Monday, July 7

Sheikh Bassam

Sheikh Bassam was buried yesterday at Tassa, the cemetary he fought for.


Sheikh Bassam is on of those people everybody in Jaffa knew. A religious leader to some, a good listener to others.
careful with his judgement and supportive of those in distress.
Sheikh Bassam had been ill for many years, and as a result of his illness he drove around Jaffa in a small cart, always with a smile, always with patience for the many people who encountered him on the streets and asked for his assistance, his ideas or maybe just a listening ear.

The burial ceremony left from the Mahmoudia Mosque and was attended by many people form Jaffa and from all over the country

16 comments:

Lirun said...
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yudit said...

He was buried at the "Tassa" cemetary, as there is no other active Muslim cemetary in Jaffa, the cemetary he struggled for

Lirun said...
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yudit said...

It is, but there is no other Muslim cemetetary in Jaffa.
At this point it would make sense for the municipality to come up with an alternative deal for the new owenrs and offer them an alternative plot of similar characteristics and let the cemetary be for the sake of historical and social justice, not to say for the sake of peace in Jaffa

Lirun said...
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yudit said...

the story is more complex than that: The plot for the cemetary was donated before 1948 to the "waqf" a Muslim charity that would manage it for the good of the community.
Normally a "waqf" which is a bit like an "amouta" or a charity, is managed by a selected board.
However, the state of Israel appointed managers selected by the state and they started selling of the Jaffa waqf properties, without thew comunity's permission.
The Jaffa Muslim community took them and the state to bagatz under hok hofesh hameyda (freedom of information act) in order to obtain information concerning all waqf property that has been solld when to whom for how much.
the State has until now refrained form answering. In fact they state in their answer to bagatz "they prefer not to answer, because it will embarass the office of foreign affairs and may create a public scandal" or some such.
As a result the deal is very much in the grey area to say the least.
Bagatz after a long fight decided the Tassa deal "stinks but is kosher" for part of the plot, in spite of the fact it was sold against the wishes of the community, without their knowledge when the deal was made and against the instructions of the one who donated the land to the waqf. Yet the Jaffa Muslim community have no other burial plot and the families all have their loved ones buried there.
i believe it is in the interest of all to provide the buyers with an alternative plot of similar quality . i supposethe municipality has the means to take care of that and should do so in the public interest

Lirun said...
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yudit said...

charity or amouta is pretty much what a waqf is in the eyes of the general Muslim public: a society for the good of the community.
I'm ot sure the exact legal definition is of major importance for the purpose of this discourse

Lirun said...
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Lirun said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
yudit said...

Lirun,s ometimes you re such a....

OK from a urely legalistic point of view you are right, however when looking at it historically and socially as well as in the eyes of the community, the function of a properly managed waqf is very much comparable to that of what we would call today an "amouta": a charity run by a responsible management for the good of the community beased on a or more donation towards a specific social purpose for the good of the community.

I'm getting very tired of this silly discourse between us (which has NOTHING to do with Sheikh Bassam of blessed memory), so this will be the last comment on this post

Lirun said...

thats not nice

Anonymous said...

Lirun should get himself a decent girlfriend.

Lirun said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
yudit said...

Someone is deleting his own comments..... how utterly silly.
I you wish to participate in a discourse stay behid what you say.
And something else, keep to the point.

yudit said...

Lirun, i would be more pleasant if you would be less abusive.
If what i write is "crap" to you, don't read it, simple.

Or write what ever you wish on your own blog.