Gaza is starving. The Zionist entity, with the support of the colonial powers, has stopped any meaningful entry of the flow of food into Gaza via charitable organizations. The only organization that is allowed to distribute food, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, is managed by the Zionist army, who routinely shoots at those lined up for food. This has resulted in the killing of over 1,000 people at the hands of the army. The Zionist’s bombing campaign has made agriculture impossible, and they have even banned fishing in Gaza. This, coupled with decades of economic strangulation, has resulted in the people of Gaza becoming entirely dependent on foreign aid to eat, which is being severely restricted by the Zionist entity. 

This deliberate campaign of starvation has resulted in condemnation from many Capitalist countries, including Canada, the UK, and Australia. Even Trump has acknowledged this grim reality, contradicting the narrative of the Zionist entity that there is no hunger in Gaza. 

Who is responsible for the betrayal of Gaza? How is the deliberate starvation of 2 million people allowed to happen in front of our eyes? As a Muslim Ummah, as one body, what are we to do as a portion of our body starves? 

The Capitalist Nations

Firstly, we should be clear that the Capitalist countries, regardless of their feigned concern over the plight of Palestinians now, are the authors of this savagery. The Capitalist ideology is one that encourages the ruthless pursuit of dominance, which leads to the strong exploiting the weak. In terms of foreign policy, this translates into the brutal colonial practices we have seen across our lands historically, and the present-day global war machine that has carpet-bombed and mass starved the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Syria and many others, to plunder our resources.  

The Zionist entity is a product of this Capitalist ideology, created to maintain colonial dominance in the heart of the Muslim lands and impose the ‘Carter Doctrine’ (i.e. America will use force to protect its access to the Ummah’s oil in Saudi). The countries that are now lining up to lightly “condemn” the Zionist entity are the same countries that created it, and continue to provide it with financial, military and political cover to carry out this genocide. 

So, when we hear Prime Minister Carney express his grave concerns over the Zionist entity’s conduct and even hear him and other Capitalist countries talk about recognizing Palestine, it is crucial to understand, this is only being done to contain the outrage felt by most people over the treatment of Palestine. Their grave concerns form no material obstacles to the Zionists as they now deliberately annex Gaza City. And their recognition of Palestine is under conditions that no sovereign state would ever accept. Carney has stated that he will recognize a Palestinian state that is Zionist (meaning it affirms the Zionist entity’s right to exist), and which is unilaterally demilitarized (meaning its army will not be allowed to be anything more than a domestic police force, while the Zionist entity get to retain it full army). A state that affirms the right of foreign settlers to annex the majority of its territory, and a state that lacks sufficient strength to defend its citizens against foreign aggression is no state at all. For comparison, imagine if Canada put these demands on Ukraine, it would be understood to be absurd.

Lip service from the Capitalist nations is designed to placate their masses, but we know who they are. Their savagery towards Gaza is not really a betrayal, as they have always been ideologically aligned with the displacement, occupations and strangulation of Palestine. 

The Muslim Rulers

As we have all watched the destruction of Gaza unfold over the past 2 years, there has been a growing realization amongst the Muslims. The rulers of the Muslim lands are completely complicit. They do not represent us. Whether they be openly allied with the Zionists as is the UAE or Egypt, or vocally opposed to it such as Turkey, no concrete actions have been taken to confront or contain the Zionist entity.  In fact, in Egypt and Jordan, protestors have been arrested for rallying for Gaza. Egypt just signed a $35 billion gas deal with the Zionist entity, Jordan shares intelligence with the Zionist entity and fired at Iranian drones in defense of the Zionist ethnostate. And while Turkey officially banned direct trade with the Zionist entity, it was still the Zionist entity’s 5th largest trade partner in 2024, shipping its goods to Greece first, and then to the Zionist entity to avoid classifying it as direct trade. 

The reality is that the Zionist entity occupies a small land surrounded by millions of Muslims who are eager to see it dismantled. Its existence would be impossible if the Muslim rulers who surround it decided to isolate and confront it. The fact that it continues to act with impunity, starting wars with 4 of its neighbours while ethnically cleansing Gaza, is due to the cooperation of these Muslim rulers.

These Muslim rulers do not belong with us. Rather, they are trained, equipped, funded and legitimized by the colonial powers. They do not care about us. or their accountability to Allah (swt) who created them.  They only fear the displeasure of their colonial masters, who preserve their thrones.

And while the attacks conducted by Iran and Yemen shatter the myth of invincibility that used to surround the Zionist entity, the fact that they have been restrained in their scope and damage indicate that they are limited by what the colonial powers, like the US and Britain, will allow.  Attacking the Zionist entity to contain its excesses might be allowable, but an attack that would cripple the Zionist state would be unacceptable.

The betrayal of the Muslim rulers is total. 

The Muslim Armies

Those who are best trained and the most qualified to defend the people of Gaza are the Muslims armies. But they have been unwilling to move. Even as they see that the Muslim rulers are traitors, and they are aware of the high level of support they would receive from the Muslim masses for taking concrete action for the people of Palestine, they have still chained themselves to the agents who rule the Muslim lands.

The people in these armies are not a different people than us. They are raised in our homes, taught the same duas and adhkar by their parents, and rush to fulfill many of the same daily ibadah obligations as the rest of us. Many joined the army with a desire to protect and strengthen the Ummah. Their inaction in the face of this carnage then is a profound betrayal. It betrays the training they have received, the funding they took from us, the trust which we placed in them and the duty placed upon them by Allah and His Messenger (saw). Their loyalty to the chain of command that is used to immobilize the Ummah is disloyalty to an oath they had already taken before the entered this world, to recognize Allah as their Lord and to disobey all creation in obedience to Him.

The Ummah at Large

It is easy to point at others and assign blame on them for what is happening in Gaza, and there is plenty of blame to go around. But a catastrophe as seismic as the starvation of the people of the Blessed Land, the vast majority of them our brothers and sisters in Iman, cannot happen without all of us examining our level of complicity in it. And it is not just restricted to Gaza. Palestinians in the West Bank are being shot by settlers who encroach onto their homes and burn their properties. The Rohingya Muslims have been ethnically cleansed from Burma and left to rot in neglect settlements in Bangladesh. And the Uyghur Muslim continue to have the deen forced out of them in re-education camps in China. These tragedies, just like the one in Palestine, are entirely avoidable if we had an Islamic leadership that unified the lands, resources and people of the Muslims lands to economically and militarily challenge those who trample upon the rights of fellow Muslims, or even non-Muslims who yearn for justice.

What is our role in bringing about this leadership? This is not a task that can be carried out by an individual. Rather, it requires for us, as Muslims in Canada, to come together and organize our efforts to understand the system of Islam and strive for its implementation in the Muslim world. 

If we fail to do this, then this is our betrayal to the people of Gaza. This betrayal will not be alleviated by attending a protest or writing a strongly worded letter to our MP. It also does not suffice to hold out hope that some ICJ ruling, or some recognition of Palestinian statehood from a Western country will end the suffering. And while it is important to donate to those whom we can help in Gaza, raise awareness of the Palestinian cause on our social media and raise our hands in dua, it is not enough. Until we can be part of a clear effort to topple the treacherous rulers of the Muslim world and replace them with a just and righteous leadership that will implement the systems of Islam, we will not have done our part. It is only this Islamic leadership that will unshackle our armies and unify our masses to liberate the Muslim lands from the brutal domination of the colonial powers. And it is only this leadership that will present the guidance of Islam to the world, providing protection and care to anyone who chooses to live under its shade. May Allah (swt) hasten His Victory and make us of those who strove for it. Ameen.

“And what is it with you? You do not fight in the cause of Allah and for oppressed men, women, and children who cry out, “Our Lord! Deliver us from this land of oppressors! Appoint for us a saviour; appoint for us a helper—all by Your grace.” [TMQ 4:75]