Muslim National Associations
Encyclopedia
The Muslim National Associations (MNA) was an organization established in the 1920s by Arabs who were employed by the Palestine Zionist Executive and organised by Chaim Margalioth Kalvarisky. The president of the Muslim National Associations was Hassan Bey Shukri, who founded the organization with Sheikh Musa Hadeib from the village of Dawaymeh near Hebron
and head of the farmers' party of Mount Hebron
. According to the Israeli historian Benny Morris
, the organization was formed as a counterweight to the Muslim-Christian associations that were hotbeds of anti-Zionist nationalist agitation.
In July 1921, Shukri, who was the mayor of Haifa
, sent the following telegram to the British government, declaring support for the Balfour Declaration and Zionist immigration to British Mandate Palestine:
In 1936, explosives were planted at the home of Hassan Shukri. He escaped without injury, but several months later an Arab fired four shots at Shukri as he entered the Haifa
City Hall. While the assassination attempt failed, Shukri was shaken and fled to Beirut
. When Shukri died on January 29, 1940, many of Haifa’s Jewish leaders attended his funeral.
In 1929, Sheikh Musa Hadeib was murdered in Jerusalem for collaborating with the Zionists. His murderers were never apprehended, but both his family and the Zionist Executive claimed that the followers of Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem and the leader of the Arab National movement, were responsible.
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
and head of the farmers' party of Mount Hebron
Mount Hebron
Mount Hebron is a geographic region and geologic formation in the southern West Bank, with its western foothills extending into Israel. The area was in biblical times a center of the Israelite and Hasmonean kingdoms. The region lends its name to the Mount Hebron Regional Council....
. According to the Israeli historian Benny Morris
Benny Morris
Benny Morris is professor of History in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel...
, the organization was formed as a counterweight to the Muslim-Christian associations that were hotbeds of anti-Zionist nationalist agitation.
In July 1921, Shukri, who was the mayor of Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, sent the following telegram to the British government, declaring support for the Balfour Declaration and Zionist immigration to British Mandate Palestine:
We strongly protest against the attitude of the said delegation concerning the Zionist question. We do not consider the Jewish people as an enemy whose wish is to crush us. On the contrary. We consider the Jews as a brotherly people sharing our joys and troubles and helping us in the construction of our common country. We are certain that without Jewish immigration and financial assistance there will be no future development of our country as may be judged from the fact that the towns inhabited in part by Jews such as Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, and Tiberias are making steady progress while Nablus, Acre, and Nazareth where no Jews reside are steadily declining.
In 1936, explosives were planted at the home of Hassan Shukri. He escaped without injury, but several months later an Arab fired four shots at Shukri as he entered the Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
City Hall. While the assassination attempt failed, Shukri was shaken and fled to Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. When Shukri died on January 29, 1940, many of Haifa’s Jewish leaders attended his funeral.
In 1929, Sheikh Musa Hadeib was murdered in Jerusalem for collaborating with the Zionists. His murderers were never apprehended, but both his family and the Zionist Executive claimed that the followers of Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem and the leader of the Arab National movement, were responsible.