The Roles of Muslims in the Gaza Genocide

Before I sat down to write this, I wrestled with the same question that weighs on the hearts of millions of Muslims around the world: What role can we truly play in the face of the Gaza genocide? Day after day, we scroll through devastating headlines and images, but from the safety of our own homes, far removed from the rubble and bloodshed, it can feel paralyzing. We are not in their shoes. We cannot taste their pain. And so, many of us are left wondering, where do we begin?

A Brief Overview:

In case you do not have information about what is happening in Gaza, here’s a brief summary, before we start to state our roles as Muslims in the pandemic.

Palestine was a land largely owned by Arabs, who were Muslims and Christians, and a very small minority population of Jews. Then, Zionism emerged in Europe, where some Jews started to advocate for a homeland for the Jewish population, which they claimed to be in Palestine.

The British government supported their claim, and they started migrating into Palestine, buying and stealing land. Subsequently displacing a large population of native Palestinians gradually. Following the withdrawal of the British from Palestine, the Zionists following multiple acts of terrorism on Palestinians declared independence (unilaterally) and called themselves the State of Israel. This led to a series of wars with the Arabs and Arab states, who felt cheated…

This war led to the displacement of many Palestinians from their homes and lands, turning them into refugees in and out of the Middle East. The Palestinians who remained on the land were forced into 2 regions, the West Bank and Gaza. Both regions are under the brutal settler colonialism of the zionist regime. Gaza is a small region(very small 25 miles in length and 5 miles in width) bordered by Egypt, Israel, and the sea.

Gaza has been called several names, which include “an open-air prison”, “a concentration camp” and it is the most densely populated place in the world, and a home for the people of Palestine, who have been put away and rendered homeless by the Israeli.

The Israelis didn’t stop, they controlled Gaza, restricting their movements, hindering food, water, and electricity, providing no jobs for the populace, cutting them off from aid, and from time to time, they experience bombing, no freedom, and even die of starvation.

It’s more than what I’ve summarised. Imagine over a century of injustice, how do we explain in a few words, over a century of oppression, death, starvation, killings, etc.

Our Roles as Muslims in the Gaza Genocide

1. Prayers (Du’a): We may not have weapons to go fight the Israelis, we may not have nuclear bombs to invade their lands, but in your silent moments, remember them in your prayers, beg the Lord that hears the prayer of the oppressed to come to their aid, so this massacre can stop. Remember them as much as you remember your needs that you ask Allah.

2. Empathy: We can only imagine how much pain they go through every day, the fear they face, the injustice they endure, the loss of loved ones, not due to natural death, but due to the one influenced by men. We may not be aware or feel what they feel, but imagining a small infant under rubbles, imagine a father looking for his son, imagine a mother looking for her children, she’s not sure if she’ll see them again or not, waking up every morning in fear that the bombs may invade and you are not sure who it will take, this time. Empathise with them, as they do not get comfortable where they are.

3. Educate Your Family: Yes, we may be safe in our homes, but how about our brothers who have been sent away from their homes, their properties destroyed, their homelands taken away, while their movements are restricted and watched. Tell your wards and family about what the Palestinians are facing currently, let them know.

4. Donate: If you are able to and know trusted organisations that can reach the people in Gaza, give them from your Zakat, give them from your Sadaqah, if fundraising can be made for them and it’ll get to them, or stop the oppression, please do.

5. Use Your Skill: : As a designer, you can design to make the world know the current state of the people of Palestine, if you write so well, educate the world, and make them see the truth about the happenings in Palestine.

6. Boycott Brands: If you know of products or services that directly fund or profit from the genocide, step away from them and seek alternatives.

It is worth noting that the matter of boycotting, while powerful, is often sensitive and sometimes misunderstood. Scholars explain that the decision to boycott or not falls under ijtihādī (discretionary) matters in Shariah; it is not an absolute obligation but a moral choice. That said, many scholars also affirm its importance as a form of peaceful resistance, a way to withhold our wealth from fueling oppression, and a means to align our consumption with our conscience. In this light, boycotting becomes a way of saying: not in my name, not with my money.

7. Be a builder: Start to build a generation that stands for the truth and doesn’t support oppression, a courageous generation, supporting righteous leadership, who stand for the Ummah and follow the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Ibn al-Qayyim wrote:

“Calamities and trials are a purification and a reminder, and they contain within them the seeds of greater good and wisdom, even if we do not see it.”

The roles we can play in the face of the Gaza genocide are endless, and they extend far beyond what can be written on a page. Every duʿā, every act of awareness, every penny withheld from oppression, and every word spoken in defense of truth carries weight with Allah. Palestine’s pain is not theirs alone; it is the Ummah’s test, and each of us has a part to answer for. So as we raise our hands in duʿā, let us also ask ourselves: What more can I do, in my corner of the world, to stand with them? History is being written, and silence is not neutrality, it is complicity.

Choose to be on the side of justice.

BaarokaLlohu feekum.