“Ô you who believe! Endure, outdo all others in endurance, be ready, and observe your duty to Allah, in order that ye may succeed.” Quran 3:200
The whole world is watching from distance those acts of violence unfolding a disdain and disregard for the lives of innocent people and the killing of children and women, and failing to acknowledge their right to sanctity and humanity. The fatalities to date are shocking : Palestinians 20 000 killed, of which 8 000 children; Israel laid siege to Gaza Strip after Hamas Oct 7 attack in which 242 hostages were taken; the western allies back Israel’s bombardment of Gaza; UN groups decry onslaught against Palestinians; global protests break out; 85% of Gaza population displaced; 60% houses laid to waste; 22 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza out of service and the temporary truce which started on Nov 24, expired on Dec 1; 105 hostages freed; 240 Palestinian prisoners were released and the unhuman attacks continuing…
This war foreshadows a dangerous division among nations and peoples, undermining the growing unity that had been rebuilt through continuous efforts to eliminate hatred, racism, injustice and conflict among us. Justifications for the war represent an intellectual deviation leading to a brutal ideology. Furthermore, the tragedy in Gaza, accompanied by media misinformation and bias, threatens to become one of humanity’s worst disasters in modern history, with the potential to create the most significant rift in the bond of harmony and friendship among nations and peoples.
When the Saudi Arabia called for an urgent ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) [The evil tongues would say, Oh! I see for OIC] to discuss the escalation in Gaza, the whole Muslim world was looking at the OIC for a serious action. While the onlookers are condemning in the strongest terms the resumption of military operations in Gaza, and especially the targeting of innocent civilians, the OIC, which federates some 56 countries where Muslims are in majority, came out with only a hesitant shabby statement, without any concrete action plan, nor a roadmap to establish sustainable peace in the region.
Certainly 1.4 billion Muslims, one-sixth of the world’s population were placing their hopes in it, even though it might be cynical about its will and capacity to even decide to restore the honour of Islam and the Muslims, much less to free their brothers and sisters from the oppression and humiliation from which they are suffering today.
We cannot go on condemning our detractors and oppressors for our humiliation and oppression. It would be an exercise in futility because they are not going to change their attitudes just because we condemn them. If we are to recover our dignity and that of Islam, our religion, it is we who must decide, it is we who must act.
To begin with, the Governments of all the Muslim countries can close ranks and have a common stand if not on all issues, at least on some major ones, such as on Palestine. We are all Muslims. We are all oppressed. We are all being humiliated. But we, who have been raised by Allah above our fellow Muslims to rule our countries have never really tried to act in concert in order to exhibit at our level the brotherhood and unity that Islam enjoins upon us.
But not only are our Governments divided, the Muslim Ummah is also divided, and divided again and again. Over the last 1445 years the interpreters of Islam, the learned ones, the Ulemas have interpreted and reinterpreted the single Islamic religion brought by Prophet Muhammad (saw) so differently that now we have a hundred religions which are often so much at odds with one another that we often fight and kill each other.
From being a single Ummah we have allowed ourselves to be divided into numerous sects, Mazhabs and Tarikats, each more concerned with claiming to be the true Islam than our oneness as the Islamic Ummah. We fail to notice that our detractors and enemies do not care whether we are true Muslims or not. To them we are all Muslims, followers of a religion and a Prophet (saw) whom they declare promotes terrorism, and we are all their sworn enemies. They will attack and kill us, invade our lands, bring down our Governments whether we are Sunnis or Shiahs, or whatever. And we aid and support them by attacking and weakening each other, and sometimes by doing their bidding, acting as their proxies to attack fellow Muslims. We try to bring down our Governments through violence, succeeding to weaken and impoverish our countries.
It is right time that we pause and re-think. But will this be wasting time? For well over three quarter a century we have fought over Palestine. What have we achieved? Nothing. We are worse off than before. If we had paused to re-think then we could have devised a plan, a strategy that can win us final victory. Pausing and thinking calmly is not a waste of time. We have a need to make a strategic retreat and to calmly assess our situation. We are actually very strong. 1.4 billion people cannot be simply wiped out. The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million. But today the Jews rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them.
We may not be able to do that. We may not be able to unite all the 1.4 billion Muslims. We may not be able to get all the Muslim Governments to act in concert. But even if we can get a third of the Ummah and a third of the Muslim states to act together, we can already do something. Remember that the Prophet did not have many followers when he went to Madinah. But he united the Ansars and the Muhajirins and eventually he became strong enough to defend Islam. Apart from the partial unity that we need, we must take stock of our assets – our numbers and our oil wealth. In today’s world we wield a lot of political, economic and financial influence, enough to make up for our weakness in military terms.
Besides, the International institutions, of which we are members, should uphold its responsibility in preserving the safety of civilians caught in the focus of this war, which is an exhibition of barbarism and collective revenge, unsanctioned by any religion or logic, and deviation from the values of all religions, as well as ‘international and customary’ humanitarian laws and principles. The hope is that the international community will act decisively to halt this extensive bloodshed and its near and far-reaching threats, through a sincere and united effort. Hence, Religious Leaders worldwide must also unite in their call for resolution, as this conflict represents no religion, nation, or conscious people, but an extreme criminal impulse that can yield no benefits for humankind.
Bashir Nuckchady
