Labelled as a terrorist by some, Ahed is hailed as a hero amongst fellow Palestinians for standing up to a soldier.
Ahed Tamimi, a Palestinian activist from the small village of Nabi Salih in the Israeli occupied West Bank, has been protesting against the siege for a long time now along with her clan. She caught media attention when she was detained for slapping a soldier, recorded in a video that immediately went viral. Labelled as a terrorist by some, Ahed is hailed as a hero amongst fellow Palestinians for standing up to a soldier. In the video that spread like a plague, she along with her cousin, were seen kicking and slapping soldiers under protesting the seizing of her ancestral land and spring by the Israeli forces.
Though this bold move of a teenager gave hope to millions living under oppression, Ahed has been charged for ‘threatening’ and disrespecting the forces and could be facing up to 14 years in prison. She was arrested along with her cousin and mother but while her cousin was released on bail, she and her mother are still in custody.
Its not about the sensitization that social media is creating by spamming feeds with news of recent attacks and rising death tolls but about how we are no longer affected or impacted by its massive graveness.
So much for braving enough to refuse unjustified infringement of one’s own land by people in power who couldn’t care less about human rights, forget about displacing people. This, however, isn’t so much about the outer predators as much as it speaks volumes about mute puppets inside one’s own community. It isn’t about the oppressors as much as it is about an ummah that is in desperate need of sensitization. Not about the worldly tragedies and daily atrocities on our brethren but about the way we shun them away as every day incidents. Neither about the sensitization that social media is creating by spamming feeds with news of recent attacks and rising death tolls but about how we are no longer affected or impacted by its massive graveness.
The Muslim world is in chaos but we, no better than the careless people in power, have turned immune to the pain of our fellow humans. The wailing children, deserted civilians caught the rubble and dirt of their once palatial houses or the plight of the wounded have all received our cold shoulders, blind eyes and deaf ears amidst the ongoing territorial crossfires. Are we ready to face the Creator with these wishbones where the backbones should have been? Will we be able to justify these mistreatments meted out to our brothers and sisters in deen by nimble cowardice and inability to voice dissent that could help power the innocent? Has the fear of Allah been completely washed out from our hearts by the strength of mere mortals?
Throwing likes or sad reactions on those misery laden frames might create raging awareness but is not going to help put sorrow and destruction out of their lives.
It is about all this and all what we did in the comfort of our cozy settings, to help balm the collateral damage. The Muslim Ummah has some serious answering up their sleeves to be ready with before Allah subhanawataala. Throwing likes or sad reactions on those misery laden frames might create raging awareness but is not going to help put sorrow and destruction out of their lives. Our productive efforts will be when we reach them before the compassionate ones from the other faith do; when we squeeze our way into the authoritative clan and demand retrieval of regression; when we out do the Khalsa aid members and reach out the distressed and serve them in relief camps before anyone else; when we have nerve enough to break the muted cords and speak up against illogical custodies; when we humble our pride and educate our pseudo intellects enough to BE the people in power so as to prevent such encroachments and disasters from breaking out in the first place; when we live up to our genetic lottery and spend it in the service of the needy like Abu Bakr (R.A.) did; when we shadow the moves of the Muslims worldwide rebelling under the perpetrators and take responsibility for driving campaigns that restores justice to them; when we unitedly stand up against the sentencing of a juvenile for slapping soldiers and not let it slip by under the hands of power hungry kaafiruns.
Narrated ‘Abdullah bin Umar (R.A):
Allah’s Apostle (pbuh) said, “A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor. Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs; whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection, and whoever screened a Muslim, Allah will screen him on the Day of Resurrection.”
-Volume 3, Book 43, Number 622: Sahih Bukhari.
Written by : Azra Jabin
Edited by : Zarafshan Shiraz
