Resistance – An Eccentric Way of Dawah

People across the world have been discussing the Palestine issue for seven decades, the issue captures the headlines of mainstream media now and then. Some speak the truth, some follow the propaganda while others are unaware of the issue itself. However, the 7th October incident of the Hamas attack on Israel created chaos across the world with more intensity.

According to various news reports, after two months, more than 17 thousand are martyred, and above forty-six thousand are wounded. Among the martyred, 70% (i.e. 11,900) are women and children of Palestine and at least fourteen hundred Israelis have been killed (UN report of 23^rd Nov 2023) and more than 12 hundred are wounded so far.

The Resilience – The Strength

Though the oppression is grave in nature, Palestinians have portrayed such a strong faith. Many people especially Europeans and Americans have stated that they admire how Palestinians are thanking God and asking him to take care of their martyrs. Many users took to Instagram and TikTok to express how they were amazed that there was not a single Palestinian objecting or asking God why all of this is happening and instead, they are thanking him and putting all of their faith and trust in him. This strong faith has led non-Muslims to wonder what Islam is about, which led to many people purchasing the holy Quran – By Shadwa Hamza at www.thinkmarketingmagazine.com. This expression, is undoubtedly, a core work of Dawah (i.e. inviting people to God).

Dawah doesn’t just mean to invite people (towards the oneness of God) by our words, but it can also be expressed with our strong belief in Allah. Palestinians showed the Muslim World how we can give Dawah while struggling for our own rights via resistance and resilience.

The Genocide in Gaza made The Holy Quran a Trending Topic

Anadolu Agency cracked a story on Nefertari Moonn, an internet comic artist and fashion designer from Florida, United States who converted to Islam earlier this month and expressed what made her accept Islam.  “I wouldn’t necessarily say that Israel had anything to do with me turning to Islam. It was solely the Palestinian people, and their courage and faith that had me look into Islam. To see all the devastation that the Palestinians are going through, and to see those still call out to Allah is devastatingly beautiful,” Moonn said. “I feel like if you see these people in what they’re going through in them being able to still keep their faith. You have to look into it and see what was contributing to people still holding on to God and holding on to their faith in calling now in their last words,” she noted.

Moonn called out to Palestinian people, saying: “I want you guys to know that the whole world is fighting for you guys right now. I know right now it could be hard because if you’re in it and you see the help coming but I really want you guys to understand that we are all praying for you,”

A TikTok influencer who used to run a romance novel club, after 7th Oct 2023, seeing the crisis in Gaza started talking about the Humanitarian Crisis with her audience on social media. Listening to some of her followers suggesting to read The Quran, she organized the ‘World Religion Book Club’ on Discord. She is the young African-American woman Megan B Rice. She loves reading and lives in Chicago, United States. She was not alone in wanting to experience the Qur’an. On social media, young people are reading the text to better understand a religion that’s long been vilified by the mainstream Western media, and to show solidarity with the many Muslims in Gaza.

B Rice narrates her story in The Guardian explaining why and how she accepted Islam. She says, “I wanted to talk about the faith of Palestinian people, how it’s so strong, and they still find room to make it a priority to thank God, even when they have everything taken away from them.” She added, “The more I read the Quran, the more the text’s contents align with my own core belief system. I found the Qur’an to be anti-consumerist, anti-oppressive, and feminist.

Palestinians’ unbreakable spirit and deep-rooted devotion to Islam have been sources of inspiration for many. A few examples are as follows:-

1. “I began reading the Quran yesterday and it’s beautiful. I am not a Muslim, but I stand with Palestine” a social media user said.
2. “I did not know any of this stuff— the propaganda runs deep. I’m deprogramming as I’m trying to get education materials.” Said another person on TikTok.
3. “I converted to Islam 3 days ago and now I’m learning more about it. Quran is a healer and mercy for believers” another social media user said. (Morocco World News)
4. An LGBT content creator Aurora Bird tells her viewers about the epiphany she experienced reading the Quran for the first time. She further added in a viral video, “I just started reading the Quran and I am so excited about it.” She further said, “I just know that this is exactly what I read right now. I just wanted to say thank you and just point out how excited I am.” (Ynetnews.com)
5. Danielle Aloni, an Israeli mother, expressed her heartfelt gratitude for Hamas fighters in a letter she wrote for the care they gave to her 5-year-old daughter, Emilia. She wrote, “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your extraordinary humanity shown towards my daughter. She (Emilia) acknowledges feeling like all of you are her friends, not just friends, but truly beloved and good. Children should not be in captivity, but thanks to you and other kind people we met along the way, my daughter felt like a queen in Gaza. In the long journey we have been on, we have not met anyone who has not been kind to her, and you have treated her with kindness and compassion.” Aloni ended her letter with compassion for Hamas, stating: “I will remember your kind behavior shown in spite of the difficult situation you faced and the severe losses you suffered here in Gaza.” (TRT World)

Palestinians’ Resilience Inspires Global Curiosity in Islam

The Observer Post published an article written by Sumaiyya Khan with the title, “TikTokers Explore the Quran to Understand Palestinian Resilience Amid Israel’s Bombardment of Gaza”. In it, she quotes, “The trend was started by a Jewish girl named @biondaxox, who posted a video expressing her deep admiration for the Palestinian faith and people. She was encouraged by other users to read the Quran, and afterward, she shared her experience of reading it for the first time, inviting others to join her.”

Another user, @astrolojay, who identifies as an evangelical Christian, read the Quran for the first time. He said he was amazed by some of the verses and concepts in the Quran. He admitted how different Islam is from the Western narrative of it.

People started reading The Quran and Discovering Islam in the West

Post 7^th Oct, some started comparing the incident with 9/11, discussing The Quran and Islam. In this regard, The Guardian interviewed Zareen Grewal (Associate Professor, Yale University) and she says, “After 9/11, the Qur’an became an instant bestseller, though at the time many Americans purchased it to confirm biases they held about Islam being an inherently violent religion. The difference is that at this moment, people are not turning to the Qur’an to understand the October 7 attack by Hamas, but they are turning to the Qur’an to understand the incredible resilience, faith, moral strength, and character they see in Muslim Palestinians.”

Similarly, Sylvia Chan-Malik (Associate Professor, Rutgers University) was in graduate school after 9/11 amid a surge in hate crimes against Muslims and xenophobic language used in the media. “I was very interested in what was going on, comparing it to the history of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor,” she said. “I started to look into it on my own, meeting actual Muslims, and I was floored when I did my homework on Islam. I had a very similar experience to what’s happening on TikTok now, at the time, I wondered why the people I met who were Muslim were so different than what I heard in the news. I’d never experienced such a vast disconnect between popular perception and the truth” she added.

The more you suppress Islam, the more the people will accept it.