 27, 1941, as a result of which the governments of Germany and Italy committed to supporting the independence and freedom of Arab countries under British colonial domination.

He then departed for Germany and on November 21, 1941, negotiated with Hitler regarding support for the independence of Muslim countries and the fight against Zionism. With the occupation of Germany in 1945, al-Husayni was forced to go to Switzerland, but due to British pressure, he was not granted asylum and he went to France. Finally, with the help of his friends, al-Husayni secretly departed for Cairo in May 1946. There, he was received with respect and honor by King Farouk, but the government of the Egypt, under British pressure, restricted his political activities.

Works

• Amin al-Husayni, in his book Facts about Palestine regarding Palestine, addresses historically the performance of Britain in supporting Zionists and writes: The English have left no room for trust. The trust of some Arabs in Britain, due to political actions such as the issuance of the Palestine White Papers and the formation of committees to study the Palestine issue which emphasized the violation of Palestinian rights, is naive. He explains well and with a realistic policy in this book that international politics is based on the principle of distrust and one must deal with the English using the language of realism. He considered the political ignorance of Arab country officials and their excessive trust in England as the most important internal cause of the Palestine catastrophe. Also, political differences between Muslim countries played an important role in weakening them. England exploited this issue and prepared the ground for building a Jewish state in Palestine. He did this by equipping, militarily training, and organizing the Jews and weakening the Muslims.

The external causes of the occurrence of the Palestine catastrophe from Amin's viewpoint were:

1. Zionist extremism;
2. Protestants' belief regarding prophecies concerning the return of Jews to Palestine;
3. Fear and hatred remaining from the Crusades and Ottoman Empire attacks on Eastern Europe;
4. Alignment of British interests with Zionists regarding the Palestine issue.

British interests, according to him, were:

1. Creating a Jewish country among Arabs based on their own interests;
2. Turning Israel into a barrier between Arab countries of Asia and Arab countries of Africa and cutting off relations between these two continents.

• In his other book titled The Lie of the Palestinians Selling Their Land, he writes that the Palestinian nation has never sold its honor. In this book, he states the only solution to confront the occupation of Palestine and end its occupation is urban warfare. Organizing paramilitary groups and urban conflicts is both lower in cost compared to modern wars and more effective and fruitful in terms of impact and result, and counts among the most important weaknesses of modern armies.
• His other book titled Causes of the Palestine Catastrophe addresses the viewpoint of some Arab parties that resistance against British protectorate and fighting Zionists brought Palestine to this stage of catastrophe. While rejecting this issue, he stated the main reason for the Muslims' defeat in Palestine was their weakness, lack of preparedness, and excessive trust in British Colonialism policies. England, which before the fall of the Ottomans had promised Sharif Hussein the formation of an Arab country, ignored this promise after victory, and all these issues relate to the weakness of Arab and Islamic countries. In fact, the only way to reach peace is preparing for war; an issue that caused Amin al-Husayni to repeatedly emphasize the necessity of military training and forming paramilitary factions and martyrdom-seeking.

Final Years of Life

After the end of World War II, Amin al-Husayni fled but was arrested by French forces and sent to Paris. In Paris, Zionists intended to take his life, but failed in their assassination attempt. The France government, which tried to establish friendly relations with Middle East rulers, refrained from surrendering him to the English. Amin was in a French prison for a while but was released in May 1946 CE through the efforts of the King of Morocco and went to Cairo. After arriving in Cairo, Amin al-Husayni's life entered a new period. He tried to implement the idea of the "Great Arab Army". Despite Amin al-Husayni's firm determination, he now had great enemies. Implementing the "Great Arab Army" plan required cooperation from Arab Socialists who were now the biggest opposition to the kings. The Socialists, due to Amin al-Husayni's history of deep cooperation with Hitler, were not willing to allow him into their midst. With the rise of Socialists in various Arab countries, Amin al-Husayni's situation worsened. During the time of Gamal Abdel Nasser, he tried to cooperate with the Egypt government but his political background caused Nasser to distance himself from him. However, Amin supported the Six-Day War and subsequent Arab wars with Israel.

Amin continued his political and cultural work in the final years of his life. He held hundreds of conferences and gatherings to encourage heads of Islamic countries to fight Israel. Amin in 1951 CE, took charge of the presidency of the Islamic world Congress in Karachi and the following year the presidency of the Pakistan Ulama Congress. Three years later, he participated at the head of a Palestinian delegation in the Bandung Conference. In 1962 CE, he visited India, Pakistan, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria, and in the same year, was elected president of the Islamic World Congress. Shortly after, he traveled to Malaysia with the title of President of the Islamic Conference of Muslims of the Far East. Amin simultaneously tried to gather anti-Israel Christians and Jews around himself and form an Interfaith Union for the union of religious people against Israel.

Death

He died on 4 July 1974 in Beirut, and his funeral was conducted with full honors, and he was buried in the Martyrs' Cemetery of this city.

See also

• Jerusalem
• Al-Azhar University
• Netanyahu
• Zionist regime
• Palestine

References

• Encyclopedia of the World of Islam, Islamic Encyclopedia Foundation, article "Hajj Amin Husayni", No. 6244, Date of insertion: n.d., Date of access: 18 July 2024.
• Political Thought of Muslim Thinkers, from Ayatollah Borujerdi (1254 SH) to Mohammad Amin Rasoulzadeh (1333 SH), Author: Ali Akbar Alikhani, Date of insertion: n.d., Date of access: 18 July 2024.