I have been thinking about commenting on the horrible Gaza situation for some time. I received a friendly email from Mahmoud El-Yousseph letting me know of an article he wrote which is published at MR Zine, Monthly Review. The article decries the deplorable conditions suffered by those in Gaza.
It is with understandable passion that Mr. El-Yousseph writes about the conditions suffered by the habitants of Gaza. What Mr. El-Yousseph does not mention is that the Christian inhabitants are faring even worse than the Muslim in Gaza. They suffer the same indignities of being fenced-off from Israel, but they are also terribly mistreated by the majority Muslims. They are permitted no new churches and are forbidden to repair their churches as they break down 9plumbing, electrical etc.). Many turn away potential Muslim converts in fear for the physical safety of anyone who accepts Jesus as the Son of God and personal Savior. No church bells are permitted, but Muslims loudspeakers calling Muslims to prayer are aimed to blare at Christian churches to disrupt services. Christians are unsafe in their homes from their Muslim neighbors.
Mr. El-Yousseph mentions the (understandable in my view) Israeli concerns about Muslim attacks on innocent Israelis by suicide bombers. Unfortunately, it is dangerous to simply treat the jihadists as the criminals that they are. Jihadists wear no uniforms and permeate the Muslims society. they can arise anywhere. When they spring into action as mass murderers, many innocents get killed. Their prophet Muhammed said, and the sayings of Muhammed have equal weight as the Koran, "The time [of judgment or redemption] will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews and kill them; and the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslims! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him1" [Sahih Muslim book 41, no. 6985] How can anyone in Israel ever feel safe?
The problems of Gaza are horrible and will not be solved until the Muslims of the world openly, clearly and loudly and en mass denounce and disavow the above saying of Muhammed as having any validity to today's world.
Personally, I am not holding my breath.
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2 comments:
First, thanks for the plug.
I only have one comment and a question.
Q- Why not not refer to Palestinians by their name instead of religion, like you did refered to Israelis as Israelis rather than Jews.
You have only refered to to 1.5 Milion Palestinian in Gaza as,"those in Gaza", and inhabitants of Gaza. It is hard not to escape your bias. A better title for your thread would be, "Gaza Tragidy", instead "Gaza Quagmire". If it look like a duck, walk like a duck,quack like a duck, then call it a duck.
My comment is: If people of conscious around the world, from Barcelona to Berlin, and from Brussels to Cairo, Tehran, Manama, and Amman to mention few, have denounced the siege of Gaza and called for lifting of the blockade- not mentioning three Israeli Human Rights Group, the U.N., The U.S. Jewish Voice for Peace, and The Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians
© Concerned Jewish Canadians Demand tha... CNI Urges a Complete End to the Siege... ¨
Why on earth would God fearing Christian as yourself defend Israeli atrocities, which In short flies in the face of Human Rights and International law. I expected more of a blog whose logo is,"the voice of reason."
Peace,
Mahmoud El-Yousseph
Mahmoud,
Not all Palestinians are Muslim. Some are Christian. So I refer to Muslim when I mean Muslim. I don't think that is bias. I refer to Israelis not Jews, because I am referring to actions and policies of the Israel the nation, not Judaism the religion.
I think the title is appropriate. Gaza is a quagmire, because solutions to the tragedies, the tragedies for Palestinian Muslims and Christians, do not have any apparent satisfactory solutions.
If you want to point out bias, what about your use of the word "siege?" There most assuredly is no siege. The Israeli military is not trying to break in to Gaza. That would be a siege. Frankly, the Muslim Palestinian rocketry looks more like a siege of Israel.
I don't think blockade is exactly the right description, either. Gaza is an isolation, perhaps a quarantine. I acknowledge that the situation is horrible. As I said, Christians suffer the worst in Gaza, from both the Israelis and the Muslims.
But as long as Muslim Palestinians deny Israel's right to exist, you can hardly expect sympathy from Israel. In the meantime, Palestinian Christians suffer as well as Palestinian Muslims.
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