بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Massacre After Massacre Continues in Gaza While the US Continues to Facilitate the Genocide and the World Stands Still
News:
On the 5th January, it was reported that the murderous Zionist entity bombed the Gaza Strip more than 100 times in just 3 days, killing more than 200 people – the majority women and children. The targets included residential buildings, groups of people gathered in the streets and in market places, and those inside their shelters. It was also reported that an 8th baby had frozen to death in the Strip due to the bitter cold being endured by those living in makeshift tents that offer no protection against the freezing winter weather, as well as due to the brutal Zionist blockade that is preventing essentials such as food, fuel and winter clothes and blankets from entering Gaza. The mother of the baby said, “They didn’t give a single moment to feel happy with my baby… He died because of the very cold weather. He slept next to me and in the morning, I found him frozen and dead.” This is at a time when all the hospitals in northern Gaza have been closed due to relentless Zionist airstrikes and raids on the medical facilities, leaving thousands without access to critical health care including starving and freezing babies and children. Meanwhile, according to American media, US President Joe Biden has notified the US Congress of a planned $8 billion arms sales for the occupation which will include 500-pound warheads, artillery shells, missiles for jets and attack helicopters, and air-to-air missiles, despite the huge death toll in the Strip.
Comment:
The genocide in Gaza has exposed to the world the utter moral vacuum that exists within the major powers of the world who are willing to finance and equip this bloodbath regardless of the enormous scale of death, destruction and suffering it has caused. Stephen Zunes, a political professor at the University of San Francisco, commented regarding the plan to send $8 billion worth of weapons to the occupation, “‘Israel’ is using up these weapons at a very fast pace, as made obvious by the enormous death and destruction that’s ongoing, and Biden is ready to resupply them.” Last August, Washington approved a separate package worth $20 billion for the genocidal Jewish entity, which included jets, military vehicles, and bombs and missiles, while in November, the Biden administration approved another $680 million arms package for the occupation.
It is blatantly obvious that this genocide and occupation will not end under the current world order where no state, leader, or international organization or institution has the political will to take effective action to end this mass slaughter. These massacres will not end through empty condemnatory statements from the UN, or powerless judgements from the ICC or ICJ. Relying on such institutions to end this genocide or to achieve justice for the Palestinians is hugely misguided, for they serve the interests of the major western powers rather than the oppressed nations of the world. Therefore, continuing to believe in the governments or institutions of the current world order to end this industrial scale of mass murder, only provides false hopes and hence prolongs the suffering, oppression and horrendous plight of the Palestinians. Furthermore, Allah (swt) warns us of placing trust in the disbelievers to support and protect us as believers. He (swt) says,
[مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ كَمَثَلِ الْعَنكَبُوتِ اتَّخَذَتْ بَيْتًا وَإِنَّ أَوْهَنَ الْبُيُوتِ لَبَيْتُ الْعَنْكَبُوتِ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ]
“The parable of those who take protectors other than Allah is that of a spider spinning a shelter. And the flimsiest of all shelters is certainly that of a spider, if only they knew.” [Al-Ankabut: 41]
To end this genocide requires for us as Muslims to take our affairs into our own hands and to solve them according to our Deen and what Allah (swt) describes as the means to defend, protect and liberate our Ummah. The Prophet (saw) said, «إِنَّمَا الْإِمَامُ جُنَّةٌ يُقَاتَلُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ وَيُتَّقَى بِهِ»“Only the Imam (the Khalifah) is a shield, behind whom you fight and you protect yourself with.” The Khilafah (Caliphate) state, based upon the method of the Prophethood, is therefore the means by which the Muslim Ummah protects itself and its Deen from attack by its enemies. In the absence of the Khilafah, as we see today, the Muslims are subjected to genocides and ethnic cleansing with no state or leadership to come to their defense. Indeed, it is the Khilafah which is the guardian of the Muslim Ummah and their lands and Deen; and it is this state alone that stands for the interests of the Muslims, fights for their cause, and protects them from oppression. It is this state alone which has the political will to mobilise its army to defend the blood of the Muslims, no matter where they live as seen repeatedly in Islamic history. The Muslim Ummah has suffered genocides and campaigns of ethnic cleansing in the past, as we saw with the Tartar invasion of the Muslim lands in the 13th century when around three-quarters of the Muslim world was occupied according to some estimates; or the Spanish inquisition in the 15th century when tens of thousands of Muslims were killed by Christian kingdoms; or the Christian crusader occupation of Palestine from the 11th to 13th century. In all these cases, the Muslims achieved victory over their enemies or were rescued and given sanctuary due to the presence of the Khilafah state which mobilized its army and used the unified resources of the Muslim lands to protect the Muslims.
As Muslims, our Deen and our history teach us an important lesson in life – which is that success and victory over our enemies is only achieved by obedience to Allah (swt), taking solutions from our Deen, and not depending upon the disbelievers for protection. If we want the genocide in Gaza and the rest of Palestine to end, and for every inch of this Blessed land to be liberated from this brutal occupation for good, then we must call for the establishment of the Khilafah urgently, which is the only vehicle by which this will be achieved. Placing our hopes in anything else, only strengthens the hand of our enemies and buys them more time to slaughter our Ummah. Allah (swt) says:
[إِنَّمَا كَانَ قَوْلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذَا دُعُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَهُمْ أَن يَقُولُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا وَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ * وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيَخْشَ اللَّهَ وَيَتَّقْهِ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ]
“The only statement of the [true] believers when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them is that they say, “We hear and we obey.” And those are the successful. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger and fears Allah and is conscious of Him – it is those who will be successful”[An-Nur: 51-52].
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Asma Siddiq
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir