For the past few weeks, we have witnessed an unprecedented level of carnage leveled against our brothers and sisters in Gaza. According to Al-Jazeera, the Zionist entity claimed that it dropped 6,000 bombs weighing 4,000 tonnes on Gaza in the first six days of its bombing campaign. Marc Garlasco (former U.N. war crimes investigator in Libya), stated the following in the Washington Post: “Israel is dropping in less than a week what the U.S. was dropping in Afghanistan in a year, in a much smaller, much more densely populated area, where mistakes are going to be magnified.” 

The Zionists have also “imposed a complete siege of Gaza, cutting access to food, water, medicines and fuel”. The UN has estimated that the current death toll is over 7,000.

When looking at this massacre, we ask ourselves what can be done to save our brothers and sisters in Palestine? 

The Treacherous Muslim Rulers Are the Obstacle

Before exploring the solution, it should be understood that the treacherous rulers are the real protectors of the Zionist entity. The Zionist entity exists because the Muslim regimes allow it to.

For decades the Muslim rulers have sold the Ummah the idea of the “lost battle” to force the Muslims to the negotiating table and acceptance of the occupation. It is only they who stand in the way of the total liberation of the blessed land, and just as the Zionist occupation, they are enemies of the Ummah.

Will Boycotts Work? 

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement employs non-violent, grassroots tactics aimed at exerting international pressure on states or corporations to achieve social, political, or economic objectives. Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, BDS operates on the principle that economic pressure can compel change.  

The problem with this political tactic is that RasulAllah (saw) did not use this approach in dealing with the oppression that Quraish inflicted on him and the sahabah. Although these tactics do create awareness of the atrocities that are being committed against our Ummah, they fall short of solving the problem. We, as individuals, are ill-equipped to put the economic pressure necessary to stop the oppression. Instead, the level of pressure required can only be done by a state entity. 

Will Lobbying Politicians Work? 

In democratic politics, lobbying is an approach by which interest groups seek to influence legislators and officials to enact policies favorable to their causes. This process often involves specialized advocates or lobbyists who use their expertise and networks to gain access to policymakers.

Can this help in liberating Palestine? The reality of the occupation of Palestine is that it is part of the colonialist foreign policy that US, UK, France and the other Capitalist nations use to maintain dominance over the Ummah and her resources. It is the same reason that they arm the tyrant Muslim rulers, and thus these colonialist powers directly oppress the ummah.

Will the UN help? 

If there is one thing the Muslims can be assured of, the UN will not help the Ummah.  Let us never forget that in Bosnia, under Resolution 713 passed in 1991, the UN imposed an arms embargo in all of the Yugoslav territories. As the genocidal Serbian forces took control of the Yugoslav National Army, they were able to gain a huge stockpile of weapons which they used to massacre the Muslims in Bosnia. The Muslims, who were at a disadvantage, petitioned the UN and the European nations to lift the embargo, but the UN did not change its position, facilitating a massacre under the guise of peace. 

Will Dua and Charity Alone Solve the Problem?

We must make dua to help our brothers and sisters in Palestine. We must support them with donations and what we can give in terms of aid. However, we must ask ourselves will this solve the problem? 

The answer from Gaza itself is no. In a viral video making its way through social media, a brother explained to us the following:

“Assalaamu alaykum, a message from Gaza, from the center of pain and injury to our Muslim brothers outside. What Gaza needs is not money or solidarity or dua. What Gaza awaits is the liberation from occupation. If liberated, we will grow our crops and feed you from it. We do not need your money. As for solidarity and dua you need it more than us.” 

The other challenge is logistical. We cannot expect aid alone to address the needs of the people there when the Zionist entity and the treacherous rulers block the necessities of life from making its way to the people of Gaza.

Only the Muslim Militaries Can Help

In the same video, the brother continues to explain:

“The Palestinian war cannot remain an issue of Gaza alone. And to the crouching armies of the Muslim world do not wait for the treacherous rulers to open the borders. Open it yourself like the people of Gaza did.”

The only way for the people of Palestine to be protected is by an army. For example, the Muslim armies could ensure that aid, water, electricity is supplied to the people of Gaza. Individual aid groups cannot do this. 

Critically, the military in the Muslim lands are obligated to protect Palestine and the Ummah more broadly. It is the sole institution that has the capability to deliver relief to our brothers and sisters in Gaza. Only a tank can fight a tank. Only an airplane can take on another airplane. More importantly, it is a fard (obligation) for the Muslim militaries to help. Allah (swt) revealed:

“And if they seek help of you for the religion, then you must help…” [TMQ 8:72]

And in the hadith: 

“The likeness of the believers in their mutual love, mercy and compassion is that of the body; when one part of it is in pain, the rest of the body joins it in restlessness and fever.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

Consequently, we must put pressure on the Muslim militaries to do as Allah (swt) has commanded. 

Restore the Ummah’s Shield

“The Imam is but a shield (protection) behind whom you fight and you protect yourself with…” [Bukhari and Muslim]

If we are serious about liberating Palestine, about reclaiming Al-Quds and the third holiest masjid in our deen, our real work needs to be generating genuine Islamic political change in the Muslim lands. Without this, we are missing our shield, defenseless in the face of our enemies. 

The reality is that the biggest obstacle for the people of Palestine is not a lack of resources, media coverage, or international attention. It is not even the occupier itself. The biggest obstacle is an Ummah that is divided into powerless, unstable, and despotic nation states, whose governments are more interested in stealing from and terrorizing their own people as opposed to fighting the enemies of Islam.

Palestine has been occupied for as long as any of us can remember. Year after year, we have seen gruesome images, of the Muslims being bombed, shelled, and further dispossessed in their own land. Is it not time for us to get focused on finding a solution?

Focus means ignoring the calls to boycott this product or write to this MP. None of these actions will replace the shield that RasulAllah (saw) ordered us to put in place in order to protect Palestine and the Ummah more broadly. Instead, we must become advocates for the rise of a genuine Islamic leadership in the Muslim lands, for the revival of the socio-political system of Islam, the Khilafah state. This would involve organizing collectively to learn about the Khilafah system of Islamic governance, and then using our ties to the Muslims lands to create public opinion in support for these ideas in the Muslim lands, and especially among the military personnel. It is being part of this effort that will allow us to face our Creator when He asks us what we were doing when the Muslims were being oppressed, and His sacred house was being defiled. May Allah (swt) protect us on that day!

As we witness another savage assault in which the illegitimate Zionist state continues its oppression and domination over our first qiblah, we should be serious about finding an enduring solution for the people of Palestine. This means we have to go beyond emotional rhetoric, conspiracy theories and fantastical thinking. We should understand what a solution for Palestine would look like, and what the obstacles are.

“[They are] those who have been evicted from their homes without right – only because they say, “Our Lord is Allah.” And were it not that Allah checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is much mentioned. And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might!” [TMQ 22:40] 

Video: A Call from Al Aqsa masjid to the Muslim Armies