The Second Annual Convention of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) was held in Chicago November 22-25, 2007. The theme of the convention was “After 60 years of Al Nakaba, to Al Quds We Shall Return and We Will Return.”  The convention was attended by approximately one thousand Muslims from all over the country including from Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and California, to name a few. Civil rights activists and guest speakers representing major Islamic organizations included Dr. Hatim Bazian, president of AMP; Osama Abu Irshaid, editor and publisher of Al Mizan newspaper in Virginia; Dr. Aga Said, chairman of the American Muslim Alliance (AMA); attorney Othman Atta, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee; Khalil Meek, president of the Muslim Legal Fund of America and spokesman for Hungry for Justice; Allison Weir, journalist, civil rights activist, and executive director of If Americans Knew; Michael Deutsch, defense attorney for victims of civil rights violations; Rafiq Jaber, past president of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP); Khalil Al Akhras, sspokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); and Khalil Bendip, a Muslim cartoonist.

Also attending were local mosque leaders Ziad Hamdan of Milwaukee; Jamal Said of Bridgeview, Illinois; and Farouq Al Samerai of Minnesota. Attending via satellite were Dr. Abdel Sattar Kasem, former candidate for president of Palestine; Dr. Al Moqri Alidrissi of Morocco; and Raed Salah, president of the Islamic movement inside the land of 1948 Palestine. The distinguished guest speaker of the convention was Dr. Mustafa Al Barghouthi of Palestine, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). He gave a speech followed by a question and answer session on Saturday, November 24. Barghouthi emphasized the hardship experienced by Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, in general, and Gaza Strip, in particular. He explained in detail the expansion of the settlements in the West Bank, now up to 133, and the checkpoints and blocks spread all over the West Bank, now numbering 581.  He also pointed out the racial discrimination of Israel against the Palestinians in the distribution of water, electricity, and gasoline in the West Bank and Gaza compared to inside the 1948 territories. He described the Palestinian communities now as ghettos and small prisons exactly like the apartheid of the racist South African government in the past century. Barghouthi identified four ways to advance the Palestinians’ struggle for freedom: Popular non-violent mass resistance against the occupation; financial aid to Palestinians under occupation; seeking support from the world’s international solidarity movements and human rights organizations; and working towards Palestinians unity. He outlined four principles the Palestinians should stick with in the upcoming Annapolis convention: An immediate freezing of all settlements in the West Bank; an immediate stopping of the apartheid wall; an immediate reversal of the embargo on the Gaza Strip to avoid human catastrophe; and an insistence on getting guarantees from the U.N. and the international community for any peace agreement to protect the Palestinians’ interests. All speakers explained the importance of Jerusalem in the Muslim world and its holy position and value to all Muslims. All warned against any concessions on Jerusalem, the Al Aqsa mosque, or the Palestinians’ right to return and compensation. Sheikh Raed Salah quoted a Bin Gurion statement, “No value for Israel without Orshaleem, and no value of Orshaleem without the temple,” and said “We say no value of Palestine without Jerusalem and no value of Jerusalem without Al Aqsa.”  He called for Arab and Muslims unity against the dangers surrounding the Al Aqsa mosque. He stated that forty years of digging beneath the Al Aqsa foundation had resulted in no evidence whatsoever of the remains of the temple. The real purpose of the digging is to weaken the foundations of Al Aqsa so it will ultimately collapse. Osama Abu Irshaid indicated he expected failure at the Annapolis conference and he de-legitimized Mahmoud Abbas, Saeb Erekat, and Ahmed Ikrai as representatives of the Palestinian people because they are not the majority governing PLC according to the last democratic and transparent election. He explained the concessions and fatal mistakes committed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Madrid and subsequently in the Oslo Accords and warned against repeating them. He warned against the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state which eliminates the right of return and put the future of 1.5 million Palestinians living in the 1948 land in great jeopardy of transferring them to the West Bank or exchanging land to maintain the Jewish nature of Israel. On the last night of the convention, attendees enjoyed Palestinian songs, dabka, and children’s folkloric dancing, in addition to a play about the Right of Return. The third convention will be held in Dearborn next year. AMP vice president Munjed Ahmed, an attorney and the chairman of the convention stated that AMP will continue educating the youth about the just cause of Palestine and educate the American public about our sacred rights in Palestine, especially Jerusalem and our right of return.

Dr. Daad Katato is a Palestinian American activist