Sudanese cleric says it is not against Sharia to establish relations with Israel

From MEMRI:

In a conference titled "On [Religious] Awakening and Dialogue," held in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on February 6, 2017, Sudanese oppositionist and cleric Yousuf Al-Koda, a former member of the Sudan Scholar Organization and currently the head of the Islamic Wasat Party, gave a talk on "The Relations with Israel – Religious Aspects." In his talk he called on Sudan to declare a truce with Israel and establish diplomatic relations with it, saying that there is no religious prohibition to prevent this. As evidence he mentioned the Hudaibiya agreement that the Prophet Muhammad signed with his infidel rivals.

Al-Koda added that boycotting Israel does not hurt Israel but rather Sudan, and that other countries in the region, such as Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and even the Palestinian Authority, maintain ties with Israel. He noted further that Sudan holds ties even with certain countries that occupy Sudanese land, without naming these countries.

He was also quoted as saying: "The boycott has not harmed Israel but rather Sudan, and despite all the time that has passed [since its imposition] there has been no discussion of the boycott, as though it is an end in itself or a religious duty." He wondered: "Why shouldn’t we propose reassessing this position and adopting a different one in its place?"

Even for an opposition cleric, this would have been unthinkable only a short while ago.

While most sub-Saharan African states recognize Israel, Algeria, Libya, Somalia  and Sudan do not. They are all members of the Arab League.

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