Ikhsan Abdullah: Boycott Movement Can Paralyze Israel’s Zionist Economy
Jakarta, MINA – Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) Deputy Secretary General Ikhsan Abdullah stated that the international boycott movement was effectively able to paralyze the Zionist Israeli economy. For this reason, Ikhsan reminded Muslims to remain active in boycotting Zionist products from Israel and all those affiliated with it.
“This is a form of struggle to help the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, who have experienced extraordinary suffering for more than eight months due to the Zionist Israeli genocide,” said Ikhsan when he was a resource person at the AWG Special Edition Webinar “Global Boycott Movement, Strategy Against Israeli Zionist Colonization, ” on Monday.
According to him, the movement to boycott international products could affect Israel’s economy, which is highly dependent on international trade and investment.
Ikhsan also conveyed the importance of raising the issue of counterattacks by Israeli Zionist-affiliated companies affected by this global boycott movement.
He revealed that a number of foreign multinational companies affiliated with Zionist Israel were trying to get around the boycott movement in various ways.
“One of them is by promoting opinions or blurring facts through the media and social media buzzers. “Some claim they are free from ties to Israel by referring to the boycott list issued by certain groups, whose companies are not listed as boycott targets,” he explained.
Ikhsan said that there was a need for uniform information on the list of product boycotts of multinational companies supporting Zionist Israel, after the publication of Fatwa Number 83 of 2023 concerning “Law on Support for the Palestinian Struggle.”
“There is still a lack of uniformity in information about which products of foreign multinational companies supporting Israel need to be boycotted. Indonesian Muslims need clarity regarding this lack of uniformity. “Don’t let this lack of uniformity continue and actually open up gaps for companies supporting Israel to get around,” he said.
For this reason, Ikhsan is pushing for the creation of a national boycott list in Indonesia, where there is already an institution that has officially issued a boycott list, namely the Indonesian Muslim Consumers Foundation.
The boycott list is the result of their independent research, and is also in response to the MUI’s appeal for Muslims to actively find out which multinational companies are actively supporting the Zionist Israeli economy and therefore deserve to be boycotted.
“We need to strive for a common view regarding the boycott list so that the boycott movement will be more effective and have an impact on the Israeli economy,” he said.
Ikhsan highlighted the widespread exploitation of religious figures, organizations and symbols by foreign multinational companies affiliated with Zionist Israel.
A number of companies have recently been aggressively including religious symbols in advertising. This also includes massive displays of sending humanitarian aid to Palestine, joint prayer activities for Palestine, collaboration with donation distribution institutions, and so on.
“This must be a common concern because exploitation like this can confuse and divide people,” he said.
Ikhsan also highlighted that many artists and public figures forget to endorse the products of Israeli-affiliated multinational companies
“They need to be educated, the public and the people must be educated so that they are not fooled by marketing strategies and generating opinions by using well-known figures. “Remember, we have not returned the favor to our Palestinian brothers, because Indonesia has never become an independent nation-state without receiving recognition from the Palestinian people,” he concluded.
MUI Fatwa
Ikhsan added that the MUI is still actively inviting the public to avoid global products affiliated with Zionist Israel, as part of implementing fatwas supporting the Palestinian struggle.
In November 2023, the MUI issued Fatwa Number 83 of 2023 concerning “Law on Support for the Palestinian Struggle”. The fatwa states that it is obligatory for Muslims to help the struggle for Palestinian independence, including through donations, zakat, infaq or alms.
In this fatwa, the MUI also forbids all forms of activity and support for Israeli aggression against Palestine.
In the same fatwa, the MUI recommended that Muslims “as much as possible avoid transactions and use of products affiliated with Israel and those that support colonialism and Zionism”. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
