Arafat's appointed Mufti Dr. Ikrimah Sabri on VOP: Impossible to negotiate
right of return - all refugee land back to Palestinian People

[From FBIS Report - a US Government translation service]

Ramallah Voice of Palestine, official radio station of the Palestinian
Authority 21 Jun 02 at 0947 GMT carries a live sermon from Al-Aqsa Mosque in
Jerusalem.

Dr. Ikrimah Sabri, mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, chairman of the
Higher Islamic Council, and preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque, delivers the sermon.
He begins by saying that he would follow the example of the prophet by
devoting Friday sermon to current affairs and speaking about the Palestinian
refugee issue.

The mufti says: "The refugee issue was recently raised in a vicious and
cunning manner. It was proposed to eliminate the refugees' right to
repatriation in exchange for the settlements. In other words, Israel would
give up the settlements in return for the refugees giving up their right to
return to their homes. In more candid terms, the Palestinian refugees should
be resettled in the existing settlements in the West Bank and Gaza in return
for giving up their homes and lands in the 1948 areas. This idea was one of
the false solutions proposed to resolve the Palestine question. Plots are
currently being concocted to find a solution that would get rid of the
Palestine question. But, God is lying in wait for them."

The mufti adds: "We have previously issued a shari'a ruling concerning
the refugees' right to return to their homes and lands. Repatriation is a
legal right. It cannot be conceded by the refugee or anyone else. This is an
established right that is not subject to negotiation. No one has the right
to receive compensation for the property and the lands, because that would
be considered a sale, and sale, as we all know, is impermissible under the
shari'a, as agreed by the nation's ulema.

The mufti continues: "Israel is trying to translate the meaning of
refugee as the person who sought refuge in 1948. It does not recognize any
right to his sons or grandsons. According to Israel's explanation there are
no longer any refugees, since most of those who emigrated in 1948 are dead,
and there may only be a few of them left. We say that the Islamic religion
approves the system of inheritance to the heirs. Sons inherit their fathers
and so do the grandsons and so on. Therefore, the number of refugees inside
and outside Palestine is more than 5.5 million. They are legal heirs. This
is in addition to the suffering caused to all the generations due to refuge,
destitution, and settlement in camps."

The mufti addresses this appeal: "O Muslims, O brothers in faith
everywhere. We must also affirm that the land of Palestine is an Islamic
endowment and that the refugee who does not want to return or cannot return
has no right to obtain any compensation for his house or land. His property
returns to all Muslims. Therefore, there is no shari'a solution to the
refugee issue except by their return to their homes and lands. They will not
lose their right no matter how long it takes.

"O Muslims, O brothers in faith everywhere, as for the subject of the
settlements, they are built on usurped lands, which have been seized from
their rightful owners. Therefore, they are illegal. It is impermissible
under the shari'a to consider the settlements as a substitute for resolving
the refugee issue. Linking the subject of the refugees to the settlements is
a vicious, cunning, and illegal trick. It is rejected as a solution. We also
reject all capitulatory solutions that are proposed from time to time and
which do not preserve the legal rights of the people of Palestine. What is
right is correct. And what is right is what is approved by the Holy Koran
and the prophet's traditions. What is right in the end is only what was
right at the beginning."

In the second part of the sermon, the mufti says: The Higher Islamic
Council and the Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Council have issued a statement
entitled: "Where is the Freedom of Worship." "The statement," he adds,
"refers to Israel's oppressive measures by preventing worshippers from
reaching the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. We know and affirm that it is legally
impermissible to prevent any Muslim from reaching Al-Aqsa. God grants a
period of grace, but He does not ignore."

The mufti concludes by praying to God for safety and relief. He prays:
"O God, we are coerced, so please support us; we have gone astray, so please
guide us, and we are divided, so please unite us. O God, have mercy on our
martyrs, heal our wounds, release our prisoners, and deal with those who
have harmed and oppressed us."