The 'Palestine' Hoax MEMRI - Middle East Research Institute JUN 7, 2026
WATCH: Imam says many Gazans came from Africa and Europe
Sheikh Anwar Arafat, imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Memphis, said that Palestine historically served as a crossroads connecting Africa, Europe and other parts of the world.
Speaking during a May 22 lecture at the Muslim Community Center of Silver Spring, Maryland, Arafat said that many Gazans originally came from Sudan, Ethiopia and Bosnia hundreds of years ago.
His comments challenge the common claim that Gaza’s population represents a single, unchanged indigenous group with roots exclusively in the territory. Instead, he described the region as one shaped by centuries of migration and movement between continents.
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