In an interview aired on the Kuwaiti Al-Adala TV channel, Salafi MP 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Jiran justified his call to maintain ties with Israel, citing a hadith in which the Prophet Muhammad had dealings with his Jewish neighbor. In January, Kuwaiti MP Faisal Al-Dowaisan called upon Al-Jiran to apologize after the latter had made similar comments during a parliamentary committee session.
To view the clip on MEMRI TV, click below:
The following are excerpts from the interview, which was posted on the Internet on April 4, 2014.
Interviewer: "Kuwaiti MP [Faisal Al-Dowaisan] and other politicians accused you of calling to have dealings with the plundering Jews. Is there any truth to this allegation?"
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'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Jiran: "There was discussion about this between some MPs and myself. In brief, I said that the question of whether we should have dealings with the Jews should be discussed objectively and not from a political standpoint, which can be subject to different interpretations.
"When we examine the issue objectively, from a scholarly aspect, we see that the Prophet Muhammad, towards the end of his life, had dealings with the Jews, and particularly with his neighbor.
"The Prophet Muhammad needed barley for his family, but did not have any money, so he gave his shield to his [Jewish neighbor] as collateral. That is a reliable hadith in the Sunna. He had no money, so he asked his neighbor what he wanted as collateral, and the neighbor asked for the Prophet’s shield, knowing that it was blessed.
"So he took the shield. The Prophet Muhammad died without repaying the debt, so the shield remained in the Jew’s possession. This evidence serves as the basis for legislation, permitting having dealings with the Jews...
"We must realize that there are different types of Jews. They are not all the same. The Jews living in Palestine today – our own Palestinian brothers buy their bread, meat, and food from them. They buy and sell in the marketplaces of the Jews. So we should take this into consideration when discussing the issue.
"With regard to the countries bordering on Israel, it is no secret that they all, without exception, having dealings with the Jews. There are factories with joint management along the Egyptian-Israeli border. These are interests that cannot be prohibited. Prohibition and permission are not decided on one’s personal whim. Jordan and Israel have joint interests along the Litani River [sic]. Syria maintains joint management in the Golan Heights..."
Interviewer: "So you say that there is nothing wrong with dealing with the Jews?"
'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Jiran: "There are global companies... You yourself have a mobile phone in your pocket, right?... And your phone has Google... Well, Google too is a Jewish company..."
