The Haj - Leon Uris [30]
Haj Amin al Heusseini had gotten off free for perpetrating the riots and massacres of 1929 and entered the new decade as a rising star in the Islamic world. After organizing a showy Moslem conference in Jerusalem, he journeyed to India, Iran and Afghanistan, preaching a gospel of Jew hating.
Because the British had been timid with him, the Mufti now denounced them openly. Wherever anti-British sentiment was strong he picked up support. Throughout the entire Arab world, leaders were quick to join the swelling chorus of anti-Zionist, anti-British rabble-rousing. Inside Palestine nearly every pulpit in every mosque was turned into an anti-Jewish platform.
All of this was music to Gustav Bockmann’s ears. Anything against the Jews was now part of the natural order of Nazi Germany. Anything that would cause problems for the British was also in keeping with Germany’s ambitions. Bockmann carefully befriended and romanced the Mufti as a friend who was fighting mutual enemies.
A key source of the Mufti’s moneys was his control of the Office of the Waqf, which administered religious funds. Although no new mosques bore the Mufti’s name on their cornerstones, the Waqf treasury was kept anemic by illegal arms purchases and personal luxuries. A coalition of ‘moderate’ Arab families surfaced against the Mufti and demanded an accounting of Waqf expenditures. It became apparent to Haj Amin al Heusseini that an outside bankroller, arms supplier, and political ally was needed. The German Colony of Jerusalem was bound to produce it.
Late in 1935 Gustav Bockmann was called to Berlin for a secret conference to help assess Germany’s position in the Arab world and formulate long-range plans to undermine British- and French-controlled countries.
Bockmann left Palestine, promoting the rising figure in the Moslem world, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, whose enemies were Germany’s enemies. He returned from Germany jubilant.
The Mufti’s villa stood on the northern road out of the city toward Ramallah. Bockmann was always rigidly German; a smile, so difficult to come by, was rare. Nevertheless, one was there as he was led to a splendid veranda overlooking the Mufti’s orchards. The two men exchanged amenities, then settled down to the report.
‘Your Eminence,’ Bockmann started, ‘the meeting was an outstanding success. Der Führer himself attended. I was given unlimited time with him.’
Haj Amin nodded pleasantly.
‘What we now realize,’ Bockmann continued, ‘is the extent of support Germany has throughout the Arab world. We have well-placed friends in Damascus and Baghdad and we have made great inroads into the Egyptian officer corps.’
Sympathy for the Nazis was fine as far as it went, Haj Amin thought, but any other pro-German Arab could become a potential rival of his. He continued listening with little comment.
‘Let me assure you that no Arab leader has caught the attention and imagination of Hitler as strongly as yourself. He is most impressed by your unceasing war on the Jews. He also clearly understands your unique value as a Moslem religious leader.’
‘Can you be more specific about what Germany intends to do regarding our particular situation?’ the Mufti asked.
Bockmann cleared his throat for a long recitation. ‘The Nazis have only been in power for a few short years, but the results have been astonishing. There is a new spirit in the land, a feeling of national unity after the humiliation of the world war. Certainly in the next few years Hitler will unify the German minorities around Europe ... in Austria ... Poland ... Czechoslovakia. All Germans will be under a single Nazi banner. The feeling is very strong that the French and the British are ... how would you say ... too demure, too decadent to stop a German advance on the European continent. Certainly within the decade there will be a German physical presence in the Middle East.’
‘By war?’
‘I would think so. A short war. You are in the enviable position of getting in at the beginning to solidify your own claims.’
‘On the presumption that Germany dominates or is the influential