Cries for the Destruction of Israel Echo from Iran to Egypt

The print was barely dry on reports that Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijan had called for the “disappearance of the Zionist regime” last Thursday, when news broke of a similar call for the destruction of Israel from Egypt.

In a speech delivered in Tehran celebrating the birthday of Shia Islam’s twelfth imam madhi on July 5th, Larijan blatantly identified “the West” and Israel as “two dark spots on the present era.” He referred to Israel and the US as the major sources of oppression in the world and said that “Today the time has come for the disappearance of the West and the Zionist regime from the face of the earth.”

Larijan’s rhetoric echoed that of Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s cry several weeks ago to wipe Israel and the US “off the map.”

The Islamist war cry echoed back from Egypt the same day.

The Egyptian newspaper Al Wafd reported that Muhammad Badi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide, in his weekly sermon, called on “all Muslims to wage jihad with themselves and their money to free Jerusalem.” He said that “The Jews had gathered from the diaspora on behalf of an alleged, illusory right, and established their state on the sanctities of the Palestinian nation.” He then urged every Muslim to strive to save al-Quds (Jerusalem) from the hands of the rapists (Israelis) and to cleanse Palestine from the clutches of the occupation.” He said that it is the duty of every Muslim to enable the Palestinians to return to their homes.

Badi has been cited as the power behind Muhammad Morsi, the new Egyptian president. Two years ago he said that “The improvement and change that the Muslim nation seeks can only be attained through jihad and sacrifice and by raising a jihadi generation that pursues death.”

The threat of war is encompassing Israel from every direction as Islamic clerics and leaders of Muslim nations and organizations decry the existence of Israel and call for its destruction. One might think that these threatening marauders would shrink back if the hosts of heaven broke through the clouds to confront them. But the Scripture teaches us that, while these men are raging against Israel with the tongues and their weaponry, their real argument is with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

We can pray that God will frustrate the words and efforts of the enemies of Israel. We can pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We can pray for defeat of the enemies of God. And, by the grace of God, we can pray for their conversion.