15th May marks the day officially recognised as Nakba Day in recognition of the mass murder and expulsion of Palestinians from their homes across Palestine by the Zionist colonial project eventually named Israel. Of course, this did not happen in one day and was the result of years of plotting and manipulation by Zionists mostly in the West, neither was it the beginning of the expulsion of Palestinians, since militias and armed settlers had already been taking over large areas of land and homes before this, nor was it the end – the expulsion, imprisoning and murder of Palestinians has been ongoing since.
Nonetheless, there is value in choosing a particular day to draw attention to these events and this history, particularly in the context of Israel’s misrepresentation of its current genocidal assault on Gaza and increased settler violence in the West Bank as a response to the events of 7th October 2023. It is essential to continue to remind ourselves and the world that this did not start in 2023, that Israel is a criminal settler colony and that there is only one true solution: the return of the Palestinians to their rightful land and the removal of the Zionist colonial project.
In order to be able to do our best for the Palestinian cause, after du’a and improving ourselves as worshippers of Allah, we need to educate ourselves as best we can on the history of this blessed land and of the events that led to the current situation. To this end, I am including below a few resources on the topic. As always, I’m happy to hear from you if you have any other recommendations to add to the list.
Optimism is the Islamic Way
Learning about the history of the oppressive and unjust Zionist project, Israel, can sometimes lead to despair or hopelessness. However, as Muslims, we do not need to feel this way, because we know that “they plan, and Allah too plans, and Allah is the best of planners” (Qur’an 8:30 – read a tafsir of this ayah here). I would like to highlight this article from Islam 21C that reminds us of Islam’s victories in the past that appeared impossible at the time and reminds us that nothing is impossible before Allah.
Reading
The Nakba did not start or end in 1948:
– Al Jazeera English (article)
How Britain Destroyed the Palestinian Homeland by Ramzy Baroud – Al Jazeera English (article)
Nakba: Essential books explaining the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and creation of Israel – a reading list from Middle East Eye
A Map of Absence, edited by Atef AlShaer (anthology of non-fiction, fiction and poetry) – this anthology is organised chronologically, allowing the reader to gain insight into the perspectives of Palestinian writers before, during and after the initial expulsion
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