sent by Zaahied Sallie

Palestine is inescapable and bleeds into my writing. And I’m reminded of Poet and Pulitzer Prize winner Natalie Diaz, who asked at Palfest 2023: ‘What is the language we need to live right now? And that language begins with the word Palestine.‘

Allah

THE HUMBLE VICEGERENT

Any theology that preaches that certain people have the inalienable rights to dominate others, even unjustly, must be false and, hence, not of God. God does not confer power and then approve the abuse thereof.

Allah commands us in chapter 17 of the Quran, titled, Children of Israel:

‘Do not strut arrogantly about the earth’ [17:37].

The Quran reminds us of our humble physiological origins: ‘You are created from a (despised) drop of sperm’ [75:37]. We are insignificant in the cosmic scheme of things, but only inasmuch as we choose to be. God has ennobled the children of Adam and Eve and reminds us that humanity does matter when we uphold our position as unifiers, caretakers, and vicegerents of all creation.

Humility is incumbent for vicegerency.

We lose our status when imbibing an atomised, commercialised, consumeristic, individualistic, and supremacist existence. Arrogance (ego) is the twin of individualism: ‘Consider the one who has taken his ego as god’ [45:23].

Instead, Allah calls us to His Indivisible Unity and the connectedness of all things: ‘Whoever slayeth one soul would have slain all humanity. And whoever saves one soul would have saved all humanity’ [5:32].

The Prophet (s)

A PROPHET FOR ALL

Is the Occupier the same as the Occupied? Is Apartheid Israel the same as Occupied Palestine? No—they are not! The one practices segregation, discrimination, subjugation and domination against other people, and often brutally, based on race, religion and ethnicity: ‘Is he then who is a believer like him who is a transgressor? They are not equal’ [32:18]. The refrain of two classes of people not being equal appears repeatedly in the Quran. This distinction is critical in understanding the behavioural matrix from whence our actions stem.

The Prophet (s) eloquently reminds us at the beginning of his farewell sermon:

‘Hurt no one, so that no one may hurt you.’

This statement deals with psychoanalytical theory and predetermines that our injustices will cultivate a retaliatory environment. And if the infringement is protracted, the reprisal will be more severe.

The Prophet (s) goes on to denounce racism, ethno-fanaticism, classism, and tribalism, and then beautifully sets the standard for distinction:

‘All humanity is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor has a non-Arab any superiority over an Arab. A white has no superiority over black nor does a black have any superiority over a white, except by piety and good action.’

From the outset, Islam was the first in its unequivocal denunciation of racism. Its non-racial stance proves it is a religion for all and for all humanity.

Becoming Palestine

The best way to acquire historical literacy is by reading a book. Documentaries, lectures, and interviews are helpful, but unlike a book, these modes lack depth of detail, context and nuance. If you are serious about a subject, reading a book or books on a topic is the best way to ground yourself in it. 

Here are 15 titles to help you understand the Palestinian liberation struggle and elevate your activism through historical literacy.

1. The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, Ilan Pappe, 2007
2. Gaza – An Inquest into its Martyrdom, Norman G.Finkelstein, 2018
3. Freedom Next Time, The Last Taboo, John Pilger, 2006 
4. Leila Khaled: Icon of Palestinian Liberation, Sarah Irving, 2012
5. The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story, Ramzy Baroud, 2018
6. The Question of Palestine, Edward W. Said, 1992
7. On Palestine, Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe, 2015
8. The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering, Norman G. Finkelstein, 2000
9. The Myths of Zionism, John Rose, 2004
10. The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine, A History of Settler Colonial Conquest and Resistance -1917-2017, Rashid Khalidi, 2020
11. Palestine’s Children: Returning to Haifa and Other Stories, Ghassan Kanafani, 2000
12. The Politics of Dispossession, 1969-1994, Edward W. Said, 1994
13. Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel’s War on the Palestinians, Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe, 2011
14. Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History, Norman G. Finkelstein, 2005
15. The Forgotten Palestinians: A History of the Palestinians in Israel, Ilan Pappe, 2011

Until next week, InshaAllah

Zaahied Sallie

Author of The Beloved Prophet – An Illustrated Biography in Rhyme

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