Dubai, April 08: A prominent Saudi cleric stirred controversy after announcing on TV he intended to visit Jerusalem, while Israel replied by suggesting he apply for a visa from Jordan.
Riyadh-based Sheikh Mohamed al-Areefi announced on the satellite channel Iqraa that the next episode of his show would be about Palestine and that he intended to visit Jerusalem the following week to shoot there.
However, Areefi neither specified the exact date nor how he would enter Jerusalem since Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic ties with Israel and bans its citizens from entering the country.
” We won’t hold him accountable for statements he makes on TV since these could be sheer propaganda. But if the Ministry of Interior verifies that he actually went to Israel, he will be penalized ”
Major Badr Malik, Saudi’s General Directorate of Passports
In response to Areefi’s announcement, which made the front page of the Jerusalem Post Tuesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that the cleric could apply for a visa from the Israeli embassy in Amman.
Although the case is unprecedented, Areefi’s application would be dealt with according to the regular procedure followed with all countries, including those with no diplomatic ties with Israel or those considered enemy states.
A source in the Jerusalem municipality commented that people from all faiths are welcome in the city as long as they have no intention of stirring political unrest in the “already simmering capital.”
By undertaking such a trip, Areefi will be charged with breaking our travel ban and penalized accordingly, said Major Badr Malik, official spokesman of Saudi’s General Directorate of Passports.
“We won’t hold him accountable for statements he makes on TV since these could be sheer propaganda,” he told the Saudi newspaper al-Watan Wednesday. “But if the Ministry of Interior verifies that he actually went to Israel, he will be penalized.”
A violation of the law
” The next episode is a surprise and we don’t want to spoil it ”
Mohamed Ahmed Salaam chairman of Iqraa channel
Malik added that travelling to countries on which the government imposes a ban requires special permission from the authorities. Otherwise, the trip is considered a violation of the law.
It is not confirmed whether Areefi will actually be able to broadcast the next episode of his show, called Daa Basmatak (Leave your Fingerprint), from Jerusalem, but Mohamed Ahmed Salaam chairman of Iqraa channel promised that Areefi’s next episode will be a surprise.
“The next episode is a surprise and we don’t want to spoil it,” he said in an interview with CNN.
Salaam added that many of the reports that will be featuring in next Friday’s episode have already been prepared and that the problems concerning Areefi’s visit to Jerusalem are now solved.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Islamic movements called upon Areefi to retract his plans to visit Jerusalem since the trip would be perceived as a form of normalization with the Hebrew state.
Within the context of the continuous attempts at Judaizing Jerusalem, Areefi’s visit will harm all Muslim scholars, said Khaled al-Batsh of the Islamic Jihad movement.
“Areefi is welcome to visit any spot in Palestine any time, but this visit would be misunderstood,” he told Al Arabiya. “It will be a kind of legitimization of the status quo in Jerusalem especially in the light of the unprecedented Judaization the city is currently witnessing.”
Batsh called upon Areefi to follow the example of Egypt’s al-Azhar Grand Imam who vowed not to travel to Jerusalem unless it was liberated from the Israeli occupation.
“Pope Shenouda, the highest-ranking Christian in Egypt, also refuses to go to Jerusalem as long as it is under occupation.”
Hamas’ stance was similar to that of the Jihad. Ismail Radwan, spokesman of the Gaza-based Islamic resistance movement, said that visiting Jerusalem under the current circumstances is not recommended.
“We do not encourage Islamic scholars to visit Jerusalem in the light of the current Israeli thuggery and the Judaization of the city.”
Radwan argued that what Palestinians and Jerusalemites need from Muslim countries now is to support them in facing Israeli actions rather than visiting the city.
“Having Muslim scholars visit Jerusalem will not solve the problem,” he concluded.
If Areefi succeeds in going to Jerusalem, he would be the first Muslim scholar to take such an initiative since the ban from visiting the holy city as long as it is under Israeli occupation was first put by Muslim countries.
Courtesy: Al-Arabiya