Jenin imam suspended for hinting PA leaders are traitors
Sheikh’s sermon seems to refer to Hamas accusation that PA helped Israel track down and kill terrorist Ahmed Jarrar
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleKhaled Abu Toameh is the Palestinian Affairs correspondent for The Times of Israel
A Palestinian imam from Jenin who implicitly accused the Palestinian Authority of treason has been suspended and fined by the PA Ministry of Waqf.
The imam was also accused of failing to encourage Palestinians to support PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
Sheikh Mohammed Abahreh, the imam of the Jenin Grand Mosque in the northern West Bank, was notified on Sunday that he would not be permitted to deliver Friday sermons until further notice.
In addition, the ministry decided to cut NIS 500 ($143) from his salary under the pretext that Abahreh had “violated the directives of the Waqf Department.”
بسبب خطبته عن الخيانة
أوقاف جنين توقف الشيخ محمد سليمان عباهرة إمام المسجد الكبير في جنين عن الخطابة وتقتطع مبلغ 500 شيكل من راتبه.#استحوا_بكفي pic.twitter.com/KbF6UxAVkV— شبكة أخبار فلسطين (@24NEWSPS) February 25, 2018
The PA requires all mosque preachers to abide by a weekly directive issued by its Ministry of Waqf that provides them with talking points for their Friday sermons.
The move is in the context of the PA’s effort to prevent extremist preachers and Hamas supporters from controlling mosques, a PA security official explained. “The preachers receive their salaries from the Ministry of Waqf,” the official noted. “If they don’t abide by the rules, they are subject to punitive measures.”
Last week’s directive to preachers instructed them to devote their Friday sermons to the issue of “confidence and trust in Allah.” The ministry also instructed preachers to urge worshipers to rally behind the leadership of Abbas.
#خطبة_الجمعة_بتاريخ (23/2/2018) وهي بعنوان "الثقة في الله والتوكل عليه"
Posted by اوقاف جنين on Wednesday, February 21, 2018
However, Abahreh did not comply with the directive and chose to talk about treason and its dangers to Palestinian society, according to sources in Jenin.
Although he did not directly accuse anyone of “treason,” the preacher’s words were interpreted as criticism of the PA leadership, the sources added.
Abahreh is from the village of al-Yamoun, where Israeli security forces earlier this month killed Hamas terrorist Ahmad Jarrar. Jarrar was a member of a Hamas terror cell that killed Rabbi Raziel Shevach in the northern West Bank in January.
Abahreh’s talk of “treason” was apparently linked to Hamas accusations that the PA security forces had helped Israel track down and kill Jarrar.
Several Palestinians took to social media to strongly condemn the PA for its punitive measures against the imam.
“Now they will bring a rabbi to deliver the sermon during Friday prayers,” commented Ahmed Nawahdah on Twitter.
“Collaboration with Israel is more dangerous than a Friday sermon,” remarked Mosaab Jaradat on Facebook.
“It was a wonderful sermon and he should have received a golden medal,” said Yassin Naser, another Facebook user. “The people loved the sermon.”
The suspension of the Jenin imam coincided with a public opinion poll published on Sunday that showed that a growing number of Palestinians are worried about a “regression in freedom of expression in Palestinian society.”
Conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center, the poll of 1,200 Palestinians showed that the percentage of those who said freedom of expression was not permissible had risen to 30 percent, compared with 23% in July 2016.
The Times of Israel Community.