Jinnah's appeal to Truman, and Trump's move on Jerusalem

The Western conspiracy against the Arabs began long before the creation of Israel in 1948, and this machination resulted from Judeo-Christian hatred of Muslims going as far back as two thousand years. Leaving aside the narrative in the Bible, one can trace the root of this disdain to the late 7th century, if not before, at the time of Saint John of Damascus, who authored "The heresy of the Ishmaelites," which depicted Islam as a fake religion. Born to a prominent Christian family in Syria, John despised Islam because his grandfather, Mansour ibn Sarjun, a high official during Emperor Heraclius' reign, was forced to surrender Damascus to Muslim warrior Khalid ibn al-Walid in 635. John, revered as Father of the Church and recognized as a saint, is called the last of the Church Fathers by the Roman Catholic Church. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1890. His venomous book, in which he called Islam's prophet Mohammed an imposter, drawing from the prophecies in the Bible, set the stage for Christian -- and thus Western-- disdain for Islam. Jews' hatred for Muslims goes way back to the time of Abraham, who was forced by his wife Sarah, mother of Jewish prophet Issac, to send into exile Ishmael and Hajera, Sarah's maid who was impregnated by Abraham and gave birth to Ishmael, father of the Arabs. Since the rise of Islam, which resulted in the subjugation of parts of Christian Europe by the Muslims, Christians had been livid with Muslims. During the Middle Ages, the saga continued with Crusades and anti-Islamic cultural wars, waged by such prominent figures as Dante and Martin Luther, father of the Protestant Reformation. John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, continued the trend into the19th century. After World War I ended, Europe took revenge by breaking its promise to Hussein bin Ali, Sherif of Mecca. Britain had agreed to recognize Arab independence "in the limits and boundaries proposed by the Sherif of Mecca" in exchange for launching the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in 1916. This European betrayal of the Arabs, who hurt themselves by putting their personal interests over their national interests at least for the past 100 years, came after Britain made the Balfour Declaration in 1917, promising to support the creation of a national home for the Jews in Palestine, which created an unending river of blood in the Middle East. The fact that the partition of Palestine would cement the rift between Muslims and Judeo-Christians and result in a bloodbath was all too clear to the world long before Israel was created. Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, made a personal appeal to President Harry Truman, warning him of the impending peril from the partition of Palestine, which he called "the most unfortunate decision" that gave the Muslim world "a terrible shock."  "Morally it is untenable...In the long run, it will and must fail. The very people for whose benefit this decision is taken -- the Jews, who have suffered terribly from Nazi persecution -- will I greatly fear, suffer most if this unjust course is pursued. Moreover the decision presents a great danger to world peace," Jinnah told Truman in a message in December 1947. "May I therefore, at this eleventh hour, appeal to you and through you to the great and powerful American nation, which has always stood for justice, to uphold the rights of the Arab race. The government and people of America can still save the situation by giving the correct lead and thus avoid the greatest consequences and repercussions." Truman still went ahead with his plan, saying public opinion in the United States favored the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, especially in light of the slaughter of the Jews in Europe during World War II. If Jinnah were alive, he would have made a similar appeal to President Donald Trump today, opposing his plan to relocate the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. No doubt, Jinnah's appeal would have met the same fate as the previous one did 70 years ago. Still the Muslim leader's prophecy would reverberate worldwide and resonate with many Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The maltreatment of the Arabs in particular and the Muslims in general is not because of Euro-Americans' love for the Jews, but because of their cumulative hatred of Islam since its inception. Likewise, a beleaguered Trump is moving the embassy not so much because of his love for Israel but for the expediency of shoring up his support among American Jews and anti-Muslim supporters.

 Trump just added another dark page to the tragedy of Arab humiliation by the United States.