Livingston—As part of the RKYHS Student Education Enrichment Development (SEED) program, Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a Middle East Analyst and expert in Islam and Arabic, addressed the high school students about the nature of Islam and its effect on the Middle East. The SEED program is exactly what the name implies, a means to enrich students’ educational experiences by having weekly speakers address the entire RKYHS student body on a variety of topics.
Dr. Kedar, who received his Ph.D. from Bar-Ilan University, focused his presentation on the internal struggle within Islam between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. He described how this conflict is rooted deep within the religion and is based on a 2,000-year-old dispute over the succession of Mohammed.
Dr. Kedar went on to describe how this schism is the source of the majority of Muslim vs. Muslim conflict and, as a result, conflict in the Middle East in general. Kedar discussed how there is a disproportionate focus of peace in the region on Israel, when in reality the more pressing issue in the Middle East is the sectarian conflict within Islam.
In an interview after his main presentation, Dr. Kedar spoke about Israel and the relationship between Islam and Judaism. He noted that certain interpretations of the Koran call Jews “descendants of pigs and monkeys.” He also noted that in, “the first chapter of the Koran that Muslims say every day… they pray to Allah and they refer to Jews as those upon whom the wrath of Allah rests because they did not convert to Islam.”
These principles led Dr. Kedar to make the audacious statement that “antisemitism is embedded in Islam.” While this is a very hardline view, Kedar asserts that this is in fact a genuinely accepted interpretation of the Koran.
Many Muslim countries claim that they are not antisemitic, but rather anti-Zionist. Some point to the fact that they had or still have Jews living in their country. On this point, Dr. Kedar notes: “When the Jew starts to claim his natural rights, it is not good. He can live in our countries as a free man, but he does not have any right to have sovereignty like us.”
“They will never accept Israel as the state of the Jews even if peace is achieved,” Kedar continues. “They say it as openly, explicitly and clearly as could be.” Dr. Kedar points to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s statement, where he noted that Israel is not a Jewish state and never will be. Mubarak had, and Egypt still has, peace with Israel.
In terms of the future, Dr. Kedar is not very optimistic. He calls the two-state solution “one of the most dangerous things for Israel,” and he believes the best way to maintain peace is for Israel to maintain power so that no country will ever attempt to fight with her.
