Catholics in Gaza are burying dead in Muslim cemeteries

Jerusalem, Apr 16, 2024 / 06:00 am

In the chaos of the Israel-Hamas war, where any movement can be fatal, even burying the dead is not guaranteed. Hundreds still lie under the rubble across the Gaza Strip, and transporting bodies to cemeteries is nearly impossible. This is compounded by the heartbreak of mass graves.

The challenge is even greater for Christians, whose cemeteries are all in the northern part of Gaza, next to their places of worship. For those who die in the south, receiving a Christian burial is impossible.

Recently, two Christians passed away in the South of Gaza — Hani Suhail Michel Abu Dawood and Haytham Tarazi. Their families could not bid them a final farewell and, for now, have been unable to return their loved ones’ bodies to Christian cemeteries in the north. However, the doors of Muslim cemeteries have opened to receive their bodies and give them a dignified burial.

Reuters reported the testimony of Ihsan al-Natour, a worker at the Muslim cemetery in Tal al-Sultan in Rafah, who mentioned the burial of a Christian, Abu Dawood. 

“He’s buried amongst Muslims and there are no signs that indicate he is Christian,” al-Natour said. “He is a human being; we respect human beings and appreciate humanity and we love every person on earth.”

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY

How U.S. Muslims are experiencing the Israel-Hamas war

U.S. Muslims are more sympathetic to the Palestinian people than many other Americans are, despite the fact that relatively few Muslims in the United States are Palestinian themselves, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in February. And only about a quarter of Muslims in the survey identify as Arab or of Arab ancestry.

Muslim Americans are also highly critical of President Joe Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Meanwhile, a majority of Muslim Americans (70%) say discrimination against Muslims in our society has increased since the start of the war, and about half (53%) say news about the war makes them feel afraid.

Here’s a closer look at these and other findings from our new survey.

How we did this

How U.S. Muslims view America’s role in the war 

Only 6% of Muslim adults believe that the U.S. is striking the right balance between the Israelis and Palestinians, according to the February survey.

Most Muslims (60%) instead say Biden is favoring the Israelis too much, while just 3% say he is favoring the Palestinians too much. Another 30% are not sure.

Muslim Americans have been strongly Democratic in the past and remain so – 66% of Muslim registered voters in the survey identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party. (The survey includes 298 Muslim registered voters for an effective sample size of 94 and a margin of error of plus or minus 10.1 points.) But Biden’s handling of the war has led some U.S. Muslims to cast protest votes against him in Democratic primaries this year.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE PEW RESEARCH

Lost in Orientalism: Arab Christians and the war in Gaza

Centuries-old misconceptions compel Western Christians to ignore the plight of Palestinian Christians and Muslims.

On February 21, it was announced that the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby refused to meet with Munther Isaac, a Palestinian Lutheran pastor, after Isaac had appeared at a pro-Palestine rally with former UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Isaac, whose Christmas Eve sermon went viral for its condemnation of the Israeli assault on Gaza and concomitant Western Christian silence, has repeatedly called for ecumenical peace amid Palestinian suffering.

A week later, Welby apologised and agreed to meet with Isaac. But in his apology X post, the archbishop stated it was wrong to shun Isaac “at this time of profound suffering for our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters”, making no mention of the equal suffering of Palestinian Muslims, with whom Isaac has repeatedly stood in solidarity.

Today, as Catholics and Protestants celebrate Easter, Palestinians of these denominations are barred from visiting their holy places in Jerusalem. Neither the Church of England nor other Western churches have denounced these restrictions on free worship by the Israeli government.

Welby’s refusal to meet Isaac and the continuing silence of Western churches on Israeli crimes perpetrated against Palestinian Christians and Muslims are just further reminders that, for Arab Christians, their place in the West remains tenuous because of Orientalist and Islamophobic views of the Arab world.

Rarely allowed to speak for themselves, Arab Christians are either depicted in the West as hapless victims whose numbers continue to dwindle because of “Islamic fundamentalism” or as heretical Christians whose faith is marked by its cultural proximity to Islam. Driving this is an Orientalist gaze that sees the Arab world as barbaric and uncivilised, with only Western civilising missions and the state of Israel serving as a bulwark against its “terror”.

Ignored in turn are the experiences and perspectives of Arab Christians who lived alongside their Arab Jewish and Arab Muslim neighbours in relative peace and security from the seventh century to the latter period of the Ottoman Empire and the onset of Western imperialism.

FULL ARTICLE FROM AL JAZEERA

Ramadan, Gaza and anti-Islam sentiment

Friday marked the fifth day of Ramadan. Unfortunately, there is still no cease-fire in Gaza, and Israel continues to kill Palestinians waiting for food supplies. Earlier this week, Israeli troops killed six Palestinians and injured 83 others as they waited in line to receive a bag of flour. That was not the first time, and it won’t be the last.

Let us recall that seven Palestinians were killed and 20 more were injured two days before the most recent attack against the same location. On Feb. 29, Israeli soldiers shot dead 118 Palestinians waiting for assistance.

It is important to stress that the slain Palestinians were ordinary people looking for help in Gaza, where children have been starving to death – not members of Hamas or the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. Having failed to prevent the bombing of hospitals, schools and United Nations buildings in Gaza, the world watches idly – on live television – as people waiting for help die.

Systemic policy

In the face of the Palestinian people’s systematic starvation and elimination, the United States and Europe have yet to broker a cease-fire or deliver humanitarian aid. Washington’s decision to build temporary ports and efforts to deliver supplies by air fall short of ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom changed its mind about dropping supplies on Gaza, claiming that assistance hurts the civilian population.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in turn, expects Israel to rain down supplies on Gaza. If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (who already called U.S. President Joe Biden’s bluff) launches a military operation against Rafah, the situation will further deteriorate.

It is sad to see that the world cannot tell Israel, which continues to kill Palestinians as they await help, that enough is enough. The Western governments do not try and stop the ongoing massacre that goes against everything they say about human rights and undermines their values. The Muslim world, in turn, cannot seem to influence the West to facilitate a humanitarian initiative to end the blockade.

FULL ARTICLE FROM DAILY SABAH

‘No empty words’: Muslim Canadians use Ramadan to urge Gaza action

Muslim groups say Canadian MPs won’t be allowed to speak to congregants this Ramadan unless they act to end Gaza war.

Montreal, Canada – Ramadan is a time of self-reflection, family and joy for more than 1.8 billion Muslims around the world.

But with Israel’s war on Gaza dragging on, killing more than 31,000 Palestinians and plunging the tiny coastal enclave deeper into a humanitarian crisis, this year’s Islamic holy month – which began on Sunday night – has a different feeling.

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Photos: A sad Ramadan for Gaza as Israel continues attacks

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Muslims offer Ramadan prayers in New York’s Times Square

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The Take: Observing Ramadan against the backdrop of war

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In Canada, the Muslim community’s pain over the situation in Gaza – and a widely held belief that Canadian politicians are not doing enough to stem the crisis – has spurred an unprecedented campaign this Ramadan.

“We’re seeing our brothers and sisters in Palestine die every single day. We’re seeing a number of horrific images flooding in,” said Fatema Abdalla, advocacy officer with the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM).

“So this Ramadan is definitely going to be much harder for everyone.”

NCCM is among more than 300 Muslim groups in the North American country that delivered an ultimatum to Canadian politicians: Act to end the war and defend Palestinian rights, or you will not get to speak to congregants during community gatherings this month.

The organisations, which include advocacy groups as well as mosques and cultural centres, demanded five things from lawmakers, from condemning Israeli war crimes to opposing Canada’s arms transfers to Israel and supporting an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

“If MPs cannot publicly commit to all of these asks, then we can unfortunately not provide them a platform to address our congregations,” Abdalla said.

FULL ARTICLE FROM AL JAZEERA

‘We are not OK’: Muslims despair as Ramadan begins in shadow of war in Gaza

Ramadan is known as a time for prayer, self-reflection and fasting; it is also a time of joy as families decorate and gather for evening meals with family and community.

But this year, Muslims say they are approaching the holy month with deep sorrow as they witness the ongoing and brutal war in Gaza. Every day, they face images and stories of tens of thousands killed, children starved, bombs laying waste to cities and institutions. They cannot fathom, they say, that the world is not doing more to stop the death and devastation.

“We are not OK,” said Mohammad Jubran of Wayne. “There is deep pain without a doubt. There is deep suffering without a doubt. Particularly during Ramadan, with this month of spiritual closeness and worship, I think it puts a lot of things into more perspective.”

During Ramadan, which begins Monday for many, community leaders and clergy advise Muslims to lean into faith, community and charity. They remind them that they are not alone, and that the Palestinian plight has bonded Muslims of different races and ethnicities. Groups rooted in faith and humanitarian causes have also reached out to offer support.

“This is one of the hardest Ramadans in our lives,” said Imam Mohammad Qatanani, spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, with locations in Paterson, Clifton and Prospect Park. “We know in our congregation and in our community, there are maybe hundreds of people who lost family members, like me. I lost 16. Some lost 70, some people more than 100.”

FULL ARTICLE FROM NORTHJERSEY.COM

Israel Is Falling Into an Abyss

As the morning of Oct. 7 recedes into the distance, its horrors only seem to be growing. Again and again, we Israelis tell ourselves what has become part of the formative story of our identity and our destiny. How for several hours Hamas terrorists invaded the homes of Israelis, murdered some 1,200 people, raped and kidnapped, looted and burned. During those nightmarish hours, before the Israel Defense Forces snapped out of its shock, Israelis had a harsh and concrete glimpse of what might happen if their country not only suffered a punishing blow but also actually ceased to exist. If Israel were no longer.

I have talked with Jewish people living outside of Israel who have said that their physical — and spiritual — existence felt vulnerable during those hours. But more than that: Something of their life force had been taken, forever. Some were even surprised by the magnitude to which they needed Israel to exist both as an idea and as a concrete fact.

As the army began to strike back, civil society was already enlisting en masse in rescue and logistical operations, with many thousands of citizens volunteering to do what the government should have been doing were it not in a state of feckless paralysis.

At the time of publication, according to data from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7. They include many children, women and civilians, many of whom were not Hamas members and played no part in the cycle of war. “Uninvolved,” as Israel calls them in conflictese, the language with which nations at war deceive themselves so as not to face the repercussions of their acts.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

The West Is Losing Muslim Liberals

Indifference to Palestinian suffering in Gaza is alienating moderates across the Islamic world and tarnishing the appeal of liberal democratic values.

FEBRUARY 20, 2024, 8:17 AM

Since the beginning of Israel’s catastrophic war in Gaza, triggered by the gruesome Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, policymakers in Washington have worried about containing the conflict. The military escalations—stretching from Lebanon through Syria, Iraq, and down to Jordan and Yemen—suggest that they may not have been very successful at that.

Israel-Hamas War

News, analysis, and background on the ongoing conflict.

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But there is another problem they may not be even fully aware of: Across the Middle East and even the broader Muslim world, there is an unprecedented level of outrage against the United States and its Western allies, which may have long-lasting consequences. It could be much worse than the impact of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003—the example that some have in mind these days—because the carnage that Israel has inflicted in Gaza seems much worse than anything that happened during U.S. military interventions in the Middle East.

Any close observer of the region can see this. Among them is Fawaz Gerges, a renowned expert on Middle East politics, who warned in December: “I have never seen the region as implosive, as boiling. There is so much rage and anger, not only against Israel but against the United States.”

As Pakistani journalist Umer Farooq observed, “The War In Gaza Is Changing The Muslim World”—and not in a good way. There is a widespread anger, he argues, that “will boost fundamentalist tendencies in Muslim societies,” and perhaps incubate new terrorist groups.

Why this outrage? Because millions of people are watching the horrific scenes from Gaza every single day—often on live television. Whole neighborhoods are bombed, with the dead bodies of babies and children protruding from the rubble. Innocent civilians are shot to death, even in the relatively calmer West Bank. Local health authorities report that more than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, most of them women and children; 90 percent of Gazans have been displaced from their homes, and they are at the brink of starvation and disease.

FULL ARTICLE FROM FOREIGN POLICY

What Palestinians in Gaza are teaching Muslims worldwide

They shouldn’t need to demonstrate resolve and strength. Yet they are, in ways that offer lessons to the rest of us.

The oppression and atrocities inflicted against Palestinians in Gaza have left us horrified. And indeed, we should be. Everything they have suffered has gone against human dignity, there is no doubt about that.

And yet, something else has been on full display in this very horrific time of genocide and exploitation, where people are being brutally tortured and killed: the resilience and faith of a people who refuse to concede.

Not only has their faith in God and conviction in their values remained unshaken – they have only increased in their dedication and resolve. We have seen this again and again, witness accounts of people in Gaza reaffirming their love of God and for the Prophet Muhammad, and using their beliefs as comfort during the most desperate circumstances.

Of course, Palestinians in Gaza should not be put into this position in the first place. They should not need to demonstrate such resolve and strength. What is needed is an urgent end to the war. The global community, and especially the US and the collective West, have much to answer for.

Yet, the people of Gaza are teaching Muslims worldwide invaluable lessons. In the face of adversity, the resolve of the people of Gaza can inspire us to not despair nor succumb to pressure to compromise on our beliefs and commitment to our faith.

This is a huge lesson for many of us in the United States, where Muslims are also being tested, as hate crimes and Islamophobia have increased, especially since the war broke out.

If we take a page from their book, we’ll be reading something which is nothing short of a miracle.

In the face of utter and total destruction, Palestinians are standing up and saying, “Allah is our Lord.” They are standing up and performing mass funeral prayers. They are still observing the tenets of Islam, even if it means using rainwater to perform ritual ablutions before prayer. They are standing up and still perform the call to prayer.

These are people who have either been killed or have suffered the killings of their loved ones. Many are simply waiting to die. They don’t know what’s going to happen to them. There is a lot they are showing us as history unfolds before our eyes.
FULL ARTICLE FROM AL JAZEERA (ENGLISH)

Interfaith peacemakers cannot remain neutral on Gaza

Palestinians arrive in the southern Gaza town of Rafah after fleeing an Israeli ground and air offensive in the nearby city of Khan Younis on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. Israel has expanded its offensive in Khan Younis, saying the city is a stronghold of the Hamas militant group. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

The war on Gaza is about to complete its fourth month of brutal and massive bombardment. As of late January, this campaign of destruction has killed over 25,000 people (two-thirds of them women and children), destroyed tens of thousands of homes and displaced over 1.5 million Palestinians, squeezing them into a small southern corner of Gaza. On the Israeli side, 1,139 people were killed in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, and the war on Gaza has caused over 125,000 Israelis to evacuate their homes and settle in hotels or temporary houses.

The war on Gaza has reverted the Israeli-Palestinian conflict back to 1948, when the dynamics of hatred and displacement, especially the dehumanization of Palestinians, became a normal expression within the Israeli and many Western governments. Recently, there has also been an increase in expressions of antisemitism and Islamophobia around the world. And for the first time in the history of this conflict, the International Court of Justice, at the request of South Africa, has begun deliberations on whether the Israeli military and government have committed genocide against the Palestinians.

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There will be no clear victory for Israelis or Palestinians. This war has, in many ways, made victims of all of us: Palestinians, Israelis and everyone around the globe. The double standards and political hypocrisy of most European and North American governments in addressing this conflict have harmed the credibility and legitimacy of so-called international and multilateral organizations (including the United Nations, the European Union and the Arab League). They have also weakened the perception of these organizations as protectors of human rights, democratic values and other liberal or ethical norms. There is also a global crisis of polarization between those calling for solidarity with the Palestinian people, and recognition of their dignity and freedom, and those who refuse calls for a cease-fire and instead insist on supporting the Israeli military campaign against Gazans and Palestinians in the West Bank.

FULL ARTICLE FROM AMERICAMAGAZINE.ORG