Balfour Declaration:
A Case of Missed Opportunity
When the exiled Jews started coming to Palestine to be settled there in the wake of the Balfour Declaration of 1948, the only reaction from the Arabs was violent jihad. The Arab countries started funding the Palestinian Arabs on a large scale. They wanted to crush the Jewish state but failed to achieve their objective.
This was undoubtedly a great mistake on the part of the Arab leaders. Had these Arab leaders learned any lesson from Islamic history, they would have indeed found that there was a better option before them. That was to welcome those Jews as their neighbours and work for the progress and development of Palestine in collaboration with them. These Jews, coming mainly from Western countries were highly educated, had great expertise in modern science and technology, and could become the best partners the Arabs could hope for regarding the progress and development of Palestine. But in their welter of emotion, the Arab leaders failed to understand this positive aspect of the matter.
There were excellent examples in the history of Islam of this collaboration between the Jews and the Muslims. When Muslim empires were being established, Muslims undertook the task of translating into Arabic ancient books available in Greek and other languages, which they found in different countries. Translation bureaus were set up, and a significant number of ancient texts were translated under the auspices of institutes such as Bait al-Hikmah, which was established in Baghdad in AD 832, and Dar al-Hikmah, which was set up in Cairo in AD 1005, both under direct state patronage. Later, when the Arabs entered Spain and brought it under their control, they established great academic and educational institutions in Cordoba and Granada, where these Arabic translations were rendered into Latin. These Latin translations were again rendered into different European languages. Not only were translations undertaken, but also, side by side, different kinds of research and investigations were carried out on a large scale.
These academic activities led directly to the Renaissance in Europe. In this way, the Muslims of those times acted as a bridge between the ancient traditional age and the modern scientific age.
Western historians have generally acknowledged this fact. For instance, recognising the contribution of the role of the Arabs, Robert Briffault writes, ‘It is highly probable that but for the Arabs, modern industrial civilization would never have arisen at all.’ (Robert Briffault, The Making of Humanity, p. 190)
How did the Arabs perform this extraordinary role in the field of learning, mainly when no such academic tradition existed among them? The answer is that they achieved this feat through their collaboration with others, such as the Christian and Jewish scholars who worked in the institutions established by the Arabs in Iraq, Egypt, and Spain. The result of this joint contribution is the grand academic history of medieval times, based on which Western Europe made tremendous progress. (Philip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, Macmillan Press, 1979)
In the wake of the Balfour Declaration, a similar opportunity presented itself to the Palestinians but blinded by their emotions, their Arab leaders misled them and launched them on the path of confrontation rather than collaboration. The Muslim failure to avail of this opportunity resulted in futile activities, which culminated in great destruction. While God had commanded in the Quran, ‘If they should be inclined to make peace, make peace with them, and put your trust in God.’ (8:61)
A comparison between the two parts of Palestine—one under Arab rule and the other under Jewish rule—is a telling example of what would have been had the two communities entered a collaborative exercise. The Jewish-ruled Palestine, which, before 1948, was a barren desert, has been converted into green fields and orchards. By contrast, the Arab-ruled Palestine is still in the same backward condition as before 1948. The Palestinians are still waging a futile battle under their unwise leaders. Earlier, their goal was to return Palestine to its original state, as it was in the pre-1948 period. Now, their goal is to bring Palestine to the state of 1967. Meeting both these targets is impossible. This is akin to reversing the course of history, and history itself is a witness to the impossibility of such a reversal. The Palestinians’ first option was to accept the status quo of 1948 willingly. Now, their second option is to accept the present status quo. If they lose this second opportunity, they will not find a chance to exercise a third option. Their third option will be death and destruction rather than life and construction.
‘Status-quoism’ means acceptance of the current situation as it is. This is not a matter of weakness. It is a wise policy of a high order by the law of nature. In this world, there always exists some controversial issue or the other. Along with this, the very system of nature demands that there should be opportunities to solve problems in every situation. However, given the present state of affairs, a result-oriented policy would be to ignore the problems and seize opportunities to improve the situation. Becoming entangled with controversial issues always comes at the cost of losing precious opportunities and leaving the situation unimproved. That is why the Prophet of Islam always emphasised: Indeed, God is Kind; he loves kindness and is pleased with it. He grants through a conciliatory approach what He does not grant through a confrontational approach. (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith no. 16805)
