Muslim Brotherhood Statement on Centenary of Balfour Declaration

Muslim Brotherhood Statement on Centenary of Balfour Declaration
A full century has passed since the Crime of the Century against our Arab and Islamic nation, and Palestine in particular, both land and people. It was on this day of 1917 that Britain announced – via the ill-fated declaration of its Foreign Minister “Arthur James Balfour” – the establishment of a national homeland for Jews on the land of Palestine. This signalled the commencement of the most despicable occupation endured by Palestinians, and the most dangerous catastrophe that has befallen the Arab region. 

The disastrous declaration embodied a colonial occupational project for the region, with the Zionist Regime at its helm, to control the region, keep it in turmoil, loot its riches, and control the fate of its peoples. 

Both Arab and Islamic nations took notice of the danger of that “promise” since its onset. Palestinians erupted against it; liberation movements resisted it; and many faithfuls paid their lives fighting it. The Egyptian people in particular, with the Muslim Brotherhood at their core, lined up to defend Palestine through the legions of volunteer fighters who flowed onto its land to liberate it and free its holy places of worship. 

This came after all Muslim jurists agreed that the entire land of Palestine, from river to sea, is considered holy, its liberation the collective duty of the nation, and that no person – whoever that may be – has the right to surrender a single grain of its sand. 

Just as Mujahideens were about to purify Palestine of its occupation, they were ordered to withdraw and were placed in jails and prisons. The Muslim Brotherhood which led mobilization and Jihad efforts was also dissolved, and its founder and General Guide, Hassan al-Banna, was assassinated. 

Developments persisted and the Zionist regime was able to impose its control over all of Palestine via a series of wars which defeated Arab armies consecutively in 1948 and 1967. Afterwards, the Zionist entity – supported by major powers – succeeded in receiving the recognition of some Arab regimes who signed so-called “peace” treaties with it. These treaties conceded the majority of land to the Zionists, and left just a little for the Palestinians who mostly live in the Diaspora. 

Today, as we live the ill-fated memory of this catastrophe, the Muslim Brotherhood wishes to remind the nation of this heinous crime, and affirm that the Palestinian cause shall remain the most central of all causes until every inch of its land has been liberated from its unjust occupier, without waiver of rights or Islamic holy sites. 

The Brotherhood also confirms its unrelenting insistence on teaching its followers to persevere towards liberating Palestine, and all Muslims,from injustice and tyranny. 

God Says, “For it is the promise of Allah Who does not abandon His promises; but most people do not know,” Quran 30:6  

Muslim Brotherhood

Friday, Safar 13th, 1439 AH 

November 3rd, 2017