Sheikh Riad Fataar (youtube screenshot)
Fataar said any criticism of his pro-Hamas stance was an attempt to silence Pro-Palestinian activism.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Sheikh Riad Fataar, president of South Africa’s Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), expressed blatant support for Hamas in a speech in Cape Town.
Fataar said, “I am Hamas, Cape Town is Hamas. Viva Hamas Viva! …We support Hamas because Hamas follows the Aayah [verse] in the holy Quran…: ‘Fight those who fight you.’
He then referred to the Christian concept of “turn the other cheek” and said, “You slap me – I slap you back!”
Since the MJC is the most influential Muslim group in the Cape area, Fataar’s remarks were met with strong criticism from the Jewish community, concerned that the words may incite antisemitic attacks.
Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Warren Goldstein, said, “This disturbing support for a brutal terror organization is not isolated to the MJC. It is part of a concerted effort to radicalize many stakeholders in South Africa.”
He added, “This radicalization takes the form of stigmatizing Israel by the false accusations of genocide and the moral equivalence between Hamas, a murderous terror organization, and Israel, a free democracy fighting for its life within the ethics of international law.”
Fataar denied that his remarks may inspire followers to attack Jews and claimed his “support for Hamas was rooted in advocating for the oppressed Palestinian people, not an attack on Jews.”
He then said any criticism of his pro-Hamas stance was an attempt at silencing Palestinian activism.
The Western Cape branch of the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) supported Fataar’s remarks and called Hamas a “legitimate liberation movement fighting for Palestinian self-determination.”
Rolene Marks, national spokesperson of the South African Zionist Federation, commented: “If Sheikh Riad Fataar, president of the Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa, tells the world ‘I am Hamas,’ then he is admitting publicly he is a terrorist.
Hamas was first declared a terrorist organization by the US in 1997.
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