News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) On his first visit to Israel, Maulana Jameel Ahmed Ilyasi, secretary-general of the All-India Association of Imams and Mosques, representing India's 200 million Muslims said that, in some ways, Israel treats Muslims better than India.  "I was pleasantly surprised to know that the Sharia (Islamic law) is being supported by the Israeli government, whereas in India only local Muslims implement it. That is unique," he said. "The Jews I have met here say that we are all children of Abraham, part of the same family. This is something I didn't hear in India. The Muslims in India should come and see things for themselves," Ilaysi said.

Ilyasi said his visit had overturned many preconceptions. "My inital impression was that the Israelis are certainly dominating Muslims out here. Once I came here, that impression completely changed," Ilaysi said. "I saw the reality on the ground, the mutual respect Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews have for each other. Constant conflict is not the reality here." In Jerusalem "I saw that Muslims, Christians and Jews lived side by side happily, not at each other's throat."

“The time for violence has come to an end, and the era of peace and dialogue between Muslims and Jews has begun,” said Ilyasi. He also said it was time for Pakistan to establish official relations with Israel.