Opinion | End Times for Israel: The Apocalyptic ‘Quranic’ Prophecy Electrifying Palestinians
Source: Haaretz
By Ori Nir, who was formerly Haaretz’s West Bank and Washington correspondent, is Americans for Peace Now‘s vice president for public affairs. Twitter: @OriNir_APN
In a recent survey, 73 percent of Palestinians backed a prediction, popularized by Hamas preacher and YouTube icon Bassam Jarrar, that Israel will collapse by June 2022. Why is this wild fantasy of destruction so popular?
The most interesting finding in the latest Palestinian public opinion survey shows that 73 percent of Palestinians polled in the West Bank and Gaza Strip believe the Quran includes a prophecy regarding the demise of the state of Israel.
If you follow Palestinian social media, you’ll know that this finding relates to a popular theory devised by a prominent Palestinian West Bank Islamist scholar, Dr. Bassam Jarrar, a longtime Hamas spiritual leader and a YouTube icon, with almost 700,000 subscribers.
Jarrar bases his prediction on several Quranic verses and on intricate numerology. His theory is not new. He has been prophesizing since 1992, and in 1996 published a book that lays out the foundations for the theory. What is timely, however, about his prophecy is that we have reached the due date. Yes, according to Jarrar, Israel’s demise is destined to take place between March and June 2022.
Suggested reading by Zia H Shah MD for the best understanding of what is and what is not anti-Semitism and the Quranic verses about Israel
My main suggestion to the open minded readers is to read on and in the words of Sir Francis Bacon, “Read not to contradict … but to weigh and consider.”
I do not believe that the timeline presented in this article is true, but I think there are two broad verses in the Quran about the state of Israel: “And after Moses We said to the children of Israel, ‘Dwell ye in the land; and when the time of the promise of the latter days comes, We shall bring you together out of various peoples.” (Al Quran 17:104) The second verse that then becomes applicable: “It may be that your Lord will now have mercy on you; but if you return to your previous unjust state, We too will return, and We have made payback for the unjust.” (Al Quran 17:8)
I believe that we have to seek theological, social, political and spiritual solutions to the Israel-Palestinian conflict:
The Quranic Compassion 