How the Muslim community in the UK is impacted by what is happening in Gaza and how we can pray
Let us remember that the Lord is the Alpha & Omega. He will have the final say. He is ultimately in charge of all things.
Also, that those who mourn, die innocently, or are bereaved cruelly, will be comforted on that day. He will wipe away all tears.
It’s a blessing that we have the Mahabba Network; Muslims need all the friends they can get. The strapline of the Network is: Loving all Muslims. The community needs our love now more than ever before. We also need to be advocates for our Muslim neighbours within the wider society.
As general background, we need to remind ourselves of the wider oppression of Muslims by white, Western Christian colonial powers that goes back into history. Also, as a minority in the UK, Muslims often face prejudice and discrimination, Muslims feel this oppression and that their voice is not heard and even worse at times the community is not allowed to express its opinion.
Coming to the current conflict, many in the mainstream society have engaged with this only recently but for our Muslim neighbours this is a longstanding issue, going all the way back to at least what is described as the Nakba, catastrophe, 75 years ago in 1948 when Palestinians lost their homes and become refugees.
According to the BBC the establishment of Israel caused up to 750,000 Palestinians who had lived on that land to flee or to be expelled from their homes. Neither they nor their descendants have been allowed by Israel to return. There are around five million Palestinians currently recognised as refugees by the UN.
It is important to remember here that some Muslims have family connections in Gaza.
With the current conflict, Muslims in our community have witnessed a hugely disproportionate response by Israel to the 7th October attack by Hamas. There is a frustration amongst them over the lack of understanding by Westerners of what led up to these events, that this is what has been happening since 1948 and sometimes before this.
Muslims feel the suffering of the Palestinians. Sadly, they have been observing Westerners, the BBC and some Christians practising double standards. The community has been lectured about British Values and certain moral standards which are now being completely bypassed by mainstream society who demonise Hamas and exonerate Israel.
Many Muslims (I too) had come to believe that they were all equal. But now they are learning that human rights are not universal. Some people’s lives are worth less than others; they have fewer rights, they count for less. This realisation will take many years to forget.
We need to pray for harmony in the Muslim community where there is conflict between those who have spoken up and those who have stayed silent. For example, there are dozens of councillors who have resigned their party membership, there are MPs who have spoken up and there are those who continue to toe the party line and yet they are being pressured by their electorate.
There are Muslim teachers and students, in schools, colleges and universities; in other workplaces and in society generally who are affected by the conflict or who are being punished for speaking up.
One Muslim leader posted that he has been inundated with messages from Muslim staff who have been called into the office by their organisations for expressing views on the Gaza crisis.
— Some have been disciplined.
— Some are under investigation or are threatened with an investigation.
— Some have been told to delete their social media posts.
Rising incidences of both Islamophobia (and antisemitism) have been reported in recent months. Senior interfaith leaders have expressed deep concerns for Jewish-Muslim relations in the UK amid the worsening Israel-Palestine conflict. Mohammed Amin, co-chair of the Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester has said:
Some British Muslims will feel increased hostility towards Jews in Britain and some British Jews will feel increased hostility towards Muslims in Britain
Mahabba Network believes in facing the facts, not fuelling the fear. So I would recommend for us all to educate and inform ourselves about the issues and their historical background. Ignorance is no longer an option. This conflict is going to impact society and Muslims for many years to come. We need to be prepared and informed.
More generally, the United Nations is a good source for reliable information[1]. Within the UK the Islamophobia Awareness Month site[2] has resources that can be used (across the year).
Dr Karamat Iqbal [3] December 2023
The views expressed in this article are the author's own.
[1] NGO Action News - 14 December 2023 - Question of Palestine (un.org)
[2] https://www.islamophobia-awareness.org/
[3] As a follower of Christ, as well as being called in the Bible to love our Muslim neighbours, this is a very personal matter because I have thousands of Muslims as relatives or acquaintances who are the target of abuse and harassment.