רשיד רדא, התנועה הציונית וההתיישבות היהודית בארץ ישראל

One of the most prominent religious scholars of Sunni Islam in the first third of the twentieth century, Muhammad Rashid Rida was a reformer who sought to rehabilitate the Muslim world by means of a return to its origins. In this sense, Rida was a predecessor to the Muslim Brethren and other fundamentalist movements. A lesser-known facet of Rida’s thought is his attitude towards the Jewish settlement in Palestine and the Zionist movement – an attitude that began with appreciation if not admiration, continued in attempts at cooperation (in the face of common enemies and in general), and ended with antisemitic remarks and unequivocal rulings against the Zionist enterprise. The article traces the evolution of Rida’s approach to the Zionist movement and the Jewish settlement in Palestine, including texts of religious rulings (fatwas) issued by Rida in the 1930s on the sale of land to Jews in Palestine.