This may come as a shock to a few people or maybe even offend them, but I honestly think as Muslims, we should condemn Hamas along with the IDF. Israels actions are horrible and need to stop. While watching the atrocities being committed by Israels government, we are all wondering Why does the West, both its government and its people, support Israel so strongly? As far as the government is concerned, money is probably the reason. But what of the people? In my opinion, it is because of the terroristic implications of Hamas as defined by its charter. The word terrorist is a particularly powerful buzzword to the West. And believe it or not (depending on what type conspiracy theory stuff you are into), Hamas, at least as far as its military goals are concerned, is a terrorist organization. About as much of a terrorist organization as the IDF is, actually. Both the IDF and Hamas fire rockets indiscriminately into civilian populations with the intent to massacre civilians (even though the IDF is far more destructive, the intentions are the same). Israels sole justification for its recent siege is to defeat Hamas. So, by that logic (regardless of whatever else may or may not be on their agenda), if Hamas stops firing rockets, they will be forced to stop the siege, as their logic will crumble. Surely, Hamas sees that it cant actually win this battle, but still continues to fire rockets. It begs the question, as asked at the onset of the siege of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, What exactly are you trying to prove, Hamas? You could argue that they are trying to fight for freedom or whatnot, but that doesnt make any sense. All they are doing by firing rockets is giving the Israeli government all the reason it needs to go on a killing spree of innocent Palestinians under the guise defense while keeping domestic and foreign support strong for the siege. So why doesnt Hamas stop? In my opinion, because they know Israel will retaliate with brutal and borderline inhumane force to any rocket they fire. That will result in scores of innocent deaths, which they can use as political leverage against the legitimacy of the state of Israel. In the end, political agendas prove to be valued more than innocent lives. I ask that no one misconstrue this as me giving any form of support to Israel for its recent siege. I strongly oppose ANY form of violence, be it from a Muslim group or from a non-Muslim one. I am a huge proponent of nonviolent resistance. If South Africa was able to end its apartheid through nonviolence, the Palestinians can end theirs, too. In the eyes of someone not well informed about the conflict, they just see Hamas, a terrorist organization, being fought by an army hailed by the Wests media and its politicians alike, and suddenly assume Israel must be right. While support for Israel is dipping, it is still very strong here in the United States, due to what I mentioned above. If the terrorist entity were to be removed from the equation, then all the world will see are Palestinians for who they truly are: peace-loving, innocent human beings who are oppressed by a tyrannical and extremist ethnocracy. The West, and everyone around the world, will feel compelled to stand with the side of justice and end the occupation and oppression. Lastly, I highly recommend the book Palestine: Peace not Apartheid by former president Jimmy Carter. He captures the the issue of American support for Israeli occupation in the West Bank and the plight of the Palestinian people very well and is not at all biased. It was written in 2006, but is still very relevant today. The following link is a good intro to this views (2006 article written by former President Carter himself). theguardian/commentisfree/2006/dec/12/israel.politicsphilosophyandsociety
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 03:31:48 +0000
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