The nation which fight for obtaining of right one hour, is better than living in abjection up to doomsday ~ Syed Jamaluddin Afghani

At this very moment as the world bears witness to Israel’s ongoing relentless, brutal and genocidal assault on Gaza, the Ummah lands in a somber reality of centennial years, into the graveyard of Caliphate legacy.

A century after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire on March 3rd, 1924, Muslims across the world have been grappling with a poignant desire for unity amidst the absence of a centralised Islamic authority. Starkly contrasting with the optimistic dreams of a century ago, when Arabs revolted against the Ottomans driving their legitimacy through nationalist fervour and Arab Supremacism, no one could have anticipated that the picture of Arab world would be so devastating in 2024.

The clever machination of colonial powers; Britain and the western allies, deftly exploited Arab sentiments to further their geo-political agendas. Even before the formal establishment of Zionist Movement in 1897, Britain was already engaged in strategic efforts to mobilise Arabs against the Ottoman rule, portraying themselves as allies sympathetic to Arab aspiration for freedom from external Turkish domination.

The calculated strategy reached its culmination during the the First World War, when in 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement was signed between colonial forces; namely Britain, France, and the Kingdom of Italy. The secret treaty monstrously divided the Ottoman lands in bits and pieces following Ottoman defeat in the war. Britain took the entire region of Palestine, Southern Iraq and what is now Jordan, in a manner that best suited their nefarious plan to facilitate the transfer of the land of Holy city(Jerusalem) to the Zionists.

Subsequently, the Balfour Declaration of 1917, vowed Britain’s support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, which was then a region with a small minority of Jewish population. Not coincidentally, the declaration paved a clear path for the establishment of a regime that later exploited the Holocaust as an excuse for impunity, perpetrating heinous crimes in the years that followed.

Since then, the Palestinian Arabs, including both Muslims and Christians have experienced repercussions of an apartheid regime that systematically disfranchises them from their own land through illegitimate and forceful settlement of predominantly European Jews.

However the recent bombing of Gaza, stands as an unparalleled instance of indiscriminate and genocidal assault on the civilians in the history of warfare, considering the territorial expanse of Gaza Strip, its population density and the intensity of bombing it is witnessing. The occupation forces of Israel, relentlessly targeted children and women causing more than 30,534 people killed thus far, with tens of thousands remaining unaccounted missed under the rubbles of the collapsed buildings.

The frequent circulation of footage of children immersed in the blood either deceased or on the verge of collapse has blatantly exposed the Western liberal order of Democracy. It is not solely Israel that bears direct responsibility; the West too, is rightfully and equally should be called as Butchers of Gaza. With that being said, the responsibility weighs heavily upon us as well. We have collectively failed in our duty as brethren muslims to protect the lives of Palestinians, or at the very least, to empathise with the pain and trauma our brethren in Gaza are going through.

We have continued enjoyment in our life unabated and didn’t maintained a collective decorum that reflects the shame we incur, by neglecting a sense of opulent and partying lifestyle. Even some among us casually disregard to follow boycott attempts against those who finance the murderers. Our casual attitudes towards the plight of Gaza is something a very grave lapse in our religious and moral stance. So what should we do now or how should we approach in the future ? let's decipher this imperative in the remaining content of this article.

Islam ordains to help the oppressed people both with ourselves and with the financial resources. This imply that it is the moral and religious obligation for governments in the Muslim world to go unprecedented and help the oppressed in Gaza in every way possible, what the Houthi’s in Yemen have done. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, all the major powers, with tremendous wealth have shamelessly abstained from extending help to the Palestinians, leaving them vulnerably alone to bloodiest aggression of Israel and the West.

As ordinary muslims, beyond the government sphere, we do bear the duty towards our brethren in Palestine both collectively and individually. On a collective level we must help them financially at what possible contribution we can make. More importantly, the need to generate a sense of deeper pain inside our heart and a pervasive uneasiness in our daily lives so that it resonates the sufferings of people in Gaza. Every time we feel pain in our heart, It will serve as poignant reminder for the moral obligation to include the people of Gaza in every prayer, unless we are answered.

Individually there is something more important to be done, which I categorise into two levels. One is related to a dedicated commitment for the continuous and sincere effort to pure our inner-self. This is very important in order to raise a new generation of young and innovative minds with their hearts clean and strongly connected to the teachings of Islam. Their intentions then should transcend beyond the worldly ambitions, unwilling to compromise on their principles for material gains.

In addition to spiritual advances, what we refer as a prophetic way of self-correction, that fundamentally revolves around the dual imperatives of self-improvement and simultaneous self- correction. The entire tradition of Islamic philosophy of Tazkiya and Sufism was indeed grounded in this singular objective of correcting ourselves to reflect this inward transformation outwardly in order to develop a just society. This principle in fact finds clear manifestation in the practices of early Caliphs among Rashidun.

The second level involves the reorientation of our perception towards understanding Islam. It entails departing from the secular perspective of religion that confines religion solely to a private realm and limits it relevance to the mere individual interaction with the God.

Regrettably, modern Sufis and Mullas have distorted the very essence of Islam and emphasise for a very narrow interpretation of Islam that limits it within the boundaries of personal sphere, a viewpoint borrowed from the secular world. If so is the case, where do we stand when Quran addresses us that “You are the best nation ever raised for humanity—you encourage good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah.……….”, (Sūrat Āl-‘Imrān, No. 3, Āyat 110).

Islam advocates for Amr bil Maroof wa nahi Ani Munkir (enjoining good and forbidding evil), with the rationale being to instill a sense of responsibility towards society. The objectives (Maqasid) is to prevent the prevalence of oppression, exploitation and fasad in the society. The Resistance by the people of Palestine against the occupied forces, is a manifestation of that religious obligation. This is a sad reality that our Muslim brothers and sisters don’t understand this requirement of Quran to be fulfil. We tend to care praying five times, performing all religious practices but sinfully ignore our social and political responsibility.

Indeed, while these religious practices are the obligatory (farz) on every Muslim, and there is no way to avoid them, but their completion doesn’t absolve a muslim from his or her social and political responsibilities. Unfortunately, It appears that we unburden ourselves from weight of the societal and political responsibilities, often limiting Islam to just Masajids. This is precisely the reason why we, as Muslims, have continuously failed to provide the world with an example of a true Muslim society. Our duty encompasses the imperative to resist all forms oppressions that is happening around us, be it at any level.

A Muslim is obligated to help every individual that is oppressed, thereby upholding the Prophetic principle of brotherhood and social justice. Another dimension involves resisting the dissemination of false and contaminated materials that tends to corrupt the society, such as the propagation and endorsement of obscenity which unfortunately prevails in our muslim society now, more than any other time in the past.

A Muslim society strayed from the Prophet’s path, characterised by endemic corruption and pervasive obscenity, is unlikely to harbour a leader that would lead them the way Islam wants. The ruler arising from such a corrupted society is predisposed to show hedonistic tendencies, potentially assuming roles as either an oppressor, or a dictator.

The erosion of ethical islam as a foundation from the societal fabric of a muslim society contributes to a divergence from the Prophetic tradition, the Prophetic norms linked with the societal and political interaction. Without a return to the Quranic and Prophetic tradition in each and every aspect of our life, -be it social, political, or economic- our plight will continue to persist.

Rehan Raza: A student of Islam and Contemporary Politics (Completed B.A - Arabic language and literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India and M.A- Middle Eastern Studies from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India)