How one Palestinian sheikh hopes to unite Sunnis, Shiites

Mahmoud Jouda, a controversial Palestinian sheikh, was born in 1960 and grew up in the Rafah refugee camp. He majored in Sharia studies at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. In 1985, he established and spearheaded the religious group Jama’at al-Muslimin (Society of Muslims), which was known among citizens under the name of Takfir wal Hijra (Excommunication and Exodus). He preached and practiced religious work in the group, far from politics.

Jouda was jailed several times. The first time, Egyptians held him captive when he returned from Iran in the early 1980s. He claimed that he had visited Iran to learn and delve into some Shiite confessions such as Twelver Islam. Israel also jailed him on several occasions.

He recently became a topic of discussion in the Palestinian and Israeli press. The Palestinian public was preoccupied with his religious views and with him wearing a black turban that resembled the Shiite turban. The media also claimed Jouda was converting to Shiism, while Gazan society is Sunni.

Al-Monitor interviewed him in Rafah, where he lives, to get to know him and his views.

The text of the interview follows:

Al-Monitor:  You established Jama’at al-Muslimin and spearheaded it. What are the thoughts it espouses, and under what circumstances was it formed?

Jouda:  We started out just like any other group that has its own opinions and vision and objects to certain parties and movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb ut-Tahrir, among others. After thinking about it, we decided to find an alternative to these groups, which we believe are wrong about some issues. In the mid-1980s, our group was formed.

All current Islamic groups are politicized religious groups, whether we like it or not. Their common goal is to obey God’s instructions. Whoever forms a group wants to please God, enroot the Islamic rule and ensure truth and justice on earth.

The persistence of these groups or lack of it is related to our future vision and to our origin. Groups were formed out of their founders’ religious motive and originated from a place that allows plurality. The founders of the groups became convinced that the persistence of a group depends on the persistence of a conviction with a certain origin.

Two and a half decades after forming the group and through my deep-seated experience and vision in regard to religious and political ideas and perspectives — and my reconsideration of them — I realized that partisan work destroys religion, reality and life and damages what we really want.

We declared our renunciation for partisan work in 2006 as we realized that it leads people to a path that diverges from what they really want.

Al-Monitor:  Since its establishment, citizens started calling your group, Jama’at al-Muslimin, “Takfir wal Hijra.” Where did this name come from?

Jouda:  If people call a person named Ahmad “Aaraj” [which means someone who limps], it is not his fault. A group in Egypt was known as “Takfir wal Hijra,” and perhaps they linked our name to theirs.

Al-Monitor:  You claim that your approach aims at bringing Sunnis and Shiites closer. But there is a conflict between the two sects. What is behind this conflict? What is your approach and what efforts did you make to bring these two sects closer?

Jouda:  It wasn't a walk in the park. Theoretically, far from implementation and action, bringing the two sects closer is beautiful and straightforward. It is a refined and strong project. Inside the office, results can be reached. But when talking to the two parties [Sunnis and Shiites] and asking them to commit to the project and implement it, the situation is much more complicated. The dispute between them is deep-seated and has been around for centuries. The Sunni and Shiite intellectual legacies are conflicting. Sunnis and Shiites have contradictory views and jurisprudence, and their code of conduct has been different throughout history.

What’s more, there are currently powerful global organizations that fund and support the project of fueling the tensions and chasm between Sunnis and Shiites to drive them to fight each other. This is something tangible nowadays.

I call for a project that rejects the above-mentioned global scheme. I do not have personal reasons to promote such a uniting project or to foil the opposing one. It is not an easy task. God has given us minds to use in order to think. Scholars — if they are committed to their word and loyalty to God — are the ones capable of changing this conflict and eradicating the origins of dispute between the two sects. For 30 years, Israel and Egypt have forbidden me from leaving Gaza or traveling because of my project to unite the Muslim nation. The project needs to build personal relations [between Sunnis and Shiites] for it to spread. Since I [can't spread it], I posted it on my website, and it still has not been implemented.

Al-Monitor:  We saw you in a short video while you were sitting in a majlis [Shiite gathering] where the attendees were wearing headbands on which was written “Ya Husayn” [Oh Hussein]. Only Shiite believers wear a headband with such writings in reference to Ahl al-Bayt [the family of the Prophet Muhammad, Hussein being the prophet’s grandson]. It was said that the police arrested you while you were there. What is the story?

Jouda:  This was like an ambush for me. I was called for a meeting, and I was surprised when one of the attendees started distributing these headbands. Three minutes later, the police attacked us and hit us. I do not know most of these people. But I trusted the person who invited me. Some attendees took advantage of the opportunity to organize an ambush.

Talk about my Shiism or Sunnism only deepens the division, conflict and defeat. I am neither Shiite nor Sunni, and I do not belong to any sect. I call on all people to abandon this division and the branched sects. I call on them to commit to Islam, as the Prophet Muhammad and his companions did not belong to any sect.

Al-Monitor:  Lately, the Palestinian and Israeli media mentioned that you converted to Shiism. What is the truth behind this?

Jouda:  Well, there is a lot of talk going on. The stage is open for everyone, thanks to the Internet. But talk about my converting to Shiism is not true.

Al-Monitor:  Have you ever worked in politics? Do you think there is a place for religion in politics?

Jouda:  Although I formed a religious group, I have not participated in any political work. My work has been purely religious. I call for understanding religion in its true sense and committing to it. I do not work in politics, and this reflects my stance — there is no place for religion in politics.

In brief, if I had thought it was suitable, I would have participated in political work.