Something interesting to note about Israel in the academic sphere is its “sacredness.” Think about it, nothing at an academic university level is sacred; everything is fair game to be criticized and ripped up. For example, religion is often perceived as man-made and irrelevant to studies, and professors and administration will make that their mantra. Also, the politics of every country in the world are dissected and heavily scrutinized and criticized.

However, Israel is seen as “sacred” in that, even at the academic level, it’s very difficult to criticize the country’s politics or stances without being practically ostracized from the faculty that I’m a part of. It’s extremely frustrating for me as a Muslim and as an academic to be restricted in this way, especially with a faculty that’s very Israel-friendly.

I wish that every Palestinian had the opportunity to study at the level that many Muslims in North America have the advantage of studying. May Alllah (swt) give them patience and a firm sense of perseverance. InshaAllah, I have faith that we will see peace in the future.

This is a time for us to be decisive in our support for those who refuse to accept the dictates of tyranny and to understand fully what is afoot in the world. We should not be afraid of certain concepts which exist in our Deen and we should be firm in acknowledging the entire of the shariah of Allah (swt). Unfortunately our Muslim leaders here in the West are often wishy-washy when it comes to contentious issues while at the same time are very zealous in talking about the ‘freedoms’ of the US, being ‘American’ and participating in the political process. We cannot continue this paradigm, and only Allah (swt) knows where it will lead.

So long as we remain indecisive and selective in our defense of Islamic causes (where was the out-cry over the invasion of Somalia?) we will never achieve anything lasting here.

this excerpt from a New York Times article, January 1:

Ms. Livni, speaking from Paris, again rejected the idea proposed this week by Mr. Kouchner for a 48-hour lull in the fighting for humanitarian purposes. “There is no humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, she said, “and therefore there is no need for a humanitarian truce.”

shaykh Yasir, to her and to zionists who strive with her in their hatred and violence, it is not just that some freedoms are more sacred, but that the lives of their victims have no sacred value whatsoever.

how else can one interpret her words in a week where 420 Gazans, most if not all of them Muslim, have been SLAUGHTERED by Israel, while the Zionists hold up their 4 dead — one soldier and three non-soldiers — as justification. not as an excuse, not as a partial explanation, but as full justification for the massacre of Gaza, a bombardment that has continued unabated for a full week, where ground troops and tanks wait only until enough Gazans have been killed to crush effective resistance, where policemen have been classified by the Israelis as combatants (in contradiction of such laws as govern war) in order to demonize Israeli targets, and where even if the Israeli classification were reasonable the body count of Gazan children alone would be many times the loss of life in Israel from Gazan rockets.

there is no remorse. no humanity at all in such zionist statements. may Allah deliver the people of Gaza and of all Palestine from under the bombs of Zionist tyranny and bigotry.