Muslims
and Jews in the West
General Guidelines for Muslims in Western Countries
Muslims
in the West face the fact of having to deal with the Jews who may be
Israelis, holders of dual citizenship-including the Israeli one-
or simply supporters of Israel. It is common that such people are
present in any platform or forum - in the circles of media, in the
academia and in politics - where the Muslims endeavor to have an
active role and positive presence.
The
following are proposed general guidelines for thinking, argumentation
and debate:
1-
The conflict in Palestine is not with the Jews as believers in Judaism
but with those who have committed an aggression by occupying the
homeland of the Palestinians claiming it is their own “promised
land”, settling by force in their territories, and forcing millions
of them to move to exile. Muslims have a problem only with Jews that
have embroiled themselves in a colonial project led by the British
Empire at the beginning of the 20the century, and which was supported
by many Western countries –including the Holocaust guilty and
traumatized Germany- to deny the Palestinians their rights as a
nation and support for economic and historical reasons the new Zionist
state.
2- Muslims
and Christians in Palestine suffer from the same atrocities by the
Israeli regime that gives priority to the Jews based on a notion of
the “the chosen people”. The attacks on different Christian
churches, including the Church of Nativity- believed to be the spot
where Jesus (peace be upon him ) was born- is only an example of how
Christian Palestinians also suffer under the Israeli
occupation.
3-
Muslims have every
right to seek that which serves their interests and deter any force
that may bring harm to them provided that in doing so they do not
violate the agreed upon principles of Islam, nor the International
law, and not tolerate harm to be done to their fellow-Muslims
anywhere- including in Palestine. This is only one dimension of their
wider universal moral responsibility towards justice and peace
everywhere.
4-
The strategies adopted by freedom fighters are subject to their
situation and the force they see necessary to retaliate against
aggression and continuous attacks on their homes, land and civilian
communities. Asking the Palestinians only to resort to non-violent
acts in the face of an army that is using utter force against women
and children and that has committed massive massacres against the
Palestinian people over decades is a request that takes the side of
the aggressor. Many nations were liberated by struggling for their
freedom, and it was due to that struggle that the Apartheid regime of
South Africa fell 1995.What matters really is for minds to remain open
and for an healthy debate to continue in order to use different tools
at different times to guarantee achieving the goal of liberation.
Peace and justice remain the aim of struggle, not claiming the souls
of the soldiers of the enemy only. Even during that struggle certain
principles should be respected regarding the rights of civilians and
the priority of national unity of the different forces of the
liberation front. In many cases rational arguments lose meaning for a
community that sees the world condoning aggression and supporting the
violation of its basic human rights. Only if international law and
peace efforts regain legacy in the eyes of the suffering people of
Palestine by taking strong stances against the Israeli aggression and
its occupation forces and settlers militias that people would believe
there is hope in a political settlement of the conflict. The lessons
of history should be learnt and remembered, and the Palestinian
conflict is not an exception by any measures in human history.
There
are also few practical guidelines:
1-
Muslims in general, and those among them involved in organized Islamic
activities in particular, are advised to refrain from the following:
-
Any
action that may be interpreted as giving legacy to the Zionist
occupation of any part of Palestine.
-
Taking
part in any function organized by an Israeli institution. The same
restriction would apply to any other function if held in support
of Israel even if called for by a non-Israeli institution, such as
joining a celebration the “Independence Day” of Israel or
other Israeli national days.
-
Taking
part in any activity, irrespective of the convener, that falls
within the efforts to normalize relations between Israel and the
Muslim world. This restriction includes conferences or seminars or
meetings that are part of, or aimed at giving support to the
current Israeli-biased so-called peace process that is pursued
under the gunfire of the Israeli army against Palestinian villages
and camps.
-
Taking
part in the functions organized to commemorate the Holocaust since
all such functions benefit the Zionists in the first place who
continue to justify their occupation of Palestine in the name of
the persecution that occurred to the Jews during the Holocaust.
This does not in anyway mean that the Muslims do not sympathize
with the victims of the Holocaust or that they deny its history.
What at stake here is the ‘Holocaust Industry’ that is
totally dedicated to serving Israel and which forms an integral
part of the Zionist propaganda that seeks in every possible way to
conceal the ugly face of the genocide committed against the
Palestinian people on daily basis and divert attention from the
plight of the Palestinians to whom Israel is doing today what
Hitler did to the Jews in the late thirties and early forties of
the twentieth century.
2-
Muslim, especially those who are citizens of Western countries or
reside there, should never withdraw themselves from the arena of
action where their efforts can serve Muslim causes while their absence
may incur a great loss. For by withdrawing from these arenas Muslims
leave the platform to the Zionists who have, since the creation of
Israel, spared no effort to persuade the public opinion of their views
and to influence decision making so as to serve Israeli interests. The
following platforms can and should witness a more active Muslim
presence:
-
Meetings
and networks with Jews opposed to Zionism and the Zionist entity
in Palestine. Not only is establishing a relationship with these
Jews and cooperating with them advisable but it is highly
recommended. Many people of integrity from different Jewish
communities are subject to defamation and accusations of being
self-hating Jews simply because they condemn and oppose the
Zionist atrocities.
-
Taking
part in functions organized by academic institutions discussing
any intellectual or political subject related to the Middle East
and the Muslim world, even if these functions are attended by Jews
or by Israelis, provided the objective is purely academic. In
other words, so long as the objective of these functions is not to
promote Israeli views nor normalize relations with it, attendance
should not be discouraged. The participation of Israelis should
not be an obstacle since Muslims need to attend and be actively
present to learn and gain experience and at the same time express
an opinion and declare a stance in the hope of gaining supporters
to their legitimate causes.
-
Taking
part in public debates with Israelis or Jews that support Israel
whether through the media or in academic institutions. The
objective would be to expose the Zionist project and unmask the
different policies of the Zionist entity. Muslims should have the
courage and the wisdom to challenge the Israeli logic and
arguments. The fairness of the Palestinian cause is
well-established and what is needed is a well-developed and
convincing discourse that will contribute, in addition to the
facts of daily Israeli brutality and racism under the present
administration, to stripping Israel of any public sympathy in
Western societies.
-
Accepting
invitations to have interviews or give press statements to the
Israeli media in order to reach Israeli public opinion, which is
sometimes unaware of the arguments put forward by Muslims to
oppose the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Many pacifists in
Israel need to find an Islamic discourse to support them in their
struggle for justice. Muslims need to improve their
performance in the ongoing propaganda war, which is usually fought
in the arena of international media and may contribute to changing
the perceptions of people inside as well as outside the zone of
conflict. It is however, strongly recommended that only
well-trained Muslim professionals and intellectuals take up this
challenge. The media has its ways of raising arguments and quoting
words out of their context. Those who do not feel confident about
engaging in this kind of debate should just avoid it and assign
the task to those who have the confidence, the skill and the
talent.
-
Cooperating
with the Jewish communities in the West in whatever serves the
public interest, including the interests of the Muslims who as a
minority in Western countries are quite vulnerable. Like the Jews
and other minorities, Muslims are likely to suffer persecution,
oppression and racial discrimination and whatever coordination
with other minority communities that may ward off such threats is
recommended. However, such cooperation and coordination should
never be at the expense of the rights of the Muslims in Palestine
for our support and solidarity. Certain segments of the Jewish
community would want this cooperation to take place in exchange
giving legacy to the Zionist occupation in Palestine and may want
the Muslims to adopt positions that express denunciation or
condemnation of the Palestinian resistance against occupation.
Issue by issue cooperation in public policy matters and short term
cooperation in campaigns to achieve set goals. Examples can be
given, such as the right to religious education , to perform
religious rituals at workplaces , and tolerance towards religious
codes of dress. These are areas where Muslims have common interest
to share with many religious communities in lobbying for respect
and legal acknowledgment in a Western secular society.
-
Seeking
wherever and whenever possible to address the Jewish public
opinion in the West to convince the Jews of the just cause of the
Palestinian people and of the long-term repercussions of their
support for Israel. The objective would be to at least neutralize
as many Jews as possible in this conflict. Although this is a
tough mission it is not at all an impossible one. Muslims should
appeal to the human goodness within every Jew and should seek to
enhance them to dissociate from the Israeli crimes against
humanity.
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