Akhtar Raja
Labelling these times as surreal or perplexing is an understatement. The Western and Israeli portrayal of events is truly in the guise of deceit and the inversion of truth. Underlying facts are veiled. That is part of the modus operandi of those giving effect to the Palestinian genocide: misinformation and disinformation with an immeasurable dose of barbarism. But where does truth and a route offering recourse to power really lie for most Palestinians?
Palestinians are largely a people of faith. They recognise (as truth and therefore fact) that affliction can only be removed by a force that is wholly unaffected by the machinations of grievous politicians and rulers. Even declarations or aspirations of what is perceived as Israel’s biblical rights (recently reconfirmed by New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik) are not the product of a legitimate geographical, political or military exercise.
Philosophers, historians, and the intelligentsia cannot dismiss out of hand a nation of adherents’ commitment to a divine power being the determinative factor of their fate for two unimpeachable reasons. Firstly, there has never been a credible dismissal by any intellectual giant of the evidence of the existence of God by specific reference to the Quran and Hadith. Analysis tends to generalise religion under one umbrella. For example, Bertrand Russell referred to the ‘tragedy of the people of Palestine…[and] no people anywhere in the world would accept being expelled en masse from their country’ for perfectly sound moral and legal reasons. Likewise, Albert Einstein demanded equal rights for Palestinians while being opposed to political Zionism. He stated ‘…let us not imagine that reason and common-sense can be replaced by British bayonets….’ (As a segway: British complicity continues. The UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese says Prime Minister Keir Starmer should be investigated over the genocide.) The process of reasoning by such intellectuals does not explore Islamic texts. These texts establish a singular unitary deity and are technically and scientifically open to acute scrutiny by contemporary principles and standards. Irrespective of varying individual capacity, the application of reason is obligatory in Islam.
Secondly, and in any event, absolutely no one can rule out the possibility of God’s existence even though there are invariably ferocious arguments about the probability of that. The renowned physicist Brian Cox says, science does not know all the answers and where the laws of nature came from or even why the highly ordered universe began in the way that it did. He notes that science is not the discipline of saying ‘you’re not right’ instead it is a discipline which states, ‘this is what we found’ while not ruling out belief in God.
Staying with this proposition: the Quran states that Allah has made His Mercy obligatory on Himself. He also claims only He can remove affliction while exclusively reserving all power to Himself. To understand the commitment to these statements we look to the depth and sincerity of the recognition of them. The Quran describes this as akin to the factual recognition parents have for their children - borne from, not least, legal, physical, emotional, and protective attachment.
The return of most Palestinians to their decimated homes in Gaza is indicative of their fortitude and resolve rooted in faith. This has been and continues to be jaw dropping for the spectating West and Israel.
So, I turn to the ethnic cleansing reboot. This has quite naturally triggered deep anger and resentment world over. It is difficult to gauge whether President Trump’s recent statements, staking an illegal colonial claim to an ethnically cleansed Arab nation’s land, is an expression of his true intention or a bluff. Will he deploy US troops (or allow Israelis to do so) to secure his aims, or does he want to coax some regional states to step up and do US’s and Israel’s bidding by building, managing, and operating Gaza? I don’t know the answer. However, this kind of enterprise is not an uncommon occurrence for POTUS. Speech precedes the outcome of a process of thinking frequently devoid of rationality and consistently overridden by a desire for power and profit. Mixed interests and agendas are in play. Property tycoons, religious zealots and fugitives from justice have come together to feast on a nation failed by the world. Nonetheless whatever label you give to this project it is not one which can or will be contained if the leader of the less free world executes it. There will be a domino effect which neither the US nor Israel will want to unleash. This is not a difficult prediction to make.
The Trump disruption formula may create leverage in other international economic, political, and geostrategic relations, but this will not work with Gaza and the West Bank. President Trump will not be able to create a Riviera. A few tutorials in Washington on Islamic world history may serve as an informative way of reviewing an ill-conceived property, religious and political development project. At the time of writing, it is unclear whether the President’s office is reneging but who is to say the President will not have another rush of blood to the head. Instead, the President should read the temperature gauge measuring the Muslim groundswell and all those who irrespective of ethnicity, faith and origin are committed to justice.
Perhaps this is an apt moment for the President to take an ice bucket challenge with proceeds being donated to those places which have been deprived of US Aid. The Palestinians will plan, build and manage a Riviera for themselves. Once the wheat has been separated from the chaff numerous Muslim states will support the Palestinians unconditionally. In the meantime, Israel, the US and their sponsors have a great deal of rebuilding of their own to do to save their skins.
The writer is a British lawyer based in London and Principal of Quist Solicitors.
