Saudi preacher chickens out under fire

The Saudi TV preacher who promised to visit Jerusalem has chickened out under pressure from many Muslim leaders and Saudi officials.

Palestine Today reports that Sheikh Mohammed Al-Areefi was pressured by "Muslim scholars" who say that no Muslim leader should visit Jerusalem while it is under Israeli control.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad also told him not to go, claiming that it would be a type of normalization with the Zionist enemy. A Hamas cleric said that he shouldn't go while Israel was in its "orgy of Judaizing the city." Islamic Jihad cited the precedent of the current head of Al Azhar University who has vowed never to visit Jerusalem while it is under Israeli control.

The Director of Passports in Saudi Arabia also said that Areefi might be subject to arrest upon his return.

Arab News reports that his next show will be broadcast from Jeddah, with "some reports" filed from Jerusalem and other places.

If Muslims are not allowed to visit Jerusalem under Islamic law, then why should Palestinian Muslims be allowed to visit? I think it is time we got a definitive fatwa as to why the PA is not equally considered guilty of "normalizing" relations with the Zionists.