The World Islamic Congress was convened in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
in December 1931 at the behest of
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mono ...
, the
Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem is the Sunni Muslim cleric in charge of Jerusalem's Islamic holy places, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The position was created by the British military government led by Ronald Storrs in 1918.See Islamic Leadership i ...
, and
Maulana Shaukat Ali
Shaukat Ali (10 March 1873– 26 November 1938; Urdu: مولانا شوكت علي) was an Indian Muslim member of the Khilafat Movement. He was the elder brother of the renowned political leader Mohammad Ali Jouhar.
Early life
Shaukat Ali was ...
, leader of the Indian Caliphate Committee. Ostensibly the Congress was called to consider a proposal to establish a University at the
Al-Aqsa Mosque
Al-Aqsa Mosque (, ), also known as Jami' Al-Aqsa () or as the Qibli Mosque ( ar, المصلى القبلي, translit=al-Muṣallā al-Qiblī, label=none), and also is a congregational mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is situate ...
in Jerusalem as a center of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic scholarship, an idea which the leaders of the prestigious
Al-Azhar University
, image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg
, image_size = 250
, caption = Al-Azhar University portal
, motto =
, established =
*970/972 first foundat ...
in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
opposed and which never came to fruition.
Attended by 130 delegates from 22
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
countries, the Congress called on Muslim states to avoid trade with the
Jewish community
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
in
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
.
However, the Congress was viewed widely as an attempt by the mufti to enhance his prestige in advance of a bid for the office of
caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
. This position had remained vacant since a Pan-Islamic Congress in
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
in 1926 had failed to agree on a suitable candidate to replace
King Hussein of Hejaz. A rival clan of the Husaynis, the
Nashashibi
Nashashibi ( ar, النشاشيبي; transliteration, Al-Nashāshībī) is the name of a prominent Palestinian family based in Jerusalem.
After the First World War, during the British period, Raghib al-Nashashibi was Mayor of Jerusalem (1920–1 ...
s, helped to ensure that the mufti was unsuccessful in his bid for the
caliphate
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
.
Following the election of Husayni as president of the Congress the agenda was arranged as follows:
# Holy Places and the
Buraq
The Buraq ( ar, الْبُرَاق "the lightning") is a heavenly equine or chimeral beast in Islamic tradition that notably served as the mount of the Islamic prophet Muhammad during his Isra and Mi'raj journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and up ...
wall
# the University of
Al Masjid el Aksa
# the
Hejaz Railway
# the furtherance of Muslim teaching and culture
# Publications
# Constitution of the Muslim Congress
# Resolutions
The Congress resolved that "
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...
is ''ipso facto'' an aggression detrimental to Muslim well-being, and that it is directly or indirectly ousting Moslems from the control of Muslim land and Muslem Holy Places". It was also resolved that the Congress should meet at intervals of two or three years and that resolutions should be enacted by an Executive Committee chaired by Husayni.
See also
*
General Islamic Congress
References
*'Close Of Moslem Conference, Egyptian Delegate Deported', From Our Correspondent,'' The Times'', Friday, 18 December, 1931; pg. 11; Issue 46009; col B.
*Feiler, Gil (1998). ''From Boycott to Economic Cooperation: The Political Economy of the Arab Boycott of Israel''. London: Routledge.
*'Moslem Congress In Jerusalem, Mufti As President', From Our Correspondent,'' The Times'', Wednesday, 9 December, 1931; pg. 11; Issue 46001; col G.
*'Moslem Congress Zionist "Peril To Islam"', From Our Correspondent,'' The Times'', Monday, 14 December, 1931; pg. 11; Issue 46005; col C.
*Sicker, Martin (2001). ''The Middle East in the Twentieth Century''. Praeger/Greenwood.
*Kramer, Martin (1986). ''Islam Assembled: The Advent of the Muslim Congresses''. Columbia University Press. . A chapter is devoted to the Jerusalem congress.
History of Palestine (region)
1931 conferences
1930s in Islam
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