Their constitution: they lied for about 15 seconds but could not resist any more.

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Jul 27, 2022 at 11:28

Dear Dr Pipes,

This morning I thought that I would give the (so called) Palestinian State a fair chance. I decided to read the constitution of the PS. I was hoping that just to look good to the world, the Israeli Muslims will not mention Islam and present their nation as a modern democracy.

No such luck. The constitution starts with very flowery language describing how these people were victims of many wars throughout history. The word Islam does not even occur in the preamble. Then, the articles of the constitution start. As if I were in a suspense movie, I was holding my breath. What would happen next?

The 3rd article showed the first sign of impatience. The gunner seemed to be losing his patience. This article referred to the Islamo-Christian heritage of Palestine. Jews were not mentioned. Wow. Did Jews ever live in the ME? Do they have any heritage?

Islamic generosity does not go very far. When it emerges in the Kuran it lasts for 3 or 4 verses. But I still had hopes. I was still admiring the gunner of my suspense movie. He was showing restrain and not pressing the trigger.

Articles 4,5,6, and 7 continued. I was thinking that the gunner will strike but hoping that he would not. Then, it happened. Article 8 dropped all facades and declared Islam would be the official religion of the (so called) Palestinian State. The gunner in the movie shot. And, he shot shamelessly. He declared that citizens of the imagined state will have equal rights.

How can everyone have equal rights when Islam is the official religion? Muslims of Israel who masquerade as Palestinians could not resist for more than 15 seconds. In the 8th Article, they spilled the beans.

The remaining articles were not worth reading. The (so called) nation of Palestine became illegitimate for me even before it is born.

I am not not a liar. I can see my dual standards. I admire the Jewish character of Israel. But I do not like the Muslim character of (the so called) Palestine. I have a basis.

I would welcome small religion-based nations as our common human heritage all over the world: one around Banaras, another in Rome, one in Jerusalem, another in Mecca, one around Lahore or Amritsar (for the Sikhs), and many others. I, however, get jittery when one billion people claim half the earth for their exclusive use and try to grab even more.

I gave the Palestinian State a fair chance. I recognized it briefly this morning. I recognized it for 15 seconds and 7 articles. 15 seconds and 7 articles later, I had to withdraw my recognition and declare Palestine illegitimate. Sorry, Palestinian brothers and sisters, could not help you more. You need to amend article 8 and reapply. C'est la vie.

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