Passivity is Privilege, Not Progress— Taking Back Palestine
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever among you sees evil, let him change it with his hand. If he cannot do so, then with his tongue. If he cannot do so, then with his heart, which is the weakest level of faith.” — Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 49
The severity of the ongoing occupation of Palestine is no enigma to those who have studied or read up on foreign affairs over the last several years. Though this is the first time in the last decade that humanity has been persistent with its momentum in standing with our people of Palestine.
The genocide of the people of Palestine has been documented in various ways since the Nakba (1948) through media outlets, newspapers, social media, journalists, and most importantly — the residents of Palestine. I have personally had the opportunity of hearing just a handful of first-hand experiences of those facing the horrors being committed at the hands of the IDF, and being funded by multiple major foreign governments. The quantity of stories I have heard personally may be small, but they hold the heaviest weights in my heart. Sons should not be watching their fathers get sniped by Israeli forces, families should not have their houses struck by airstrikes killing everyone inside, men should not be holding the remains of their daughters in body bags, babies should not have to be left in hospital rooms to die because there isn’t electricity to keep their incubators running, and children should not be searching through the now rubble that was once their home to find any leftover piece of their toys. Yet this is the constant reality that the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have had to endure. And all the world does is watch.
What a privilege it is to live in a country where someone can turn their phone off because they’ve seen “too much.” What a privilege it is to live in a country where someone can ignore a genocide because the people being killed don’t look like them. What a privilege it is to say one is proud of being able to boycott Starbucks. What a privilege it is to post a couple Instagram stories during the day and put your phone on charge for the night without any fear, wake up in the morning, and do it all again.
I consider dialogue to be productive if it helps me understand human perspective and behavior a little better so before I continue I must add this and say that this post isn’t meant to come after anyone; if you feel that way, my sincere apologies— Disclaimer: my intention is not to undermine any acts of those speaking out for Palestine as each act holds its own weight and everyone has their intentions, but I do think that we have the ability to be more proactive in pushing for human rights.
Picture this: you live in America, comfortable and under the safety of a roof every night. You’re not worried about where your next meal will come from or if you’ll even be alive by the next time you feel hungry. You aren’t afraid that starvation or disease might be the reason for your death. You go to sleep not being afraid of being bombed or losing family members to air strikes. For many of us, this is our reality. So then the question comes to mind: what will it take for people to get out of their comfort zone to use their voices to push for action for Palestinians? Why is seeing so many deaths and hearing of friends who have lost family not enough to get people out of their houses — to protest, get community involvement, or go out and educate people? Understanding the privilege that we hold in the US and not using it to amplify the voices of those suffering is perplexing for lack of a better word. Not being willing to spend a couple hours out of a week to support actions organized by members of our communities is disheartening. For a while I was scared to wonder this, but the lack of people being proactive makes me feel like pressuring our government to stop funding a genocide isn’t a priority for everyone. And if that is the shocking mindset Muslims have, how can our expectations be for government officials to hear our cries when our Ummah doesn’t even step up for our brothers and sisters, and for the 3rd holiest site in Islam. To me this act of passivity goes against our responsibilities as Muslims.
Dr. Omar Suleiman recently gave a Friday sermon in which he said “Who is the Palestinian on behalf of the Palestinian?” Palestinians both local to Gaza and the West Bank, as well as those living abroad, have been fighting for the rights of Palestinians far longer than 2 months; thousands of Palestinians killed in bombings and ground invasions (2008), the confiscation of Palestinian land located in Sheikh Jarrah (2021), the list goes on. They have international support until the trend dies down, the media stops covering the inhumane actions they are facing, and our people of Palestine become forgotten. But by posing this question, Imam Omar Suleiman made me reflect deeper into those words — Palestinian on behalf of the Palestinian. Our people of Palestine aren’t voiceless, they are constantly silenced. Their lives are threatened as they continue to do everything they can to protect their families, homes, properties, and futures. I’ve heard a lot of people in various communities say that they are tired of seeing pictures of Gaza and tired of trying to get people to be proactive in ending this Genocide. But we don’t have the right to be “tired.” Our silence isn’t killing us, but Palestinian men, women, and children are being killed because of our silence. When there are people who have constantly been losing multiple family members in Palestine spending their time and energy pressuring their governments to put an end to all of this, we don’t get to be tired. What we need to do is put even more energy and passion into amplifying and uniting their voices.
My interpretation of the Hadith at the beginning of this post gives a lot of importance to changing evil/injustice with our hands. The smallest actions linked to our names in this world will be questioned on the day of accountability. If changing evil with your heart or through Dua is considered the weakest form of faith according to this Hadith, then I like to believe that our smallest actions for the rights of Palestinians could be what tips our scale of good deeds to be heavier. No matter how perfect we think we are in this world, we all sin unknowingly and unintentionally — may we be forgiven for all of those sins, ameen. What if the testimony of the martyred child in Gaza for the time you spent calling for their freedom through an end to the occupation of their land is the final deed accounted for that lets you enter into His paradise.
One of my most cherished friends is Palestinian. Like many others she has lost family in Palestine. She has articulated stories of martyrs; stories that remain untold because there are so many just like them. Most people who know me know that surface-level isn’t my vibe because I like to understand people for who they are and what they’ve been through. But innocent souls don’t deserve to be killed for a story. I pray for our beautiful people of Palestine to be free from their oppressors and live the peaceful lives they deserve — sowing the seeds of their olive trees instead of burying the souls of their lineage.
