I write this to clear my mind, and not for your pleasure.
Last night when I was about to leave work (18:30 CET), I learnt that the Gaza strip was invaded by the Israeli forces in an attempt to eliminate a top Hamas leader, Ahmad al-Jaabari, successfully so. I, as a conservative Muslim, do not condemn their declared intent - assuming they do not have an ulterior motive. Israel have a right to defend themselves from terrorists, and let's face it, Palestine haven't had proper leadership for quite a while and Hamas is not a saintly party. They have launched previous attacks on Israeli civilians as well.
One must understand that this war is not one fought for by the people of Israel, no, it is the Leadership, the Empire as would the Star Wars fanbase say. It is a tug-of-war between "governments" who cannot find an agreement, blinded by hate, religious hate. A hate that, astonishingly, is not vouched for in neither holy scripture. My anger and sadness is directed to the Leadership of those 2 countries.
BBC reporter Jon Donnison said, “It is often difficult to pinpoint when a specific escalation in violence started - both sides will always remember what they see as a previous act of aggression by the other which enables them to justify their attacks as retaliation.” But we can do better than that.
One thing I cannot figure out is, with the military arsenal at their disposition, can they not have a covert operation to target just the culprits and not a whole population? Surely, they've seen a few American films? If you know the answer to this, please do share.
Palestinian brothers and sisters, members of the Palestinian leadership, you as well, should know very well that Allah states in the Holy Qur'an:
"Hold fast by the covenant of Allah all together and be not disunited. And remember Allah's favour to you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so by His favour you became brethren." (3:103)
So while it is rightful to fight for what is yours, why escalate the
hostilities and put lives in danger when this will not accompany you to
your qabr nor will it provide you with solace in aakhirah? Islam is a religion of peace. We can definitely live together. Do not tarnish it further with hateful actions and remarks in the name of Allah, for the media have done a very good job of it already over the last decade.
While there has been numerous exchanges of rockets and missiles between Israel and Gaza, the UN Security Council had met on Wednesday night, suited and booted, but have failed to put a stop to this onslaught on 1.7 million of civilians in the Gaza strip. The meeting duration was of 90 minutes and this is what it has come to; 90 minutes to possibly deciding the fate of 1.7 million human lives. Despicable.
As we speak, I can see my twitter feed being flooded with #GazaUnderAttack tweets, people all over the world expressing their outrage. Protests are taking place in front of the Israeli Embassy in London as we speak.
Helpless, I lie here, muttering Ayat-ul-kursi and reciting Darood Shareef for Allah to help the innocent people out there, Muslim or Jew. I hope you pray too, in whatever manner you can, for no child should be burned alive by an air strike, no 13-year old playing football should be shot in his street, no family should be forced to abandon their home and stay in a bomb shelter...
God be with You.