“Come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem!” (Offer may not apply to Palestinian Christians)

“Come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem! (Offer may not apply to Palestinian Christians)”

Christmas is supposed to be a happy time. Even though it is not a Muslim holiday, I remember my Mom’s stories of how the Muslims of Palestine used to share in the good will of their Christian neighbors during their holidays. That was before the Israeli occupation. Now as headlines in America boast how “Christians from all over the world” have come to Bethlehem to commemorate the birth of the baby that both Christians and Muslims believe is the Messiah (but only Trinitarian Christians believe is God Incarnate), those same newspapers ignore the fact that the one group of Christians from among those, who, like Jesus (peace be upon him) himself, are Palestinian, who are not allowed to come to Bethlehem.

Here is an e-mail I received from Daoud Nassar, a Palestinian Christian fighting to save his 100-acre family farm just south of Bethlehem from confiscation by the Israelis:

“Yes, there are many Christians all over the world coming to visit Bethlehem and are now there but many Palestinian Christians are not allowed to come to the city especially from other cities in the West Bank as well as from Gaza. It is easier for who are living in the surroundings from Bethlehem to come to the city but still they have to cross checkpoints. The media as always is ignoring the situation of the Palestinian Christians.

“It is very sad thing, even in your own country; you have no freedom of movement and have no access to holy places.”

Many Palestinians have been unable to document their property ownership because they had never registered the land in order to avoid repressive taxation. (They have bills of sale, but the Israelis refuse to accept that as proof). Daoud’s father, however, had registered the land and paid taxes even before the Israeli occupation, yet the Israelis have kept him in court for over 15 years as they seek excuses to take his family’s land and give it to the settlers who ring his property like vultures, scorning earthly documentation of his property rights which they would sacrifice to their blasphemous mythology of God as real estate agent.

While the mainstream press ignores the plight of the Palestinians, Zionist propagandists on the Internet try to blame it on the Muslims. Yet, it was under the Muslims that Jews and Christians prospered in Palestine for centuries. It was Umar who, on conquering Jerusalem, opened it to residency by Jews after the Christians had banned them from the city. It was Salahuddin (Saladin) who let the Jews back in after the Crusaders had slaughtered the Jewish residents of the city (along with Muslims and even some indigenous Christians since all Arabs looked alike to them).

When Daoud, founder of a peace group called “Tent of Nations,” came to the United States last month, the mainstream press ignored his mission. He spoke to a few small groups at churches and universities (and to us at the Minaret of Freedom Institute). What will it take to get the Christians of America to listen to their co-religionists in Palestine?

Merry Christmas, Blessed Eid, and Happy Hannukkah to those who love God.

Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Ph.D.

Minaret of Freedom Institute

www.minaret.org

ImadadDean