“The recent Israeli attacks on the flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza has sparked world wide protests & anger, not just in Muslim countries, but countries all over. For once, Israel can’t just hide or ignore the inhumane act’s they have committed; the world demands everything from them, even if the US doesn’t.
I’ve always been a believer in harmonious relations between all faiths,races,creeds, cultures, etc. Especially when it came to Muslims & Jews; our faiths are so similar, then why not be more cordial towards one another? Alas, such dreams & hopes are always crushed; every time i think it possible for us to forgive & forget & move on, something happens that won’t allow it.
The 2008 December invasion of Gaza, the brutal attack on Gaza by the Israeli army lead me to harbour hate, not against Israel as a whole, but against their government;yes, call me foolish, or even traitor to my Muslim community, but i’m still willing to believe that there are good Jews out there; humane Jew’s who have the same views as me, & i know there are. It brought me some comfort when some of the soldiers of the Israeli army came out, & told that they were ordered to use civilians as human shields. Does that not prove they bear a conscious ruled by concern for what is right & humane? Even after these attacks, i’m still willing to believe that there are Israelis who harbour the same dim hope that i do, the hope of for a better future for ‘us’. Must we always be so divided? Isn’t it bad enough the world is the horrible state that it is? Must we increase the hate around us? Must there always exist an ‘us’ & ‘them’, but never a ‘we’? You may argue that the Jews started it, that they asked for it, & hence we must retaliate, but is this really what we, as Muslims, as supposed to do?Some may say it is Jihad, that we must fight to protect our faith & our community, i argue are you even Muslim?
As Muslims, we are to believe that there is only One God, by the name of ALLAH, & Mohammad (pbuh), is his Messenger. If you, the Muslim reading this, solemnly swear that you believe in this, with all your heart & soul, but still feel that hate for Israel, then i’m sorry, but i cannot call you a fellow Muslim. We are expected to follow what is said in the Quran, & follow the example of the Prophet (pbuh), are we not? How can we say we’re doing that if we harbour this hate? The Prophet (pbuh), if he was still alive today to guide us, would never allow us to have such hate against those who are people of the Book, whom we must respect & be considerate of for that very reason. But more over, the Prophet (pbuh), would never have allowed us to have such hate, for it is against our faith; we are expected to be tolerant & forgiving, not angry & vengeful. If you are a Muslim, then you should know the following incident:
The Prophets uncle, Hazrat Hamza, was a mighty warrior & protected & loved his nephew very much. One day, he was killed, by the slave of Hind, the woman who’s husband & father were killed in battle by Hazrat Hamza. In revenge, not only did she have him killed, she had his body brought to her, & mutilated it by cutting off his nose & ears to make a necklace.— If this was to happen to a human being you knew, irrespective of your relation to them, would you stand it? Of course not. But, following the conquest of Mecca, Hind & her slave were brought forward to the Prophet; do you know what he did? He forgave them, irrespective of what they did to his own uncle, he forgave them; he forgave all his enemies,who had for more than 20 years tortured & ridiculed him,his family & his followers; Hind & her slave embraced Islam; the whole of Mecca embraced Islam, & soon many came from far & wide to do the same.—It was his ability to forgive, to be so humane & kind, that not only made him worthy to be Prophet (pbuh), or to have that (Peace Be Upon Him) follow everytime he is mentioned, but helped Islam to spread, to prove that it is indeed a peaceful & truthful religion, & we, the followers, (or so we claim to be), are expected to follow the same example.
The Prophet, (PBUH), may no longer be alive in reality, but he can be alive, & to some extent is, through the kind & humane act’s of some Muslims; if we unite & follow his example of humility & humanity, then he,or our faith, will never be forgotten, questioned, or die in any way.
It is through us that our families name live, our nation’s name live, & our faith’s purity live; but if we are not pure, not willing to believe in the basic message, then how can we pass on what we so thoroughly believe in? How can we prove to the world that this is not a violent faith? Everytime you raise your right index finger during prayer; every time you go into Sajdah,& say Sub-han-ha-rabi-al-Allah, remember it is not just you worshipping the Almighty, but you & those before you, who so purely believed, worshipping with you.—We represent a rich history, a beautiful history as Muslims, let’s not forget it ourselves, let alone let the world forget it.
