It has been more than five and a half months that Israel has continued its genocidal operation against the innocent civilians of the Gaza Strip. Crimes committed by Israel are protested worldwide, especially by Western citizens. Ironically, the people of Muslim countries remained silent against the Israeli atrocities. Besides the reluctance of most Muslim governments, the Arab governments in particular, it seems that Muslim people also remain largely indifferent to the suffering of the Gazan people. There are many reasons for the unresponsiveness of Muslim people toward Israeli mass killings in Gaza. Many of these reasons emanate from the pro-Israeli and Western narrative. Many intellectuals, academicians, businessmen and politicians from Muslim countries read the developments in Gaza from the Israeli narrative and thus have reached a biased conclusion. A self-imperialist and self-Orientalist perspective misleads many Muslims and non-Muslims worldwide. Below, I will list and briefly evaluate these lies. The first lie claims that “the Gaza massacres started with the al-Aqsa Flood on Oct. 7.” This accusation of Hamas is expressed widely. Many academicians and intellectuals take Oct. 7 as the starting point for their analysis of Gaza and Palestine. Thus, Hamas, the only surviving anti-imperialist movement in the Middle East and the Arab World, is declared responsible for the Israeli atrocities. When looked closely, it becomes evident that this claim serves to justify Israeli brutality by anti-Islamic groups. In other words, they ignore the oppression, persecution and gradual and insidious genocide that has been going on for decades. Everyone with a conscience and knowledge knows well that there is no way out for the Palestinian people, especially the Gazans who have been isolated from the world and put under an inhumane blockade. Therefore, Israel and the Western governments that provided unconditional support to this genocide must be held responsible for the ongoing persecution.

Iran's role in Hamas' attack?

The second lie argues that “Iran made Hamas carry out this attack against Israel.” This discourse is a great insult put forward by anti-Islamic groups in line with the determination of the Zionist Israeli authorities and Western circles. Its main purpose is to delegitimize the resistance organization Hamas. Let’s not forget that Hamas is a genuine, local and national resistance movement that emerged from the Palestinian people. It is neither a new and rootless terrorist organization like Daesh, nor a proxy actor of Iran like Hezbollah. Hamas is an anti-imperialist movement. This is the main reason why anti-Islam circles oppose this movement. Therefore, regional self-Orientalist and self-imperialist groups are trying to fail Hamas, which is rebelling against the colonial discourse of the West. The third lie is that “Israeli officials were aware of the attack.” This lie was also put forward to delegitimize Hamas. Thus, self-imperialist groups attempted to hide the huge military and intelligence failure of Israel, which was considered undefeatable and untouchable. As a matter of fact, Israel has suffered a real and major blow. However, this lie, which wants to show the weakness of the Palestinian resistance groups, is a product of the effort to halt the resistance against Israel. Self-imperialists do not want to see the defeat of the core imperialists. The latest developments in Gaza once again have shown that the two sides with the greatest material power asymmetry in the world have become the symbol of the global anti-imperialist struggle. The fourth lie claims that “Hamas is a terrorist organization and Israel fights against Israel.” Many academicians, intellectuals and politicians in Muslim countries who take the Zionists and Western narrative for granted support this illegitimate discourse. While this group never questions the illegitimate establishment of Israel, they easily oppose the independence struggle of Hamas and other Palestinian organizations. The sole purpose of Hamas, which has no military activity outside of the Palestinian territories, is to save their occupied country and claim their self-determination.

'Gaza isn't our problem'

The fifth lie argues that “Gaza is not our problem and we do not have to bear any cost for this.” This is a big misconception since the Zionist and colonial discourse is not limited to Palestinian territories but to the whole region. One should not forget that all Arab and non-Arab countries are targets of this destructive colonial political project. Those who developed this lie are self-imperialists who keep themselves separate from Palestine and do not support their struggle against the occupation. One may ask these groups: who are you and what do you represent? If you are Turk or Arab, your historical heritage calls you to protect the Palestinian lands. If you are a Muslim, the main principles of Islam order you to protect the dignity of Bayt al-Maqdis. If you do not have any of these or similar political or social identities, then as a human being you are invited to take sides with the oppressed people of Gaza and support their cause in the name of humanity, universal moral norms, compassion and conscience. The last lie claims, “What can we do?" Or, "We cannot do anything against Israel and its supporters.” This lie is circulated by self-imperialists who want us to buy defeat in advance. This lie is an attempt to seduce our minds and to paralyze our consciousness. It aims to break the humanitarian resistance of the Palestinian people. If there is nothing left, self-imperialists try to put the oppression and brutality committed by Israel against the Palestinians by developing sentences starting with “but, and but.” It is obligatory for every human being to side with the oppressed and the victim of oppression without any “ifs or buts.” Every person, society and state must take action against Israel as much as they can within their capacity. An all-inclusive boycott, including boycotts in academia, sports, politics and commerce must be implemented against Israel. Those who cannot do anything should pray for the people of Gaza during this holy month of Ramadan. In short, let’s not fall into the traps of self-Orientalists and self-imperialists; let’s not use their narrative or discourse. Let’s think, speak and act by being aware of universal values. [Daily Sabah, March 20, 2024]