The importance of everyday people standing on the side of justice in times of crisis, and always.
“If you can’t eliminate injustice, at least tell everyone about it.”
These days, I watch a furious and heavy-handed propaganda campaign flooding social media. It originates from none other than Israel, a state founded on stolen, occupied land belonging to the Palestinians.
The propaganda is well-rounded: doctored phone calls purporting to belong to Hamas; the release of ‘top secret’ plans purportedly authored by Hamas (in broken Arabic); senior Israeli government officials consistently posting about their intentions to ‘turn Gaza into a city of ruins’, aiming for ‘destruction, not accuracy’; and a slew of dehumanising messages about the inferiority of the Palestinian people, emphasising the culpability and justification of the death of any Palestinian or Arab; images of Palestinians depicted as insects being crushed under the boot of the IDF, and much, much more.
Average Israelis pile onto the internet traffic emerging from Israel with TikToks mocking Palestinians for the lack of access to food, water, electricity and fuel enforced by the Israeli state; soldiers from the Israeli Defence Forces dancing and eating McDonald's in abject luxury, and a good dose of Israelis harassing and sending death threats to Palestinians in particular, and Muslims in general; while bullying anyone else who is on the side of Palestinian freedom with accusations of anti-Semitism and of supporting terrorism.
All this, while Israel has slaughtered over 7,000 people in the past twenty days, and thousands more lay beneath the rubble, dying a slow death. All this while Israel has bombed hospitals, desecrated graveyards and routinely subjected Palestinians to torture. All this while carrying out their strongest offensive in their seventy-five year history of brutal occupation.
All this, while the world pours onto the streets of their cities in thousands, marching for the freedom of the Palestinian people, calling for a ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and an end of the occupation to grant a reprieve to a people that have been suffering from indescribable horrors that did not begin on the 7th of October.
People know what is happening in Palestine because reports come from the ground. Palestinians have been acting as their own journalists, documenting what has happened first-hand as the biased world media turn a blind eye. This reaches social media platforms meaning the world gets to judge what is being done to the Palestinian people, and see who the ‘bad guys’ really are for themselves.
For this reason, people march, boycott and campaign for the rights and freedom of Palestinians, because despite the expensive propaganda campaign, the side of the truth is still reaching many across the world.
The power of the people works tremendously well — the oppressive state becomes desperate to reclaim the narrative of being children of light fighting barbarians, to dehumanise their victims while playing victim themselves, and to control the stories reaching the world as much as possible. To the extent that one of their very specific points of warfare was stripping Palestinians in Gaza of electricity, to silence documentation of the genocide emerging from the Palestinians.
Now, social media platforms in deals with Israel take orders to suppress the heaps of pro-Palestinian content emerging from accounts all over the world, of ordinary people calling out injustice as they see it. The state of Israel, with millions of dollars at its disposal, can afford to buy out as many media powerhouses as possible to skew the portrayal of Israel’s offensive on Gaza. Content creators and influencers are promised lucrative support and financial gain in return for campaigning for Israel, and the official stances of governments the world over voice support for Israel or express a villainous ‘neutrality’ that allows Israel to continue to commit its crimes.
Despite all of this, Israel is still losing the war of information because their crimes simply cannot be covered up, and people are still receiving proof of Israeli crimes against humanity right in front of them for their own eyes to see. It is not surprising, that despite the most sophisticated powers of the military and media, this sequel of the inhumane displays of cruelty Israel has been committed for decades is being seen for what it is: murder and oppression.
A Zionist recently took to X, complaining about how teenagers in America were taking supposedly radical stances in support of Palestine, insisting that Hamas had agents around the world brainwashing impressionable young people into believing in the Zionist cause via TikToks. These are the petty arguments resorted to when the truth is as bright as the sun and evil cannot hide.
When pictures of hundreds of thousands of people and people marching on the side of justice and freedom were circulated online, some Zionists insisted that every single person in the pictures were supporting terrorism. This is the desperation with which average people are being culled into submission and acceptance of an evil status quo.
Influencers and celebrities risk their careers, brand deals and partnerships and ordinary people risk their livelihoods for expressing anything other than unequivocal support for Israel's right to terrorise under the guise of ‘self-defence’, yet many speak out for Palestine anyway. This is how the truth cannot be bought and sold, when people with moral conscience stand their ground.
This is why it matters that the truth is told, and the reason I will write.
I will, God-willing, be sharing a series of brief articles dedicated to the everyday thoughts and conversations I have had with people during this time. I do not intend to report, as I am not a journalist, nor do I intend to offer particularly detailed analyses of politics or history — there are many amazing people doing courageous work and research to bring the facts and truth to the forefront in this situation, both on Medium and on various platforms.
My aim is to share what I have found to be a source of hope, strength and resistance in the face of oppression. These will be based on reflections on conversations, lectures, media, and other experiences. I will attempt to spend as little time as possible debunking lies, slander, genocidal war cries, and provocation to ‘condemn’ among other silly matters. I will instead focus on the more overlooked side effects and undertones of Israel’s crimes and the world’s complicity in them.
Naturally, as a Muslim, my faith is a source of immense courage, repulsion to injustice, and a winning mentality in the face of any evil. As well as this, I see all Palestinians, regardless of religion, as brothers and sisters in Islam and humanity. My imperative to use my space on Medium as one for advocating for justice is the following (among many other Islamic teachings of justice, restoring rights to the people, fighting oppression, and promoting peace, health and safety, derived from countless injunctions found within the Qur’an and teachings of the Prophet ﷺ):
Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.”
“Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one.”
People asked: “O Allah’s Messenger! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?”
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “By preventing him from oppressing others.”
I pray we all have the strength to do all we can in our power to stop the evil we see unfolding before our eyes.
Thank you for reading, and I hope that you will find this series enlightening and informative in a human way. I cannot promise refined and elegant writing, edited and re-edited for published perfection — I am trying to write with speed and urgency to hopefully touch some ears and eyes and stir something in a living heart about the genocide we are witnessing before our eyes.
Peace to a land that was created for peace and never saw a peaceful day. Peace to your martyrs and survivors, and peace to your blessed land. We pray for your ultimate victory, recovery, joy and peace. In your honour, Palestine, we will mourn for the dead and fight for the living.
Stand on the right side of history. Stand for truth, justice, and freedom. Stand for Palestine, from the river to the sea…
Said Moses to his people, “Seek help through Allah and be patient. Indeed, the earth belongs to Allah. He causes to inherit it whom He wills of His servants. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous.” (7:128)
