Why did Trump consolidate the Muslim world?

On December 6 the President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel: "I decided that now it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. Israel is a sovereign state that has the right to decide on the location of its own capital." He also instructed the State Department to begin work on the transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Thus, Trump decided to put into effect the Act on the Embassy in Jerusalem, which was adopted in both chambers of Congress in 1995, but which was never realized after the Prime Minister killed President Clinton on 4 November 1995, Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin. The decision of the Congress was also preceded by the process of Oslo, when an agreement was reached on the mutual recognition of Israel and Palestine. Almost at that time, the embassy Act in Jerusalem was one of the factors that undermined the peace process with a real and final result. In this version of the Palestinian-Israeli world, Palestinian and Israeli radicals, Islamic countries, who each used the question of the Muslim holy sites of Jerusalem and the Palestinian problem in the struggle of the Sunni and Shiite currents for influence in the region, were not interested. And, of course, the Post-Soviet Russia, competing with the United States in the Middle East labor and capital markets, was also interested in the muddy Middle East water.

Subsequent events in the region: the cessation of Soviet influence, the power dismantling of pro-Soviet authoritarian regimes in the face of Iraq, Libya, Syria, Iran's blockade, coercion for peace with Israel of Egypt, Jordan, and the Arab Gulf countries, the fight against terrorism, indicate that the US embassy in Jerusalem from the point of view of American interests, and international stability, was launched in the 90's strategically thought out.

The theme of the capital and the embassy in Jerusalem at this stage was not accidental. It was raised with the end of dismantling of paramilitary regimes and the beginning of stabilization and the construction of new political systems in the war-torn Iraq, Syria, Libya, and in the evolving monarchies and authoritarian countries of the Middle East. Factor of evidence of such a process is the cooperation of the US, Russia, Iran and the Sunni coalition in the region and the consolidation of some interests, where the parties' desire for stability is paramount.

In fact, the consolidating challenge of Trump was more than ever when it was necessary to consolidate and strengthen the process of mutual understanding within the Islamic world and the Christian-Islamic civilization that began with the struggle against extremism and terrorism after the theoretical attack on America on September 11, 2001. Since 1995, the Islamic world and the Middle East have changed noticeably, have become compromise and tolerant. This is clearly evidenced by the reaction to the joint appeal of the national Palestinian and Islamic groups to arrange three days of "people's anger" in protest against Trump's step. The action should pass through all Palestinian territories, as well as around the world in the form of demonstrations from US embassies and consulates. However, the response of the community in Palestine itself and elsewhere was sluggish, and far removed from the storm of passion 22 years ago.

On the example of secular-Muslim Azerbaijan one can observe the characteristic reaction of the majority of Muslim countries and leaders. A small group of women from the Islamic Party, in response to the call of the Palestinians under the supervision of the police, held a short-term protest on December 11 in front of the US Embassy in Baku.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed great concern over the "contradictory" norms of international law and UN Security Council resolutions by the decision of the US president and called for its revision.

"This decision has a negative impact on a just and comprehensive settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and could lead to dangerous consequences in the Middle East," Aliyev said at an emergency summit of the heads of state of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul on December 13.

A week later, the Azerbaijani president received the Executive Director of the Conference of Presidents of American Jewish Organizations, Malcolm Honlaine, who arrived in Baku to participate in the international conference "2017 - Year of Islamic Solidarity: Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue".

Aliyev stressed the importance of Honlaine's participation in this event. He expressed confidence that the conference will contribute to strengthening relations between religions and peoples.