By Amal Hanif
Growing up reading about the Holocaust, the Srebrenica massacre, and countless other mass exterminations enabled by imperialist powers, I always questioned how the world could stay silent. How was everyone okay with this? Why did no one ever step in to stop such systematic slaughter?
Little did I know I would come to witness a genocide in my own lifetime. One broadcast in real time, with regular updates counting the dead and wounded. Every one of us with access to social media has watched in silence as children are burnt alive inside blazing tents, homes are turned to rubble, chunks of flesh are carried away in plastic bags, precise drone strikes are conducted on civilians, and starvation is deliberately used as a weapon of war.
It has now been over 20 months and one week since Netanyahu’s war on Gaza began. 616 days. Let that sink in. And of course, the horrors of which go back to 1947.
What is life in Gaza like right now?
Death and destruction surround you. Every single day, your homeland is pounded by bombardment. You have already been displaced, and chances are, you have lost family and friends. Clean water is almost gone, and electricity barely exists. Over 93 percent of your people are struggling with severe food shortages.
In a new move, the internet and communications have been cut off: an attempt to erase your presence and plunge you into digital isolation, unless you’re among the few with an e-SIM offering a weak, unreliable connection.
You walk tens of kilometres in search of a single aid package after Israel’s months-long blockade, only to be herded between metal fences, subjected to ID checks and eye scans that determine whether or not you’re allowed to receive aid. And in the middle of this desperation, Israeli forces may still open fire at you, turning those very aid distribution points into what people now call ‘human slaughterhouses.’
Where is the Muslim Ummah?
Wasn’t the Muslim Ummah meant to be one body? I remember coming across a hadith in my Islamiyat syllabus back in tenth grade: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “You see the believers as regards their being merciful among themselves and showing love among themselves and being kind, resembling one body, so that, if any part of the body is not well then the whole body shares the sleeplessness (insomnia) and fever with it.” (Bukhari)
What went wrong? How have we become so immune that we have moved from a position of silence to outright suppression?
If one thing has become painfully clear, it is the passivity and complicity of all 57 Islamic nations in failing to offer any real aid to the people of Gaza. Power-hungry empires have exposed themselves as colonial mouthpieces, completely subservient to the West. Their hollow statements in support of Palestine continue to contradict their actions.
Whether it is Jordan intercepting Iranian drones and missiles in its airspace to prevent them from reaching Israel, or Saudi Arabia and the UAE prioritising their strategic alliances and continuing to invest billions of dollars in the United States, while millions in Gaza wait desperately for a single bag of flour and baby formula to reach them, the betrayal is undeniable.
Moreover, let the world remember Libya and Egypt have chosen to side with repression, detaining and deporting activists attempting to join The Global March for Gaza — a civic, apolitical movement bringing together people from around the world as they prepare to march on foot through the Sinai desert towards Rafah, challenging Israel’s siege. Reports reveal that authorities have even hired thugs to intimidate and obstruct the participants.
Unfortunately, there is no other way to put it: “Wherever the Gaza convoy is stopped – that’s the real border of Israel.” (Hani Amra)
What will it take to awaken us?
It is the brutal truth: every one of us who continues to lead a normal life has become desensitised to the point where the agony has turned into background noise. We may pause for a moment, whisper a prayer, and then continue scrolling to the next reel.
But this is no ordinary moment. This is the defining moral crisis of our time. We must risk it all. You and I cannot escape the weight of responsibility. On the Day of Judgment, we cannot feign ignorance. We saw it unfold in real time.
There are over eight billion people on this planet. Over two billion are Muslims. Do we still not realise the power we hold? Research shows that just 3.5 percent of a population is enough to drive real political change. That is all it takes.
While we must keep the Palestinians in our prayers every single day, it is time to act. We must take one step further and boycott ALL the empires that were built, and continue to thrive, on the blood and bones of others. Our branded bags, overpriced coffees, and luxury vacations can wait.
- Support local businesses. Stick firmly to the BDS movement.. The taste may fall short, the quality may be slightly lower, but no product is worth more than an innocent life. These could be simple yet powerful steps that become a form of resistance like carrying your own reusable water bottle to avoid buying from complicit brands like Nestlé or PepsiCo, refusing to subscribe to entertainment platforms such as Disney that fund the IDF, or consciously reading product labels to check the parent company before making a purchase.
- Show up to protests. The more of us who take to the streets, the harder it becomes for authorities to suppress us. How many can they detain when we rise together? Those in power, whether democratically elected or otherwise, must be held accountable and forced to take real, decisive action.
- Donate to trusted organisations like Al Khidmat Foundation Pakistan. Even if it is a small amount. Even if there is only a fraction of hope that this aid will reach those in need, it is still worth giving.
- In the face of an enforced digital blackout, use your voice. Use your social media platforms. Tear through the silence. Challenge the western propaganda that dares to call this a “conflict” and strips Palestinians of their basic humanity. Your silence is not worth a visa to the very powers arming and enabling this genocide.
Let us draw inspiration from those who have chosen courage over comfort, whether it is the twelve brave souls aboard the Freedom Flotilla or those risking everything to join the Global March to Gaza.
May Allah grant us the Iman and courage to stand like them, firm in the face of injustice. And may we witness, in our lifetimes, the fall of every cruel and oppressive regime.
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