Zionist Colonisation
The Western Civilisation is Losing Its Soul
The Collapse Has Begun
Essay
Chapter 1 From: The Right to Resist
Historical backdrop, political ideology, and religious convictions have all affected the Palestinian resistance against the Zionist occupation of Palestine. The historical context includes events such as the establishing of the State of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent exodus of Palestinians (Zaki, 2020). This historical wrong has inspired Palestinian resistance and resolve to reclaim their rights and sovereignty.
Political beliefs have also had a significant impact on the Palestinian resistance. In response to Zionism and the foundation of a Jewish state in Palestine, Palestinian nationalism arose (Zaki, 2020). Various ideologies, including secular nationalism, socialism, and Islamism, have impacted the Palestinian national movement. Founded in 1964, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) initially supported a secular nationalist ideology and intended to construct a secular democratic state in Palestine (Hejazi, 2020). However, the development of Islamist parties such as Hamas has given the Palestinian conflict a spiritual dimension (Faeq, Jahnata, 2020). In the late 1980s, Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, formed a resistance movement and has since blended religious and nationalist aspirations (Faeq, Jahnata, 2020; Abdelhakam, 2020).
Religious convictions, as in other national liberation movements (previously in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, and so on), have greatly affected the Palestinian struggle against Zionism. As Palestinians\’ primary religion, Islam has given a cultural and ideological underpinning for resistance (Hejazi, 2020). Palestinians see their battle as defending their land and resisting occupation, and they use religious narratives and symbols to rally support (Hejazi, 2020). Many Palestinians have responded positively to religious speech and the absorption of Islamic ideals within the Palestinian national struggle, contributing to their perseverance in the face of adversity.
In their fight against French and British imperialism, Arab nationalist forces in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, and Egypt used Islam as a mobilising factor. This was accomplished in various ways, including using Islam as a value system, unifying force, and symbol of national identity.
In Algeria, the National Liberation Front (FLN) used Islam as a foundation for national consciousness and as a critical aspect in distinguishing Algerian identity from that of French Algerians or pied-noirs. The nationalist movement arose from three distinct factions. The Young Algerians were a group of Algerians who had gotten access to French schooling. The second group comprised Muslim reformers influenced by the Islamic Salaf movement and organised under the Association of Algerian Muslim Ulam (AUMA), which Sheikh Abd al-Hamid Ben Badis directed. The third group was more proletariat and radical, organised among Algerian workers in France under the leadership of Ahmed Messali Hadj. The FLN considered Islam essential in forming Algerian identity and exploited it as a rallying point in their fight against French colonial rule. Algeria\’s constitution, drafted in October 1963, declared Islam to be the state religion, Arabic to be the sole national and official language, and Algeria to be an integral part of the Arab world.
In Tunisia, the Neo-Destour Party (Bourguiba) and its predecessor, the Destour Free Party (Thâalbi), mobilised Tunisians by using Islam as a value system. The Young Tunisians, a group founded in 1907 on the initiative of Ali Bash Hamba, encouraged the independence movement. Other nationalists, like Abdelaziz Thâalbi, created the Destour Free Party. They wanted to defend the people of Tunisia\’s right to independence. Following the liberation, the Neo-Destour party advocated for modernisation, development, socialism, and secularism. Nonetheless, it acknowledged Islam\’s importance in Tunisians\’ lives and used it to galvanise support for their cause.
The Istiqlal Party in Morocco espoused strongly Arab nationalist ideas and was the dominant political party fighting for Morocco\’s independence. The Moroccan Nationalist Movement, nominally led by Moroccan Sultan Mohammed bin Youssef, fought the French rule. The Istiqlal Party provided the majority of its leaders. In 1925, educated students in Rabat formed underground societies to spread opposition to the expanding French intervention. By 1927, it had touched the Salafiyya movement, whose leader was Allal al-Fassi. The initial goal of the party, as stated in its manifesto, was independence from France \”within the framework of a constitutional-democratic monarchy.\” Al-Istiqlal\’s leadership effectively overcame \”petty conflicts\” amongst parties and anticolonial organisations and united the nationalist movement.
The Mahdist movement in Sudan, led by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, popularly known as the Mahdi, used Islam as a rallying element in their fight against British and Egyptian domination. The Mahdi claimed to be the promised redeemer of Islam and launched a victorious military campaign in Sudan against British and Egyptian soldiers.
Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Egyptian president, exploited Islam as a unifying force in his fight against US, British, and French imperialism. Nasser advocated Arab nationalism and wanted to eliminate Western influence in the Arab world. He considered Islam as an essential aspect of Arab identity and utilised it as a rallying point in his fight against foreign dominance.
These Arab nationalist groups exploited Islam as a rallying point in their fight against French and British imperialism. They used it as a value system, unifying force, and national identity emblem. They realised the importance of Islam in people\’s lives and used it to gather support for their cause.
Although Hamas has historical antecedents in the Muslim Brotherhood, which saw the Zionist state as an outpost of Western imperialism and a social threat (Faeq, Jahnata, 2020), this nationalist organisation is now leading the same fight that former Arab liberation movements did. Hamas\’s goal is not to establish a Caliphate in the Palestinian lands. This is an enticing narrative that Israel and its Western friends have developed and spread. Hamas\’s goal, like any other nationalist organisation whose territory is under colonial occupation, is liberation.
Initially, the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine was part of the Palestinian nationalist movement, which became involved in anti-Zionist public mobilisation efforts and participated in the 1948 war (Faeq, Jahnata, 2020). Following the war, the Muslim Brotherhood in the West Bank focused on education and charity, whilst the Brotherhood in Gaza took on revolutionary and military characteristics. The Brotherhood was politically and militarily involved in Gaza until it was banned by Nasser in 1954, resulting in the formation of the Fateh National Liberation Movement (Faeq, Jahnata, 2020). In the late 1980s, the Muslim Brotherhood experienced an ideological metamorphosis, becoming the Movement of Islamic Resistance, Hamas, adopting military resistance and integrating it with social change (Hejazi, 2020). Hamas sees itself as a credible rival to Palestinian secular nationalism.
We are familiar with Western criticism of the 1988 Hamas Charter, which specifies the movement\’s theological and political aspirations, with Allah as its purpose, the Messenger as its leader, the Qur\’an as its constitution, and Jihad as its methodology (Faeq, N., & Jahnata, D. 2020). Look at the development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with whom the Western democracies have never had an issue. There is no significant difference between Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood\’s doctrine. Many Western governments have condemned Egypt and Tunisia for deposing the Muslim Brothers. This implies that the West supports democracy, even if Islamists gain power through democratic elections. So, why stigmatise Hamas as a \”terrorist\” organisation, although it has never conducted any militant operation outside Palestine? Because It does not recognise Israel. Why should it recognise it before Israel recognises the wrong it has done to the people of Palestine, withdraws to the pre-1967 territories and allows the historic inheritors of Palestine to establish their independent state on the land of their ancestors?
If you want to be impartial and objective, then fair, you should not deform history and create an imaginary narrative that fits your geopolitical interests in the Middle East. I am referring to the USA, Israel and their Western allies. Nobody believes your lies, and you know it. Even the new Israeli historians now recognise the wrong their state has done, and we will refer to them in due course throughout the present essay. Many honest Israeli intellectuals have also started questioning the official narrative of their state and denunciating it as intoxication that keeps their compatriots far away from peace and safety.
What is the cabal around Hamas?
The organisation of Islamic Resistance says Israel has occupied our land by force (that everybody says), and Might does not create Right. Israelis cannot live forever by force and violence. They will always be opposed by force and violence. If ever Israel survives, it is because the Palestinians accepted it. After 75 years, we are still far from that idyllic situation that would permit Israel to live peacefully with its neighbours. With all the extremists leading the successive Israeli governments, peace is not for tomorrow.
To the question of who the extremist is, most Western officials give the wrong answer. For them, it is Hamas. How about Israel? How many genocides has it perpetrated? Israel is the victim, they say. Victim of who? Of the Palestinian terrorism! Continuing that way, masquerading the oppressor as the victim and condemning the real victim will not make the West and Israel change the course of history as they wish. Every day, schoolchildren in Palestine and all the Arab world learn that the Zionists have occupied Palestine with the help of Western imperialist powers. The next Arab generations will continue the struggle for Palestine if the old Arab leaders are tired. Israel and the West cannot brainwash a generation of Arabs and Muslims after another. They will never resolve the problem that is now inside their countries. To fix it, they need to review their policies, be fair and accept the Palestinians\’ right claims for land, sovereignty and dignity instead of dehumanising them and demonising resistance.
Hamas is just another nationalist movement seeking freedom on its soil (Palestine). It has never launched an attack on a Western country. It has never been involved in any terrorist operation in the United States, Europe, Asia or Africa. The purpose for which it has been founded is entirely different from that of ISIS and al-Qaeda. The latter wanted to fight the USA with all the Christians and the Jews of the world. That was al-Qaeda\’s declaration of war, and it is documented. ISIS wanted to rebuild the Islamic Caliphate on every territory it could conquer and did not exclude fighting Christians, Jews, other religions, and even Muslims who condemned their actions. Hamas never declared or did such things. However, they pledged that the horrible atrocities Israeli settlers and army perpetrated in the Palestinian territories would not go unpunished. Did anyone with a shred of reason deny those crimes, documented by the UN and many Human Rights associations?
Hamas is classified as a \”terrorist organisation\” because it is a punisher. It dares attack Israel. Hamas attacked the civilians, they say. Condemnable. How about Israel? Did it not attack civilians? Israel is exerting its right to self-defence! That\’s the answer of the Western officials. Appalling! Under such leadership, the West lost its soul. It does not see, does not hear. The Palestinian lives do not count. Only Israeli lives matter. It seems we have now reached the time Arnold Toynbee and Oswald Spingler have predicted. The collapse of Western values is the beginning of the Western civilisation\’s defeat. If you lose your human soul and don\’t empathise with human suffering, you are already dead.
Is not 75 years of occupation and unpunished genocide enough? In war, opposing forces attack and counter-attack. Why should one\’s conduct be called terrorist and the other as self-defence? Israel is the invading force. The occupant. The coloniser. The villain. Are the intruders the good guys when they grab your home and compel you to live in the garden room or garage? As you resist them and attempt to reclaim your home, the invading gang\’s friends surround you and yell: \”Get out, you terrorist!\”
Is that normal? Is it fair? Is this what remains of the Western values? Is this something that students should learn at school? Join forces with the burglar, thug, or gangster because he is ours!
Meanwhile, they attack Hamas\’ Charter for emphasising the desire for martyrdom (Shahada) for Allah\’s sake. Well! All those who fight for their country\’s freedom accept to die for it, right? This includes the French and the British fighting against the Nazis. Millions sacrificed their lives to defend their country occupied by foreign powers. So, this is not new. Why Hamas fighters should not pledge the same than those who fought against the Nazis and the fascists? Besides, it is the belief of all Muslim nationalists to be martyrs if necessary. That is precisely what Tunisians, Algerians, Egyptians, Sudanese, Moroccans, Iraqis, Syrians, etc., did. For this reason, they are proud today of having defeated imperialism and eliminated colonialism from their country. That is what history textbooks teach children.
To people unfamiliar with Islam, martyrdom is highly prised; it is even the goal of every freedom fighter (Moujahid, from Jihad). Jihad is essential to Islam, and Jihad is not synonymous with terrorism. It is a theological notion that motivates a spiritual power. It is in the Holy Quran. Fasting Ramadan, for instance, is considered Jihad. Helping the poor and the helpless is Jihad. Teaching is Jihad. Fighting for one\’s family, country, or religion is Jihad. During the first half of the twentieth century, Muslim nationalist leaders and soldiers were known as \”Moujahid.\” Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia was proclaimed the \”Moujahid al-Akbar\” – i.e. Greatest Moujahid or \”jihadist,\” as they say now with a derogatory tone. Jihad for the cause of Allah is the ultimate value in Islam, and the West can never devalue it. 1.9 billion Muslims believe that Jihad, for Allah\’s sake, is the path to paradise. Try to persuade them otherwise, and \”good luck\” with that.
Furthermore, people who condemn Hamas for their Charter fail to recognise it as a liberation struggle. The situation of occupation conditions the Charter. It is not part of the religion coming from the sky. It may be changed when the situation changes. If Western governments were fair, they would first encourage their Israeli friends to leave the Palestinian areas and recognise that the oppressed have the right to independence, sovereignty, and dignity, as multiple United Nations resolutions have recommended.
Begin by controlling Israel, and once you have granted the Palestinians the rights they have been asking for more than 70 years, there is no reason for Hamas to stick to the same Charter. The occupation, not Hamas, is the issue. So far, we have seen Israel, which Western countries have armed with the most advanced weapons, continue to terrorise the Palestinian people, killing 100 children every day, according to UN official data. Who exactly is the terrorist then? Is it the invader or those defending their right to life?
In conclusion, the historical setting of population expulsion and displacement, the founding of Israel, political ideologies ranging from secular nationalism to Islamism, and the absorption of religious beliefs and narratives have all affected the Palestinian struggle against Zionism. These elements have impacted the Palestinian people\’s aims, strategy, and perseverance in pursuing justice and self-determination. The Palestinians do not have many choices. To survive and get their country back, they must resist. It is not only their national and religious duty but also their right. And no power on earth can take that right from them.
This essay will examine how Zionism was planted in a populated land and how the people of that land organised resistance.
References
Abdelhakam, Nabih Maged. 2020. \”Religiously Motivated Political and Religious Nationalism of Israel – Palestine Conflict.\” International Journal of Social Science Research and Review. Volume 3, Issue 2. June, 2020. Pages:13-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v3i2.35
Faeq, N., & Jahnata, D. 2020. \”The Historical Antecedents of Hamas.\” International Journal of Social Science Research and Review. Volume 3, Issue 3. September, 2020. Pages:26-35. https://tinyurl.com/yxfphsxz
Hejazi, Afifa. “Modern Muslims Reformers, Post-colonial Authoritarianism, and the Crisis in Modern Islamic Thought.” (2020). https://tinyurl.com/mr389sbk
Zaki, Anis. 2020. “The Emergence and Evolution of Palestinian Nationalism”. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review 3 (2), 22-29. https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v3i2.36.
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