- A Muslim group in Nigeria condemned Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital
- It said it was not in the interest of Christians
- It called on Christians to also condemn it
The Muslim Congress (TMC) has lashed out at President Donald Trump for recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Vanguard reports that the group described the move as being politically selfish and not in the interest of Christians.
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It said: “Let it also be known that the sufferings of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are not meted out to Muslims alone. Christians are also being persecuted in Palestine. Contrary to erroneous belief that the state of Israel represents Christianity, we unequivocally state that the current Zionist regime has never represented Christianity.
“In fact, statistics show that there are more Palestinian Christians than Israeli Christians. There are 840, 000 Christians, about 7 percent of the 12 million Palestinian population, while only 2 percent, about 171, 000 Christians are part of the 8.5 million Israeli population. Most of the Arab Christians have fled Occupied Palestine since 1948 after the forceful creation of Israel. The facts are there for anybody to check.
“It is rather unfortunate that many so-called educated are misleading the Nigerian Christian community to believe that the Palestinian struggle is Islam versus Judaism and Christianity. This is very wrong and it is sad how some Nigerians politicise the unjust and unilateral American decision to go against international law to recognise the disputed Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Trump’s singular act drew wide condemnations from world leaders. Religious leaders too, particularly Christian leaders, have also condemned the act.
“The truth is, no matter how religious we might be, we cannot be more Catholic than the Pope. It should interest you to know that Pope Francis has also joined the world in criticizing Trump’s illegal move. Just yesterday, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt cancelled his proposed scheduled meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence, in protest against Washington’s move to declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“We call on Nigerian Christians to follow the directions of these men of God to condemn Israel and the US. It is equally important for the churches to educate their members on the situation in Jerusalem, so they won’t be misinformed by politicians. Let us all stand for justice and unanimously demand Trump and Netanyahu to return to the ideal status quo, a two-state solution where both Israel and Palestine will live, side by side, in peace.”
Meanwhile, The Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) declared East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine countering the declaration made by President Trump.
The US president in what was considered controversial, recognised Jerusalem as capital of Israel.
According to Aljazeera, the extraordinary OIC summit was called for by Turkish President Recep Tayyip on Wednesday, December 13, who criticised Trump’s decision.
The group called on all countries to "recognise the State of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital."
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Source: Naija.ng