A MUSLIM FINDS FREEDOM IN ISRAEL

A Muslim in a Jewish Land - Tashbih Sayyed (Muslim World Today)

• When I flew to Tel Aviv on November 14, 2005, on my first visit to Israel, the entry form that I needed to fill before landing did not ask for my religion as is the law in Pakistan, and unlike Saudi Arabia, no one in Israeli immigration demanded any certificate of religion. People felt so secure that none of the stores, gas stations, market places, or residences we went to, and where it was known that we were Muslims, deemed it necessary to either search or interrogate us.
• The map of the Muslim world is too crowded with kings, despots, dictators, sham democrats, and theocratic autocrats, and the persecution of minorities is an essential part of Islamist social behavior. But here, protected by Israel's democratic principles, the Muslim Arab citizens of Israel are afforded all the rights and privileges of Israeli citizenship. When the first elections to the Knesset were held in February 1949, Israeli Arabs were given the right to vote and to be elected along with Israeli Jews. Today, Israel's Arab citizens are active in Israeli social, political, and civic life and enjoy representation in Israel's Parliament, foreign service, and judicial system.
• I could not find Israelis acting in vengeance against their Arab compatriots. Despite daily provocations, they have managed successfully not to descend to the same level of depravity as their Arab enemies. In my experience of Muslim societies, minorities have never been allowed the benefit of the doubt. Hatred of non-Muslims and outbursts of violence against minority faiths among radical Islamists have remained a norm rather than an exception. As a non-Wahhabi Muslim, I have personally faced their barbarism and have watched Christians, Hindus, and other minorities being persecuted on false pretenses.
• As our bus negotiated the mountainous curves in the heart of Galilee, I could not miss the rising minarets identifying a number of Palestinian Arab towns dotting the hillsides. The imposing domes of mosques underlined the freedoms that are enjoyed by the Muslims in the Jewish state. Large Arab residences, widespread construction activity, and big cars underlined the prosperity and affluence of Palestinians living under the Star of David.
• The status of Muslim women in Israel is far above that of any country in the region. They have the right to vote and to be elected to public office. Arabic is an official language in Israel and all street signs have Arabic alongside Hebrew. Israel's Arabic press is the most vibrant and independent of any country in the region. There are more than 20 Arabic periodicals. They publish what they please.