Syria, Golan Heights, & Israel

Modern international law has colonial origins; yet it has evolved much in the post-colonial times, especially after the end of the Second World War; with the establishment of the Charter-based mechanisms and processes of multilateral cooperation under the United Nations Organization. From being merely an imperial handmaiden in the past, international law has progressed to a great extend to articulate the common standard of civilization and human rights in our multicultural world today, and States, by and large, respect and abide by international law and treaty obligations most of the time. A vital standard of State conduct conferring global legitimacy, the 'soul' of international law stands for peace and strives for justice in our power-oriented, complex international system. 

Contemporary International law insists upon non-use of force as a foundational principle of the world public order. Hence, the military conquest of nations, or ‘aggression’, is a crime under international law. Likewise, acquisition of a territory belonging to another nation through coercive method/s is also prohibited. As a consequence of this clear normative position, territorial aggrandizement through conquest will not be recognized by the international community. The conquering State cannot hope to gain any valid title to the newly acquired territory under international law as no legitimacy is attached to the taking of territory through military occupation. Consider the case of Israel. Notwithstanding the fact that it has been effectively controlling several Arab territories occupied through war for over five decades, international community continues to reject Israel's sovereignty claims over such territories, including in the cases of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. 

In his Friday Sermon of 07 June 2024~29 Dhul-Qaddah 1445 AH, Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius spoke about the persisting, ongoing illegal occupation and annexation of the Syrian territory of the Golan Heights by Israel since 1967/1981. As Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) rightly notes, many blatant illegalities are being perpetuated with impunity by the State of Israel on the lands of its Arab neighbours. Strong economic, military and technological support of the United States provides the material basis for Israeli excesses in the Middle East. Perhaps equally important is the complicity of important Arab leaders who have their own secret relations with the Jewish State even in the midst of the latter's despicable crimes against the Palestinian people, as well as its continued, illegal occupation and annexation of Arab territories, including the Syrian territory of the Golan Heights. Hazrat Saheb (aba) alludes that the enemies of Islam have been able to get away for so long with their manifest illegalities and high crimes against the Muslim peoples in a religious, political and strategic context of manifest internal weaknesses, disunity, and internecine conflicts. Fair-minded people in Europe and elsewhere are increasingly becoming aware of the horrific extend of Israeli/US highhandedness in the Middle East. Be that as it may, it is by reclaiming the true spirit of Faith, including the duties of solidarity, that Muslim nations will be able to discriminate between 'good' and 'evil', and 'friends' and 'enemies' of the Faith and of the peoples in these times. And it is by invoking Allah (swt) through fervent prayers, and by embracing the lawful methods of resistance against injustice that our Faith teaches that we can eventually triumph over the forces of evil- both internal and external- that presently pervade our backyard inflicting much suffering on the Ummah in these turbulent times, notes Hazrat Saheb (aba) in this discourse. 

Read the Friday Sermon Below:   

The Outrageous & Illegal Annexation of the Golan Heights to Israel

Like I told you in one of my previous sermon on the subject, disrespect to international laws which had been established so that from the evolution of colonial times when countries were in quests of new lands and were allowed to claim certain lands for themselves, but after a certain point in time, the period of cessation of land quest came to be so that rights of countries and states are preserved and respected.

 

The invasion of the Zionists of Palestine and the moves of the Israeli Government to claim Palestine for themselves, as well as the surrounding places like the Golan Heights have been a headache for International Justice. In the aftermath of the World War I, when the French and the British carved up the Middle East, the Golan Heights were part of the French mandate.

 

And after the mandate was abolished for the current nation-states, the Golan Heights were naturally left for Syria. When Donald Trump was the President of the United States of America, he went forward against all International Laws to unilaterally recognize Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights. This illegal act by international law is a very significant development in the road towards an Apartheid-Zionist landmark one for sure.

 

Trump’s move was a clear violation of the second article of the United Nations Charter, which lays down the main principles of the UN order. According to article 2(4) of the UN Charter, “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

 

The current story of the Golan Heights began in 1967 when it was occupied by Israel after the Six-Day War. The UN Security Council passed a number of resolutions claiming the territory as “occupied land” and did not recognize the Israeli occupation. Accordingly, the council repeatedly called on the Israeli State to withdraw from Syrian lands. However, the Israeli state never recognized the authority of the UN. On the contrary, in 1981, Israel declared to the world that it was annexing the Golan Heights. Nevertheless, no state in the world recognized this declaration, since it was totally against the UN decisions and in violation of International Law.

 

But, Donald Trump’s Presidency became a challenge to the United Nations’ Authority in the establishment of International Laws and the Rights of Countries by claiming superiority over the United Nations by officially recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory. The US thus became the first state to recognize the illegal occupation. The then President Trump and the Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu considered this illegal step as a “historic justice” and a “diplomatic victory”.

 

At a time when Syria’s infrastructure has been destroyed, the country fragmented and been set back 50 years on any scale of development with over 800,000 killed, millions internally displaced and 5-9 million refugees, the ex-US president used trickery of the days of colonial thievery to lay claim on Syria’s properties. Recognition is not about a security threat, but daylight highway robbery that has been underway for 52 years and needed a foreign policy scatter-brained president to get it completed and “legalized”.

 

Donald Trump, whose Jerusalem move drew outrage, recognized Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights in a radical overhaul of US foreign policy. This step went beyond mounting pressure on Palestinians to further Israeli interests. The Trump administration not only revised Washington’s global role and priorities but also took the US government’s relationship with religion and politics to a new level. In other words, the administration’s support for Israeli expansionism has deep theological roots. According to Christian Zionism, the gathering of Jews in Israel is a prerequisite for the second coming of Christ and a final battle between good and evil – to rebuild the temple of Solomon. The world had witnessed how white supremacy, together with terrorism, resulted in the killing of Muslims in New Zealand with Crusader symbols. One cannot imagine the outcome of individual or organized radicalism that feeds off a toxic mix of white supremacy and Christian Zionism could have.

 

This was not Trump’s first attempt at violating International Law. He and his policies have violated numerous norms of International Law, particularly in the Middle East. The flagrant one was his decision to transfer the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognizing “a united Jerusalem” as the Israeli capital. Thus, it contradicted with UN principles and decisions, alienating Muslims worldwide.

 

The main reasons that make the Golan Heights important for Israel are security and water. The area is critical from a geostrategic perspective. In addition, it has rich water sources. Israel procures one-third of its water needs from the Jordan River and the Golan Heights. In addition, the Golan Heights, which are one of the highest points within the region and only 60 kilometres away from Damascus, also provide a substantial strategic advantage to Israel. In short, both Israel’s and the US’ national benefits make the Golan Heights, which are under Israeli occupation, very precious. The Golan Heights have huge strategic importance for Israel. Just 60 kilometres away from Damascus, those hills are Key to controlling Syria.

 

The Golan Heights are Syrian territory, and nothing can change this reality. Therefore, Trump’s decision could not legitimize its illegal Israeli occupation. While this move can bring political benefits for both the US and Israel, it will not bring peace and stability. Like we have seen, this decision and the previous Jerusalem decision, even after Trump’s Presidency – which by the way Biden never annulled! – only increased regional tension and damaged the peace process. The US and Israel have a morbid agenda for the Palestinian Muslims. They want complete eradication of the Muslims there, and if in the process some innocent Jews die, they see it as a sacrifice for the benefit of the overall Zionist State of Israel. Thieves cannot thrive for long. Like we say in French, “Cent jours pour le voleur, un jour pour le Maître” (Literally: “Hundred days for the thieves, One day for the Master/ Lord) – Allah only needs less than a fraction of a second, quicker than the movement of one’s eyelids to pronounce His decision. He has the power to overthrow the thieves in the most abased way.

 

Allah is testing His people with the satanic minds abounding this world. Will the Muslims become one or keep on being divided and letting the lovers of injustice and evils overtake Allah’s World? The sufferings of all Muslims should be an eye-opener for all of us who claim to believe in Allah and His Noble and Most Perfect Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). His rule as prophet of Allah and king of Arabia – albeit a spiritual one – saw to the expansion of Islam over the world. Islam, not only as a creed, but as a Way of Life, regulating the lives of people in the most organised and blessed way.

 

Today, the Muslims have lost touch with their inner Islam. They have followed the West in all their trends and fashion and way of life. Islam is not present in them except for a few of them. Will the Muslims wake up and see how the West has been able to crush their Islam for their own benefit?

 

The time has come for a change in the situation. Alhamdulillah, many open-minded people – who are not Muslims – of all the parts of the world are seeing the veracity of Islam and condemning the attacks of the West and Israel against Palestine and the Muslims in general. While born-Muslims are still blind to these sufferings, others are feeling the pain of the crushed Muslims. The time will come when the West shall embrace Islam in great number. They shall be truer Muslims, Insha-Allah.

 

As for us, we need to input our efforts towards the repair of the Highway leading man to Allah. Islam is that Highway and we must provide our time and invest our efforts towards its rebuild. While we do not have armaments to give to the defenceless, but we have our prayers to Allah which are the most powerful of armaments. Don’t you want Allah and His angels to fight the cause of the true believers? Don’t you want to see the glory and rise of Islam with your own eyes? Then, the change should begin with yourselves, and Insha-Allah, you will see this victory.