In the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel on Saturday in which more than 900 people were brutally massacred, the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) spoke with Peer Syed Mudassir Nazar Shah, the custodian of a Sufi shrine in Jhelum, Pakistan, chairman of the Sufi Council, and South Asia head of the Global Imam Council, who opened the conversation by offering his sympathy for the victims.
“To you and the many people who are going now through immense suffering and pain right now, my deepest condolences,” Shah said. “I offer my condolences to all those who have gone through physically or emotionally through this trauma. I can feel it, because as a Pakistani we have gone through a strain of terrorism in the last 30 to 40 years. We have lost 90,000 lives. So we share the pain.”
“What Hamas is doing in the name of Islam is not Islamic,” he noted. “And to be clear about the war they have started, it is a political war, not an Islamic war. It is a political issue. And I believe all kinds of political issues should be solved through dialogue and a better understanding of issues and who is sitting in front of you at the table or where he or she is coming from, and making your argument in a peaceful and mannerly way. And then the negotiations may lead to permanent and peaceful solutions, which I hope for.”
“Pakistan is a country of 230 million people and many people hear propaganda against Israel. I am fine with that. But if the propaganda is against the Jewish community, I am not fine with that. Because when we talk about Israel, we talk about a political state. We talk about political geography. We talk about the political policies. We may agree with them, we may disagree with them — but on political grounds. When we start bracketing ‘the Jews,’ however, we take an entirely different prospect and we are cornering them on the basis of their religion. This is bias not based on our political opinion, but based on our religion and their religion. I am not for that.”
“The Jews serving in IDF are bound to obey the commander of their country,” Shah continued. “They are fighting for their country. They are equally loyal to their country like my country’s army is loyal to my country and they are following the commander. So the distinction is not there of civilian and army. It is human is human.”
“What is condemnable are those humans who are not serving the cause of any country, but they are smaller groups covering their faces with the identity of religion, region, language, or geography.,” he said. “And they are non-state actors. So their act is an irresponsible act. And no one can stand with them in the name of God, caste, region, language, anything.”
“Shooting from a country’s border to another country in a dispute over a land as an army — that’s another thing,” he added. “But going inside a country, shooting kids, shooting women, shooting them on the streets, in their homes — that’s not justified. That’s inhuman. That’s painful.”
“This cannot be justified by any religion,” Shah emphasized. “This is war crime. If it was supposed to be the Palestinian army, it would still be a war crime. But the Hamas is not the Palestinian army. They don’t have the mandate of representing a country. It is not a war. A war is between two countries. Israel is a country which is facing extremist groups, terrorist groups — and they are using the Palestinian name, the Palestinian people, the Palestinian flag.”
“In Pakistan, we don’t recognize Israel, but there is a connection between us and Israel, and there are chances we will recognize Israel,” he said. “You never know. Maybe in a couple of months, or years, we will have a positive negotiation. We don’t have conflicts, and we have a lot to share with each other. Israel is amazing in technology and we are a country with a lot of human resources and potential. So why not go together? And if Pakistan would have relations with Israel, we could mediate many issues. We could use our influence to pace down the conflict. If Pakistan would have good relations with Israel, that would benefit Palestinians.”
Shah concluded, “I would like to tell the Jewish communities around the world that it is a hard time as a Jew. You feel that you are targeted. And Muslims are targeting you, but trust me, there are Muslims who are feeling your pain, who are standing with you, who are not supportive of terrorism.The conflict between Israel and Palestine is political, not religious. And people who are making this a religious conflict are on the wrong side of history. I would like to use this opportunity to give a message to my Muslim brothers and sisters that Jews and Christians are our brothers and sisters. Every single human life has the same value as yours or mine. Every life is precious. And a kid is not only very dear to their father or mother, but also to the world. We should enjoy the smiles of the kids. We should think that there is a future in a smile. How could one celebrate the killings or the kidnappings of those innocent kids? That is inhuman. If someone is happy about it, he or she should be very clear that he or she doesn’t follow the call of humanity.”