The Phenomenon of Western Society Supporting Palestine
By: Imaam Yakhsyallah Mansur, Trustee of the Al-Fatah Islamic Boarding School Foundation
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala says:
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُوا۟ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَٰحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَآءً ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللّٰهَ ٱلَّذِى تَسَآءَلُونَ بِهِۦ وَٱلْأَرْحَامَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللّٰهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا (النساء [٤]: ١)
“O people, fear your Lord who created you from a single person, and from whom Allah created his wife; and from both of them Allah produced many men and women. And fear Allah, by (using) His name you ask each other, and (maintain) friendly relations. Indeed, Allah always watches over you and watches over you.” (QS An-Nisa [4]: 1)
Imam Ibnu Katsir Rahimahullah, in his commentary, explains the verse above that humanity comes from one descendant, namely from the Prophet Adam Alaihi Salam and Mother Eve. Then, from the two of them, Allah Ta’ala multiplied many.
The many descendants of the Prophet Adam Alaihi Salam and Mother Eve then spread to various corners of the world, becoming tribes and nations, with various characteristics, languages, skin colors, and so on.
The verse above also contains the command that as social creatures, fellow humans should help each other, communicate and maintain relationships between fellow humans. In Islam, the ties between human beings are bound by the ties of ukhuwah insaniyah (brothers and sisters in humanity).
With this human brotherhood, don’t let humanity break off relations because of hatred and envy between them. If humanity breaks interpersonal and social relations, what will happen is destruction on the face of the earth, in the form of hostility, war and bloodshed between them.
So, at the end of the verse, Allah Ta’ala gives a warning that He is all-supervising of human actions, and will repay all their deeds fairly. Those who believe and do good will be rewarded with heaven. Meanwhile, for those who disbelieve and do damage on earth, they will be rewarded with the torment of hell.
Pro Palestine demonstrations on a number of universities in the US
In the context of human brotherhood, in recent weeks a number of mainstream media have reported on demonstrations carried out by a number of students on several campuses in the United States (US). They carried out this action to support the Palestinian people who are currently facing genocide committed by the Israeli Zionist army.
Their demands are the same, namely to stop the genocide in Gaza, immediately implement a permanent ceasefire and stop funding to Zionist Israel which has carried out acts of genocide.
The demonstrations started at Columbia, Yale and New York University and then around 100 students were arrested by local authorities. However, this actually triggered a bigger action, even spreading to other campuses, such as: Ohio State University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley University, Harvard University, and many more.
Many of the students who carried out the demonstration were not Muslim. Even some of the student participants in the action were Jewish, but they stated that they did not agree with and were against Zionism and colonialism in Palestinian land.
Ben-Menachem was one of many Jewish students who joined the protests at Columbia University. He and his colleagues called on their institutions (campuses) to cut ties with institutions and companies linked to Israel because they had supported the genocidal acts they carried out in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Sarah, a student – who only asked for her first name to be published – was among those arrested by officers during a demonstration on her campus.
Sarah was detained by the New York Police Department (NYPD) for eight hours. He was also suspended by the campus. But Sarah took the risk to voice the Palestinian struggle.
Sarah believes that so far the Palestinian people have lost their voice in the eyes of the world. So, she represented the Palestinian people in voicing justice, freedom and the upholding of human rights to the international community, including to the leaders of their country, namely the United States (US).
The success of the Palestinian struggle, the failure of the Israeli Zionist campaign
The above phenomenon shows that in humanitarian matters, anyone who has a conscience regardless of whether they are Muslim or not will definitely speak up about it. In humanitarian matters, all humans have a sense of solidarity to help each other, as in the first verse in Surah An-Nisa, the first verse above.
This action is proof of the widespread support of Western society (Europe and America) for the Palestinian people, which is proof of the success of their struggle, as well as a sign of the failure of the Israeli Zionist campaign.
For decades, Zionist Israel, which controls the mainstream media, has portrayed it as if they were heroes and a country that must be supported because it is under threat from Arab countries. However, this narrative seems to have become stale, along with the aggression and acts of genocide they carried out in Gaza and a series of other acts of oppression in the West Bank.
The international community is increasingly aware of the falsehood and hypocrisy of Israel and its supporters. They are actually the ones who are disrupting the world, the perpetrators of genocide and usurpers of the rights of the Palestinian people, even though they claim to be champions of democracy and upholders of human rights.
They can no longer cover up information about Israel’s barbarism against the Palestinian people along with the spread of information technology, especially social media. Currently, almost all people on earth can easily access social media, including information about the actual conditions in Palestine.
The students’ actions also show that the Palestinian problem is not just a religious issue, but also is a humanitarian matter. Zionist Israel is actually carrying out acts of genocide in Gaza, oppressing and colonizing the Palestinian people in the West Bank and elsewhere. Genocide, colonialism, and oppression are matters of humanity.
So, as the students demanded in their action, the Israeli Zionist colonialism must end. The act of genocide must be stopped immediately and the Palestinian people must gain freedom, sovereignty and independence like other nations in the world.
Society wants to see the world return to peace by upholding the principles of human rights and justice. It feels like this will happen if Zionist Israel and its supporters no longer have hegemony and power in the international arena.
The US veto has not reduced support for Palestine
The United States (US) has repeatedly vetoed draft UN Security Council resolutions regarding the proposed ceasefire in Gaza. Recently, on March 18 2024, the country vetoed the UN Security Council which wanted to ratify Palestine’s full membership in the highest international institution.
However, the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, emphasized that the United States (US) veto would not stop international support for the struggle of the Palestinian people and efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East (Palestine).
Indonesia, together with other countries that uphold human rights, democracy and humanity, will continue to strive to support the Palestinian struggle. Retno explained that all Indonesian diplomats who carry out their duties will continue to fight to support Palestine’s full membership in the UN.
Similar support also came from other large countries such as: Russia, China, France, Japan, South Korea, Ecuador, Algeria, Malta, Slovenia, Sierra Leon, Mozambique and Guyana. Meanwhile, England and Switzerland chose to abstain.
With consistency and strong determination to uphold justice and bring about peace, coupled with the strong support of the international community, the Indonesian government and people of faith, the struggle of the Palestinian people will definitely achieve success, namely their freedom from Israeli Zionist colonialism, international recognition and real independence.
Furthermore, Muslims should unite in this struggle. Muslims spread from Morocco (West Africa) to Indonesia (Southeast Asia) actually have great potential and strength and are able to stop the hegemony of Zionist Israel if we all unite.
Unity will bring strength and help from Allah Ta’ala. On the contrary, division will cause the weakening of His power and torment. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
