- Recent distressing images and videos highlight the need for meaningful action to prevent the impending ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
- Western leaders have curtailed free expression and stifled support for Palestinians through bans on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, making it vital to distinguish between suppressing narratives and criminalising stories.
The distressing images and video footage that have inundated our visuals over the past week evoke profound sentiments of anguish and sorrow. However, what actions are we undertaking to prevent the impending ethnic cleansing of our Palestinians brothers and sister? This inquiry bears significant weight as it is of course our Islamic duty. If there was ever an opportune moment to champion the cause of the oppressed people, it is now. Nonetheless, it is perplexing to observe that within various regions of the Western world, such endeavours have been proscribed.
The concept of justice in Islam is rooted in Allah’s Divine nature. Allah states in the Qur’an:
“Verily, Allah does not do even an atom’s weight of injustice” (4:40)
In addition, The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ quotes Allah as saying:
“O My Servants, I have forbidden injustice upon myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not commit injustice.”
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been subject to forceable relocation by the Israeli military, compelling the entire populace of northern Gaza, encompassing approximately 1.1 million inhabitants, to abandon their possessions and migrate to the south. The majority of Gaza’s inhabitants are descendants of refugees from the year 1948, and some have chosen not to depart, given their prior displacement and loss of original homes dating back 75 years. Tragically, the detonations caused by Israeli munitions have resulted in the loss of over 2,670 lives, among whom were at least 724 innocent children. Most distressing of all, each member within 47 separate Palestinian families, totalling around 500 individuals, including numerous children and infants, met their unfortunate demise due to Israeli airstrikes.
The imperative to mobilise against such harrowing circumstances is of paramount significance. However, our present-day proponents of enlightenment harbor contrasting perspectives. Across the Western sphere, our political leaders have chosen to constrict the realm of free expression, branding gestures of solidarity with Palestinians as an implicit endorsement of malevolence, terrorism even and deeming Palestinian narratives as subjects to be silenced. These viewpoints transcend mere vacuity; they assume a perilous guise in their own nature.
The French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, transmitted directives to the French law enforcement agencies, prohibiting demonstrations in support of the Palestinian cause. Parallelly, Berlin imposed a ban on pro-Palestinian protests, while Vienna enacted similar measures. In Australia, various municipalities barred pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, conveyed to senior police officers that displaying the Palestinian flag or vocalising specific slogans on behalf of Palestine could potentially constitute a criminal transgression.
The French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, transmitted directives to the French law enforcement agencies, prohibiting demonstrations in support of the Palestinian cause. Parallelly, Berlin imposed a ban on pro-Palestinian protests, while Vienna enacted similar measures. In Australia, various municipalities barred pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, conveyed to senior police officers that displaying the Palestinian flag or vocalising specific slogans on behalf of Palestine could potentially constitute a criminal transgression.
Distinguishing between those in authority seeking to repress our narrative by favorings an alternative one and their endeavour to criminalise our narrative through erroneous imputation, instilling fear among the people, is crucial. The fact that tens of thousands took to the streets in London to rally for Gaza, with protesters congregating across the United Kingdom, the United States, and various Western regions, despite the warnings, challenging the mainstream narrative, sends tremors.
This week, we bore witness to the repercussions of perpetuating a distorted narrative in the media. Furthermore, the implications of fallacious words from political leaders. This in turn, degrades and dehumanises an entire populace, stripping them of their humanity and the truth. In Plainfield, Illinois, a tragic incident unfolded where six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume met a gruesome end, having suffered 26 fatal stab wounds. His mother, too, endured severe injuries in this hate crime, ostensibly driven by the perception that both mother and child were Muslims. This transpired during a period when the prevailing rhetoric appeared to foment animosity toward Muslims and Palestinians, perpetuating a distressing atmosphere of prejudice.
This incident compels us to re-visit the original question. What strategies can be devised to avert such abhorrent tragedy? We feel despair and helpless. The prevailing agony is ubiquitous in the present moment, and I, too, acutely experience its profound impact.
In this grand ummah, we are all interconnected, akin to various components of a single, intricate organism. Each individual plays a distinct role in doing our part, contributing to the harmonious functioning of our collective body to gain victory and justice over the oppressor.
Some embody the role of facilitating dialogue, political activism, ardently advocating for justice, protesting. Meanwhile, duat, social media influencers, writers and journalists wield the power to shape public opinion, swaying the course of societal change and challenging the mainstream fallacious narrative and the Israeli mass propaganda machine. Just as the heart, the brain, and the limbs perform different functions within a single body, our diverse role endeavour to call for justice and truth.
Courage is the ability to overcome our fears. This can only be achieved when we are connected to Allah swt. During such sorrowful times, we must be courageous, for Allah will ask us what we did to help our oppressed Palestinian brothers and sisters. We must always remember Palestine and the Palestinians in our duas and be a people of action!
