Das Arabische Buro: der Grossmufti
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gal Arab and other Arab prodigals had returned home. By 1948
everything was back to normal, completing the circle.
Following the debacle of Kawoukjy and the Arab League
in the Arab-Israel War, the Mufti (still the sole, dominant
spokesman for Palestine's "independence") continued to work
behind the scenes. In February 1951 he suddenly reappeared in
Karachi, Pakistan to meet old friends who had supported his
cause in Iraq and to preside over a twelve-day World Moslem
Congress. In a typical inflammatory address, he called for a
"full struggle" by the Moslems "to meet the aggressor"—
meaning, in this instance, the non-Moslem Hindus of India.
He assured the delegates: "We shall meet next with sword in
hand on the soil of either Kashmir or Palestine."
Following the assassination in July 1951 of King Abdullah as
he was about to enter the Mosque of Omar (his moderate rule
and peaceful aims were distrusted by all Mufti followers),
newspapers reported that the assassin was a member of the
"demolition squad" of a Palestinian underground group called
Jehad Mukadess, or Sacred Struggle Organization. The organization was said to be under the leadership of certain members
of the Husscini family. The principal figure in the Husseini
clan is the Mufti.
This, then, is the story of Haj Amin el Husseini. Where
will he strike next "with sword in hand"? Where will he lead
his Holy Warriors in the next Jehad?