Represented by its CEO, Dr. Sharif Abu Shamala, Al-Quds Foundation Malaysia participated in The Third International Conference  “Current Trend in the Middle East”, from 6–7 December 2019 which was hosted by Academy of Islamic Civilization at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in collaboration with the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences at Namık Kemal University (NKU), Tekirdağ, Turkey and Universitas Islam Raden Rahmat Malang (UNIRA), Indonesia. The conference was officiated by Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and a group of researchers.

In the paper he participated with during the opening session of the conference, Abu Shamala stressed that the Palestinian issue is still a central one in the heart of The Middle East, despite all the attempts to liquidate it over more than 70 years. It is also a global issue that is not exclusive to two local teams competing on a plot of land, but rather an issue where the local level overlaps with the regional and international ones.

Abu Shamala’s speech focused on measuring the effects of the US President’s decision of moving the American embassy to Al-Quds and considering it as the “Israeli” occupation. He believed that Trump’s decision sought to create a new international vision of Al-Quds and its legal and political status, so that the United States would be the head of the locomotive for this change, and then most countries would join it. However, this has not succeeded because of the internal opposition in these countries and for the firm attitudes and pressure that the Arab and Islamic countries showed including Malaysia had an honorable position, as always.

He made it clear that Trump’s decision of recognizing Al-Quds as Israel’s capital and the embassy’s transferring in May last year (on the anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba) has been the beginning of the US package of elimination  and liquidation policies called the “Deal of The Century “. These policies have not succeeded on the ground despite all their arrogance.

He stressed that Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa is still immune to temporal and spatial division and that the UN administration did not succeed in ending the role of the UN Relief and Works Agency for refugees (UNRWA), which is a symbol for undermining the right of refugees to return. Furthermore, he demonstrated that the Bahrain Workshop failed in attracting sufficient political presence and was limited to some regional powers. Thus, it can be said with confidence that the Deal of the Century has failed and shattered by the Palestinian people’s steadfastness and the high awareness level of many peoples who believe in the justice of the Palestinian question.

At the end of his speech, Abu Shamala talked about The Great Return Marches that are still organized in spite of the harsh humanitarian conditions in the Gaza strip rejecting the unjust siege, and affirming the adherence to the right of return. He also discussed the conditions that the West Bank suffers from as a result of the continuation of the settlement expansion policy that engulfs the lands of the Palestinian citizens. Finally, he praised the state of Malaysia, UTM University, and all the organizers of and participants in the conference. It is worth mentioning that the conference aimed at identifying and developing creative solutions to the current problems in the Middle East, by examining its contemporary issues from religious, historical, political, economic, and cultural perspectives. It also discussed issues related to the war, refugees, terrorism, peace, halal tourism, and environment, as well as to the roles played by the Malaysian NGOs in that region.