12 introductionhome in Palestine fundamentally challenged the traditional Islamic atti-
tude toward the Jews. The fulfi llment of the Zionist aspirations meant
that the erstwhile Dhimmi^17 were to become the own ers and masters of a
land that had been under Islamic rule since the seventh century. If one
excludes the Crusades period (1099– 1291), Jerusalem and its environs
had remained continuously under Islamic rule since the caliph Umar
conquered Jerusalem in a.d. 638. Jewish lives and property were pro-
tected so long as they were prepared to accept Islamic rule and the condi-
tions imposed by the Dhimmi arrangement. The scope of death and de-
struction rampant in Eu ro pe an Christendom thus never visited the Jews
of Islam. Zionist aspirations and the demand for a Jewish homeland in
Palestine fundamentally altered this historic arrangement. The Zionists
now demanded sovereignty, not protection; equality, not toleration; and
po liti cal rights, not religious privileges.
Only Mahatma Gandhi succinctly captured the essence of this Islamic
struggle against Zionism. Disregarding secular arguments, he recognized
and accepted the Islamic rationale against Jewish aspirations in Palestine.
His familiarity with religious scriptures and his philosophical worldview
enabled him to recognize the Islamic nature of the problem and its reso-
nance among the Muslims of India. Unlike the other nationalists, he was
prepared to see the traditional claims among Indian Muslims that Pales-
tine was a part of Jazirat al- Arab (the Islamic land of Arabia). Interestingly,
in the Middle East the expression has been used traditionally only to de-
note the Arabian Peninsula, but in India it was expanded to include Jerusa-
lem.^18 Mahatma Gandhi was quick to recognize the underlying reason agi-
tating the Indian Muslims regarding the British designs on the crumbling
Ottoman Empire. Writing in April 1921, he readily accepted the “injunc-
tion” of the Prophet Mohammed regarding Jazirat al- Arab. As he rhetori-
cally asked, the Muslims did not fi ght World War I to hand over Palestine
to non- Islamic control. He went on to explicitly rule out non- Muslims seek-
ing sovereign rights in Palestine.^19 Indeed, largely under his infl uence, in
1922 the Indian National Congress demanded the liberation of Jazirat
al- Arab “from all non- Muslim control.”^20
This was inevitable. Toward the end of World War I, the Indian Mus-
lims were agitating over the future of the Ottoman Empire, whose sultan
was also the caliph. Protection and preservation of the institution that
symbolized the unity of the believers preoccupied Indian Muslims and
produced widespread public protests known as the Khilafat movement.
For the Congress Party and its leaders, this became an opportunity to