Letter to HRH Prince Muhammad Bin Salman urging him to accelerate the normalisation of relations with Israel
20th October 2023
Your Royal Highness, Assalamu Alaikum.
I hope you are well inshaAllah. I have been in Saudi Arabia for a few days to perform Umrah and I am now in Madinah. One of the many duas I made was that there is peace in the Middle East so that Israel and Palestine can exist side by side, and that Jews, Christians and Muslims can finally live in peace under Abrahamic brotherhood. The terrorist attacks by Hamas who killed innocent Israeli civilians, and in some cases in the most gruesome ways, yielded a response from the IDF where Palestinians are suffering many times over. Hamas knew this would happen when they planned their terrorist acts months in advance, but failed to plan to evacuate Gazan residents. Blood is on the hands of Hamas and those who support it.
I live in the UK (originally from Bangladesh), and I am politically involved where I stood for Parliament in 2005 (in Bolsover, Derbyshire) and stood for county council elections. I have been quite active within the UK Conservative Party. Imagine my delight when I heard yesterday that my Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, visited Saudi Arabia yesterday to meet with you to try to resolve the conflict. As soon as I learnt about his trip last night (whilst I was in Madinah), I quickly sent a message to one of the PM’s aides wishing him a good outcome with his meeting with you; I stressed that you are the most positive influential leader in the Middle East. Given the enormous loss of life that is taking place now, the process for Saudi Arabia to establish peace with Israel (something I made dua for two years ago) must be accelerated. We cannot allow for any more civilians, especially children from either side to be killed. The Abraham Accords is something that had been missing over the last 75 years where religion was completely eliminated from the discourse, but now when the three great communities can live in peace under Abrahamic brotherhood in the Holy Land, this will be the greatest achievement for peace that has happened in modern times, and you will be directly responsible for it.
Many Muslims may not recognise this now, they think that recognition of Israel would be treachery or you may be accused of being a US or Israeli agent (something I used to hear from extremist Muslim groups in the 1990s), but you will be thanked by millions of Muslims, Jews and Christians in future inshaAllah when they see that there is peace and brotherhood, and that children can live as children, not as victims. You will be one of the most transformative and positive leaders that the Ummah has had since the fall of the Ottoman sultanate, as you would have solved a major problem that other leaders have not. Muslim public opinion will be against you now but once you go ahead and establish peace with Israel, you will be on the right side of history inshaAllah. And by this I mean right in front of Allah’s Eyes. Achieving peace so that the Abrahamic communities can live under the principles of Abraham (AS), Isaac (AS) and Ishmael (AS) and where children are no longer killed is definitely an Islamic principle, NOT an act of kufr. I hope the learned scholars in Saudi Arabia agree with this. I recall when Sheikh Bin Baz (ra) issued a fatwa in 1995 where normalisation with Israel should be pursued. He was criticised for it, however, he was way ahead of his time. He was correct. If peace had been established then, we would not be witnessing the human catastrophe we see today.
May Allah bless you and give you massive success with the Abraham Accords and your pursuit of normalising relations with Israel as soon as possible inshaAllah. Millions of lives are depending on you.
Wassalam.
Hasan Ali Imam (UK)
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Disclaimer: The views expressed are mine only and do not belong to the company I work for or the political party I belong to. My views will definitely be at odds with the majority of Muslims, who I believe are holding the wrong opinion on Israel’s right to exist.
Author Biography
Hasan Ali Imam was born in Bangladesh in 1972 and brought up in the UK. He has engaged in respectful debate and dialogue with those which disagree with him, which culminated in his candidacy for the British Parliament in 2005. He continues to be involved with the UK Conservative Party. He is a regular caller to LBC Radio (UK). Hasan has also been involved with the UK Government’s PREVENT counter terrorism strategy as a trainer to public servants on how to prevent young people from venturing into extremism. He also draws on his own experience of attempted recruitment by extremist groups in the 1990s. Hasan has authored three books.
1. United States of Anger — Why Linda Sarsour’s Rage and Far Left Violence Cannot Move Mountains.’ This book is a response to Linda Sarsour (an American Palestinian Socialist activist), and her far left compatriots who supported the violence and rampage that took hold in the US after the tragic killing of George Floyd.
2. ‘BAME — Breaking Through Barriers.’ This book deals with the race space in the UK. It responds to critics who state that ethnic minorities have not progressed due to institutional racism. He tackles the issue head on and invites critics to dialogue and debate. This book was praised by the British Government.
3. ‘Aisha and Fatima — Ladies of Heaven. A Sunni Response to Shiaism.’ This is specific to the main Islamic sects of Sunni and Shia. The book captures dialogues that Hasan (a Sunni) had with Shia Muslims over the last 20 years.
A fourth book project is under way for publication soon entitled, ‘Why the Far Right are Far Wrong.’ Yes, you guessed it. It includes responses to the Far Right and dialogue with some of its members.
Hasan has also written an article on ‘Medium.com’ to challenge the anti-vaccine narrative from his own Conservative side, including Dr. Simone Gold in the US, and has invited dialogue and debate with anti-vaxxers. He has engaged with feminists and the pro-choice advocates in relation to abortion. He has also engaged in dialogue with an Israeli Jew and an anti-Israeli Muslim on the State of Israel and the importance of Jews, Christians and Muslims to unite under the Abrahamic brotherhood.
