Jerusalem Friday Sermon by Sheikh Yousef Makharzah: It Is the Religious Obligation of Muslims to Bear Animosity against the Jews; Mahmoud Abbas Is Wrong to Say Otherwise

In a Friday, February 14, 2020 sermon in Jerusalem that aired on the Hizb ut-Tahrir-affiliated Al-Waqiyah TV (Lebanon), Palestinian cleric Yousuf Makharzah criticized PA President Mahmoud Abbas' statement that any Muslim who is adversarial towards the Jews is a heretic. Sheikh Makharzah said that animosity towards the Jews is an obligatory religious duty for Muslims and that any Muslim who fails to show enmity towards the Jews is a heretic. He cited a Quranic verse that says that the Jews hold the most intense enmity against the Muslims, and he further criticized President Abbas: "Where did you learn Islam? Did you learn it from [your advisor, Mahmoud] Habbash? Or [from Israeli politicians] Yossi Sarid or Yossi Beilin?... Do you think that Islam [is] a decapitated corpse? Oh Abbas, Islam will not die in the hearts of the believers!"

Yousuf Makharzah: "[Mahmoud Abbas] said: 'In our religion, we say that anyone who rivals a Jew is a heretic.' Allah Akbar! There is no power or strength save in Allah. Whoever rivals a Jew is a heretic? It appears that loving the Jews is one of the pillars of Islam.

[...]

"Rivaling the Jews is heresy? The animosity towards the Jews is an obligatory religious duty, and one of the signs of the believers. Whoever does not show enmity towards the Jews is a total hypocrite. After all, it was Allah who said: 'You will find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers to be the Jews, and those who associate others with Allah.' If Allah sees them as the most intense of people in animosity towards us, how can rivaling them be considered heresy, Mr. President? Mr. President, where have you learned Islam? Have you learned it from [your advisor] Al-Habbash? Or have you learned it before from Yossi Sarid or Yossi Beilin? Where have you learned Islam? Do you think that Islam has no guardians? Or that it is a decapitated corpse? Islam, oh Abbas, will not die in the hearts of the believers. Islam has guardians appointed by Allah. They do not fear you or kings, but only Allah Lord of the worlds."