Greetings; in this article, I would like to ask you, as individuals above all, about your position, or rather your actions, regarding the genocide that is being inflicted on Muslims in the Gaza Strip specifically. I ask you this as individuals, because a group, an institution, or a state consist ultimately of a group of individuals, and the actions of each one, and the thoughts he or she harbours, crystallize the work of the group, because, of course, it is not permissible for an individual to depend on others to act, and for him to remain silent, while there are those who are languishing; this applies to every Muslim. With all due respect to the people who hold Gaza in their prayers and raise supplications for victory; this is in no way sufficient, and does not rise to the level of the weakest in faith. I would like to emphasize to everyone that the goal is not to offend people, institutions, or religion, of course, but rather the goal is to improve their performance and to lead them to examine their position on religion, and on human values, of course, whereby these values are not our topic here

    Did all or most of the sheikhs, imams and religious scholars fulfill their supposed leadership role? Did they issue a fatwa to apply the rules of support in Islam, without which a Muslim’s adherence to Islam would be diminished, if not eliminated? Did they issue a fatwa, as a minimum, for example, on the necessity of donating half their income, or salary, to support jihad, resistance and the steadfastness of the population, until the war ends? Did they take initiatives through their mosques in villages and neighborhoods to provide in-kind support to the residents of the Gaza Strip? As individuals, did every Muslim stand in solidarity and support the people of Gaza in the most modest of ways, such as joining a demonstration, or a sustained boycott of products that support the enemy, or visiting a neighborhood representative or a government official and asking: What is the government doing? Or maybe propose raising some money for immediate or future support? If you did not do any of these things or better or equivalent; you should really be asking yourself if you are indeed part of the Muslim community… Belonging is not just about performing religious obligations, and if you do not truly belong to Islam, then why focus on appearances and claims, or think that you are a Muslim

    Certainly, you can be a Muslim who considers him/herself committed to the rules and requirements of religion, but does not want to support the Gaza resistance and its residents for ideological reasons. You can be a Muslim by birth, secular in thought and practice, and support the people of Gaza and the resistance, regardless of the doctrine of its factions. In the end, they are fighting a racist, colonialist occupying enemy that must be defeated, and then we can think about doctrines. What is important is that you hold a real position, based on convictions, whether Muslim for or against, or secular, or any affiliation that includes human factors… Remaining in a position of ignorance is something illogical, unless you are indeed ignorant

    Among the documented hadiths of the Prophet in this regard is his saying: “No Muslim abandons a Muslim in a situation where his sanctity is violated and his honor is diminished without Allah abandoning him in situations in which he himself requires support, and no one will support such a Muslim in a situation where his honor is diminished and his dignity is violated.” The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “The believer to the believer is like a building supported one upon the other.” He said: “A Muslim is a Muslim’s brother. He does not oppress him, does not let him down, and does not despise him

    A Muslim, of course, must not contradict the clear words of the Qur’an in question. The Almighty said regarding not supporting the disbelievers: “The believers do not take the disbelievers as allies rather than the believers, and whoever does that is not from Allah in anything unless you fear them with piety, and Allah Himself warns you, and all returns to Allah.” ..And he said: “O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and Christians as allies. Some of them are allies of one another, and whoever of you turns to them is one of them. Indeed, Allah does not guide an unjust people.” Whoever supports them, then Allah will not guide him, for he is one of the wrongdoers and definitely not a Muslim. Things are completely clear about Muslims supporting each other, and not supporting the Jews, even by remaining silent about their actions against Muslims, and what actions? Genocide recognized and approved by the Jews and Christians! Anyone who disobeys the orders of his Lord and Messenger must know deep down that he is not a Muslim, even if he doubles his prayers and pilgrimages, and fasts three months a year

    The people of Gaza and Palestine had the right to fight the Zionist-Jewish enemy on behalf of their Islamic nation, with Islamic forces and Islamic slogans, so to support them is supporting truth, religion, and sanctity, and it is forbidden to let them down due to any nationalistic or self-interested arguments. A true Muslim transcends fanaticism, tribalism, and patriotism in his position toward the people of Gaza and the mujahideen in Palestine. He is fair in his judgment, position, and testimony, and does not help the Zionist Jews against his brothers and fellow citizens, or remain silent, praying and waiting for the action of others without any participation within the limits possible for him… Otherwise he may consider himself a non-Muslim and far removed from the feelings of truth, chivalry, and humanity that designate a true human being. Of course, it is the responsibility of sheikhs and scholars to call for this and educate the public about their duties according to their abilities, and to call on groups, societies, and those in authority to step up the support and meet the need, but their failure does not exempt the individual Muslim; Everyone can see, can hear and can help

   To date, after four months of slaughter, no fatwas have been issued requiring the allocation of zakat this year and its immediate distribution for the benefit of the residents of the Gaza Strip, and no community initiatives have emerged to support UNRWA, which provides relief to the residents of the Gaza Strip, and has had a financial blockade imposed on it by the forces of oppression and colonialism. Shouldn’t the people of Islam, men and women, race to help the mujahideen and those situated in Palestine and Gaza and support them by all possible means and instruments of individual and collective material and moral support, and be creative in their actions? There is nothing wrong with verbally attacking the infidels, but we cannot be satisfied with that… Non-Muslims around the world are coming out to protest the aggression and demanding that their governments take diplomatic action and institute boycotts, and their demonstrations, in proportion and ratio, exceed the action of Arabs and Muslims many times over, as well as their initiatives for financial support through donations and the relief they provide to the people of Gaza through humanitarian organizations is high

With or without the fatwas of the sheikhs, a Muslim as an individual can do a lot, but with fatwas more can be achieved… For example, a fatwa not to go on the Hajj pilgrimage and to donate the associated costs to support Gaza! Last year, the number of pilgrims reached one and a half million from outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The minimum average cost of Hajj is equivalent to four thousand dollars, meaning a total of four billion dollars. There are two billion Muslims in the world who are required to pay zakat. If each person allocated a dollar of his zakat to Gaza, two billion dollars would accumulate… This is without talking about the Islamic countries allocating a small percentage of their incomes, as a one-off, to support the residents of the Gaza Strip (the gross national domestic product alone for the Arab countries is 6 trillion dollars), especially since the fifty-seven Islamic countries are not engaged in battle and no-one is asking them for anything other than relief assistance until this tragedy is overcome, where the Muslim population in the Gaza Strip are in severe need, and their religion and adherence to Islam necessitates their support according to the hadiths and the Qur’an itself. Otherwise, you are not truly of the Muslim faith, and you must know this in your conscience, whether openly or subconsciously

    The countries of injustice have deepened their hostility towards the residents of Gaza and all Palestinian refugees and cut off annual support for UNRWA, which is affiliated with and was founded by the United Nations, as a result of the decision to partition Palestine, and is required until its conditions are met… Now, however, these countries want to participate with their colonial supporter in completely eliminating the Palestinian people through starvation in addition to war and extermination. It is noteworthy that the UNRWA covers its annual expenses in its five areas of operation, through financial grants provided by members of the United Nations, most notably the United States, Britain, Germany, and the European Union

    Only eight Arab countries participate in the UNRWA budget annually, and the total value of Arab donations provided to UNRWA does not exceed ($70 million), i.e. only (6%) of the total international donations to the UNRWA, estimated at ($1.174 billion). The United States is donating $344 million, and the Arab countries are donating the equivalent of only 8% of the United States donation. According to the numbers, Saudi Arabia provides ($27 million), Kuwait ($12 million), Qatar ($10.5 million), Palestine ($5 million and 760 thousand), and Jordan ($4 million and 241 thousand). Syria provides financial donations worth ($448,000), Oman ($316,000), and Bahrain ($50,000)

    UNRWA’s entire budget can easily be covered by the Arab public and officialdom, and the agency provides methods for receiving popular support from individuals in any amount starting from twenty dollars and above, and it is possible to temporarily avoid any criticism of support until the crisis is overcome… A small percentage of the annual Muslim zakat around the world could solve UNRWA’s financial crisis and remove this institution from the mercy of colonialism… Just for your information, we say: The annual zakat in the Arab countries alone amounts to 29 billion dollars, that is, 20 times UNRWA’s annual budget, and this zakat is sufficient to build 20 cities, seven universities, three airports, and many hospitals annually. Zakat is not a function of government; it is voluntary and intended to be paid by every individual, and is not like taxes that are obligatory to pay to governments in the Western world. If, despite the failure of the sheikhs to issue fatwas, replacing Hajj with support for the mujahideen and sending zakat money to Gaza within legitimate controls will be pleasing to Allah and to the Messenger… So struggle, O Muslim, and participate in this simple method available to you… And also ease your conscience in the month of Ramadan, and return to the principles of fasting and being content with little, and send the savings to Gaza

    Inevitably, there are many people who participate by donating and supporting Gaza in many ways, but the vast majority sit and watch, wailing and wailing, or even silent, yet still consider themselves upstanding members of their religion, and among the ranks of humanity, in this they err

Abdel-Gabbar Adwan

Citizen of Gaza