In an article in the Palestinian Authority daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, PA Broadcasting Authority Director Basem Abu Sumaya sharply criticized Qalqiliya Muslim clerics and dignitaries for a fatwa they issued calling for the closing of the YMCA in the city - because, they claimed, no Christians live in Qalqiliya.
The following are excerpts from the article: [1]
The Qalqiliya YMCA is "A Humanitarian Association Offering Aid... to Local Associations"
"The city of Qalqiliya is not a center of racist discrimination, nor does it serve as a haven for the dismantling of national and religious unity. Its history as a fighting city is well known, and it has produced leaders, fighters, and intellectuals. It has had its martyrs, its wounded, and its prisoners.
"How surprising it was that clerics and dignitaries from the city... issued a racist fatwa calling to close down the YMCA - which, according to the [town's] residents, is a humanitarian association that offers aid, in money and in goods, to local [Qalqiliya] associations.
"This Christian association, which is headed by a Muslim, is not a missionary association opposed to the Islamic faith, and has never carried out any illegal activities. Therefore, it cannot be said that its existence leads to internal strife.
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"Over 40 clerics and dignitaries demanded that the Christian association be closed down and transferred to the neighboring town of 'Azun. In explaining [this demand], they argued that there isn't a single Christian in the city.
"This claim is illogical. It arouses religious zealotry, and it leads to internal strife that Qalqiliya, which is fenced in on all four sides, does not need at this point in time. [Right now,] [Qalqiliya] badly needs harmony, cohesion, and inter-religious unity in the struggle against the occupation and the settlements..."
The People of Qalqiliya "Desire the Unity and Harmony of The Nation - and Above All, Islamic-Christian Unity"
"The people of Qalqiliya, who are threatened by the danger of isolation and suffocation, desire the unity and harmony of the nation - rather than calls for racist or religious discrimination. They desire the unity and harmony of the nation - and above all, Islamic-Christian unity, which has never once in Palestinian history suffered any shock or downfall. The Christians, like the Muslims, are part of the soil of this holy land.
"[I call upon] the senior officials, wherever they may serve - in the government, in the ministries that touch on this issue such as the [Ministry of] Religious Endowments, the [Ministry of] Local Government, and, likewise, on [the senior officials] in the municipal government, the dignitaries, and the clerics. All those who joined forces to write this petition to expel the [YMCA] are called upon to act to prevent this move, which is likely to provoke sectarian strife.
"We have enough on our hands with the political and inter-organizational wars, and with the threats to the peace of the citizens, the national endeavor, and national and religious unity.
"We do not think that the existence of a Christian association in Qalqiliya endangers the city's Islamic character or offends the faith of its residents... I don't think that the residents of Qalqiliya, who adopt a fighting stand and are patriotic, will allow their city to be, God forbid, the spark [that sets off] a future sectarian civil war."
[1] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (PA), April 23, 2006.
