Does Israel Belong to Jews?

Pakistani cleric cites Islam, offering rare theological justification for Jewish sovereignty.

Breaking news out of Pakistan signals a possible new layer for peace in the Middle East, as a senior cleric goes on the record to acknowledge that Israel belongs to the Jews.

How are we to understand this news? First, the conversation draws on history, specifically the history of the Islamic caliphates and its interface with theology. Second, this fact opens up a larger conversation for concrete changes in the Islamic world that can be found on the razor’s edge of both frameworks, one that shows Islam still has plenty of wiggle room for advancement.

Calling on Muslims around the world to accept the Jewish state, Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani announced before Christmas that the historic land of Israel “belongs only to the Jews.”

Sherani’s background includes serving as chairman of Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology, which advises the Pakistani government and parliament on Islamic law. Until 2018, he was also a lawmaker in the National Assembly for the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, a Sunni Deobandi political party in Pakistan. His credentials give the announcement even greater weight as they are rooted in Islamic theology.