Gaza under Fire

I recently attended an event titled Gaza under Fire which was organized by the Al-Aqsa Friends’ Society. This is the first time I attended one of their events, and I have to say, it was a big success. The main auditorium was packed with local students and international students from many different countries. This is also the first event I’ve attended which had an equal amount of Malaysians and foreigners, and also the equal amount of males and females (usually the females outnumber the males). It was very inspiring to see so many Muslims coming to show their support for Gaza.

There were two talks, several multimedia presentations and a drama show depicting the war scenario in Gaza. Even though a picture says a thousand words, I think video footages are better in this case. The audience was quiet as we watched women on the screen crying for their lost/dead/injured children with the remains of ruined buildings and smoke and dust in the background.

As one of the speakers said that night, this cannot be called an attack anymore. This is WAR. Just imagine, Gaza is only a small piece of land. Yet the Israelis are attacking Gaza by sea, land and air using army tanks and the latest nuclear bombs, which is why the death toll and the number of injuries are really high in just one day.

The people of Gaza have to be creative in order to survive. They make their own bombs and plan strategies such a releasing rockets across the borders and into Israel.

The Israelis are bombing schools, universities and homes.

They do not care whether they bomb children or adults, and for no absolute reason (although they claim that they “have their own reasons” for doing it).

They are so cowardly to attack Palestine in full force using all kinds of military inventions while knowing that the Palestinians have practically nothing. However, they are killing only the bodies of Gaza. They cannot kill the soul, determination and the mind of Gaza. The people of Gaza cry for their lost ones, but they do not regret what they have done. They have been doing this (fighting for their freedom and survival) in the past, and they will continue to do this to the end.

Some of them even thank Allah for the loss of their beloved ones (eg, I lost my mother, Alhamulillah).

There are deaths and injuries every single day.

There's neither fuel nor electricity. There is also insufficient medicine to treat the injured.

My dear fellow Muslims, this not a Palestinian issue. This is a Muslim issue. The issue of the whole Muslim ummah, for it concerns all of us as Muslims. Spread the word, increase the awareness.

Prayer for Palestine

In light of the recent Israeli attacks on Palestine, I would like to invite my fellow Muslims to pray for our Muslim brothers and sisters over there. As we go about our daily lives, it’s hard to imagine that in other parts of the world, our brothers and sisters are fighting - fighting for their life, and most importantly, for their religion. Our religion – ISLAM.

What are our problems compared to theirs? How sad is it breaking up with your boyfriend compared to losing your beloved family members? Or worse, how heart-breaking is it for a little boy to see his father, mother and baby sister blown up right in front of his eyes? Imagine not sleeping because you’re dreading a presentation in front of your lecturer and classmates compared to not sleeping the whole night for fear of not being able to wake up tomorrow.

While we throw away our leftover food, our fellow Muslims are starving or dying of hunger. Everyday, there are hundreds of Muslims killed or injured by the Israelis, be it in Palestine, Bosnia or any other part of the world. But what are we, their Muslim brothers and sisters doing to help them? Are we even aware that all this is happening? Or do we just turn a blind eye and continue about our daily lives, oblivious to the sufferings and the killings of our brothers and sisters?

Most Muslims aren’t even aware about all this. They are blinded by the worldly affairs and entertainment which, unsurprisingly, are created by the Jews and the Western people themselves in order to distract us from what is happening to our fellow Muslims. In fact, we don’t even realize how blessed we are to be able to open our eyes every morning, breathe in the fresh air and go on with our day. Since we are unable or incapable of helping them physically, the best way for us to help them is by praying to Allah. At the end of each prayer, please include a du’a for our brothers and sisters in Palestine.