The White House hosts an annual iftar dinner every Ramzan and the Muslim community responds by embracing the moment to celebrate their holy month, one of kindness, forgiveness, generosity, and compassion. Ramzan meant nothing like this to the American Muslims who declined the invite this year. Instead, they distributed water and dates outside the White House, Lafayette Park, to mark their discontentment (small word indeed) with the recent political decisions of the President. There is strength in silent protest?
Is the world finally witnessing a show of solidarity against the powers that control our Fate? Is silent protest the way to go? Do ordinary citizens, you me, and us, have the answer to world peace?
Muslims all over the world are watching in disbelief as Israel continues to root out its targets in Gaza. The recent killing of aid workers from the charity group The World Central Kitchen who had delivered food to a region that is waging a man made famine has sparked outrage and anger amongst a world community that has been rooting for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. US stands as a lone ally; and the world, against it.
It is sad indeed when world politics are revealed for its gaping holes – sending aid to the same region where one sends weapons to destroy the lives of people you now aim to help is kind of a strange relationship – a lot like a kidnapper would hold his victim, harass him, mistreat him, terrify him, and then, offer him food and water to pacify him and tell him that, I am your only saviour! Many victims slip into a Stockholm kind of syndrome where they feel it is, after all, their aggressor who can help them, care for them, and look after their every need and want.
Unfortunately for the greater powers and fortunately for the rest of the world (if there is any fortune to be found here), the world (the other half, that is), has finally awoken to the gross injustice done to the people of Palestine, albeit a bit late, and after thousands have lost their lives, loved ones, families, parents, children, caregivers and … been displaced, in other words, have no home to go back to.
It doesn’t matter to the average Muslim that Biden (and US) policies in the Middle East might have cost them votes – a whole lot of them. They will probably not want to see him back in power. This is the same Muslim community that felt happily welcome in the White House last year.
Much has changed between 2023 and 2024.
The next administration will have to (at least) pay lip service to the Muslim voter were it to secure votes after another 5 years, I’m guessing it will be Republican. But what has been lost is a sense of justice and a pain that will not heal overnight, or with one US election. The world has seen apparently, how some lives matter more than others. How Palestinian lives might matter less, and if one were to extend the philosophy, Muslim lives might matter even lesser.
What has also transpired though, and that is a crucial shift, is how world citizens have witnessed the dual policies of a few countries, how they failed to call out actions in one region and admonished the same behaviour in others. How embargoes and economic sanctions could have marked a call to action and how, if the Muslim world had come together from day 1, not to wage physical war (because war is never the solution) but economic, diplomatic and a war of beliefs and morality – there might be more people, children, caregivers, doctors, aid workers alive in Palestine today.
Someone once said that the only power in the world who can find a possible solution to the Israel Gaza conflict would be the US government. But unfortunately, that hasn’t happened so far. Diplomacy works only when there is no pre-conceived notion that one side is always right. And that notion was missing.
As someone rightly pointed out, how can Israel even find their hostages underneath the rubble that is Palestine? Also, that the western media has failed to be unbiased in reporting the Middle East conflict. Where 200 Palestinians are mentioned as having died in a missile hit, one Israeli hostage or their family is interviewed at length to make listeners more connected with their misery.
Unfortunately, the difference between the two sides is so stark that even the media, with all its partisanship, will find it hard to keep coming up with seemingly neutral approaches at reporting in the region.
The win, albeit very small, for Palestine, is that where world powers have failed to stall a conflict and stop the killing, perhaps ordinary citizens, you and me, might be able to achieve something?
Silent protest is a very powerful tool, one we have not exploited fully, and one whose power we are not acquainted with as yet. We have always trusted in our leaders to lead the way, but in this case, perhaps, we need to do it ourselves. Just like the Muslim community in America.
I disagree with the school of thought that American Muslims must compromise because they live in a foreign land. On the contrary, Muslims all over the world form a powerful movement, a vote bank, a point of view, if expressed in solidarity, can help turn the tide or at least, push a cause to the forefront. There is strength in numbers and they have that. There’s also something about owning the country you live in, and if you truly want to own it, then slip out of the US vs Them debate and shape the country as you’d like it to be. That is what cultural integration is all about, it works both ways.
Be the change.
The power of a single action speaks volumes. The power of a vote, the power of buying or not buying a certain product, of spreading awareness and information, sharing stories is on us.
The Palestine-Israel conflict has been witness to perhaps the most complex events in History. An attempt to unravel it and explain it by multiple scholars has led to mere one point of view versus another. If the Nabka in 1948 marks a tragic point in History, so do the events of October 7th 2023. But when will it be enough?
Will we witness another event to further polarize the world and push, rather, shove matters to a decisive solution or … the question to ask is, when will all this be enough? Diplomacy might not work in ways we had expected, and might not get the same results every time. Actions speak louder than words or for that matter, iftar invites.
As for the White House Iftar invite, I wonder if President Biden needs to feed more than appetites when he aims to draw closer to to Muslim community. For now, he needs to rethink his game plan. The elections are upon us and a ceasefire in Gaza might not be enough to calm the storm, an iftar is, but a drop in the Middle East Ocean.
And not enough to satisfy a fast-growing appetite.
On another note, perhaps we need to stop looking at the “super’ powers to solve our problems. Perhaps we need to stop looking at war as a solution. Perhaps we need to stop looking outwards for the answer. Silent protest speaks volumes in quiet, dignified unspoken ways. The world is finding that out just now, and perhaps, it’s not such a bad thing after all!
Celebrating Pakistan day In Gold Coast Australia: A Fusion Of Culture, Art and Talent
