Vishal Mangalwadi | On December 14, 2017

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

President Trump has formally recognised a plain fact that everyone already knew —Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.

Many times Israel has lost its “eternal” capital. Rebellion against her holy God will justify Israel losing Jerusalem again. For no one has warned Israel more than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Father of the most famous Jew of all — Jesus of Nazareth. It was Jesus who had prophesied complete destruction both of Jerusalem and its Temple.

So, what happens to Palestine’s capital?

The creation of Palestine as a nation-state was an idea sillier than the 1947 creation of Pakistan (including Bangladesh) as a Muslim-Nation.

Pakistan had an advantage over Palestine. The British had demolished the Moghul Empire in 1858 and created the nation of India that included Pakistan and Bangladesh.

After WW2, Pakistan as an independent nation appeared viable only because Christian education had taught the Indian sub-continent the meaning of “nation.” It had built up clean, substantially corruption-free, civil, judicial, and military services. It had developed free press and enabled the creation of credible political parties. The idea of Pakistan as a “Muslim” nation did not come from Islam. It came from the Bible, including its secularised version.

Islamic political ideal is the Caliphate. Therefore, Palestine as a “Muslim nation” had never existed. It was always under a Caliphate, Baghdad or Ottoman.

The Islamic State (IS) is right: If Palestine is going to be Muslim, it should be a part of a Caliphate, not an independent nation-state. If it wants to be an independent “nation” then it is a heretical Islamic community.

All Muslim nations are failed states for a simple reason: The Qur’an cannot teach them how to be successful nations. ‘Nation’, ‘Great Nation’ and the ‘Kingdom of God’ are biblical categories.

Individual Muslims and Muslim nations in the Middle-East have three options:

(1) The Arab-League nations can continue to muddle through as failed un-Islamic ‘nation-states’ created by Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916) and the Roosevelt-Churchill’s Atlantic Charter (1941).

(2) Revive an Islamic Caliphate through peaceful negotiations or all out armed conflict between Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan. Or,

(3) Learn to live as responsible, civilised, equal citizens in all nations whether Muslims are majority (Sunni or Shia) or minority. This means Muslim-majority nations must give up Sharia. They must learn to respect religious minorities (Sunni, Shia, Sufis, Ahmadiyas, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists) as equal citizens. This is indeed un-Islamic… but that is the pre-condition of peace. This reform will bring peace to Jerusalem and to Palestine… It will establish peace in Middle-East, Europe as well as in Kashmir and India.

One nation solution also means that Israel must not be a racist nation-state. It has to affirm the Bible’s teaching of equality of all “men.” Israel cannot treat Jews as “First Class” citizens and Palestinians and others as Second Class.

UN’s Two-States Solution will solve nothing. Israel needs to be one state, free to choose its capital.

One State solution will bring peace if both Judaism and Islam are reformed. They need to learn and affirm that all men are created equal, and the state has a God-given responsibility to protect everyone’s human dignity and rights — irrespective of their beliefs or gender. Islamic nations must not enslave Muslims. All citizens must have the freedom to debate, discard, and choose beliefs.

Vishal Mangalwadi

Prof Vishal Mangalwadi directs the Centre for Human Resource Development in a Unversity in North India. He has authored 20 books and lectured in 40 countries. His exposition of Indian philosophy and Western thought and culture In books such as “The World of Gurus”, and “The Book That Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization” are studied at university level.