Beyond Ceasefire: An End to the Muslim Century of Humiliation
Introduction
Millions of us have watched Gaza be bombed with wanton abandon over the past weeks. We’ve grown aghast at the carnage we see, and at the sheer extent of the free pass the Zionist entity gets from western regimes to be murderous and genocidal. Our rage even grows into despair when faced with the impotence of Muslim countries and the powerlessness of decent people everywhere. This is truly our century of humiliation. Inshallah, however, this essay will play a small part in ending it.
In this essay I aim to explore the famous hadith about the three levels of faith we can demonstrate when confronted with evil, and its lessons for us today. Yes, dua / prayer is the weapon of the believer, and we will continue to pray with full faith, but the Prophet SAW also told us to tie our camel and then trust in God. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all of us to be more clear-sighted about what we need to do alongside prayer in order to end this century of humiliation.
I will proceed by first examining the current context: the genocide in Gaza and the calls for a ceasefire. Second, I’ll lay out our hoped-for future state beyond a ceasefire, the aspiration of achieving peace and justice for all, forevermore. Third, I’ll focus on the distance in-between: the realities underlying our current situation and our reasons for hope. Lastly, I’ll identify what is to be done in the light of the selected hadith and above analysis.
And then we will do it. Inshallah.
Context
I would say the past month+ was a prolonged mask off moment for Western imperialism and its lackeys, but really, who are we kidding? The mask has been off for longer than any of us has been alive. Colonialism and capitalism have impoverished and enslaved the world to enrich western economies and elites for a long time¹. Of course, Western elites and governments ignore anything before October 7th as irrelevant and ignore the Zionist entity’s genocidal rhetoric² and clear statements of intent³ to materially aid and abet the regime’s ongoing genocide in Gaza⁴. Palestinians are dying en masse in front of a global audience that is horrified, a Muslim world with mostly spineless or uncaring or weak rulers, an “Israel” that is gleefully bent on mass murder, and Western government ghouls who will not be moved by the unprecedented speed and extent of killing⁵. Expect future land acknowledgements in Gaza if the Zionist entity can, as it desires, ethnically cleanse it of Palestinians.
But honestly? I do not think the Zionist entity will get its way. As desperate the situation is now — and it is truly desperate, with entire families and lineages united in death — there is still hope. Hope springs eternal. “حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ. Allah (Alone) is Sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of affairs (for us)⁶.”
And the resistance has made some incredible gains during this time. They have eliminated Zionist deterrence (even if you kill us, imprison us, starve us, besiege us, we will not give up). They have scared away settlers (as in the intifadas, once the dual-passport settlers are threatened with a fraction of their violence, they go back to their true homes). And they have brought the Palestinians back to the negotiating table (and not ignored by the Zionist entity and Arab countries both). These gains were confirmed by October 7th. The killings since are a horrifyingly futile attempt to re-establish the Zionist monopoly on violence and on deterrence. Making more orphans will not ensure peace.
Right now, everyone with even half a conscience is calling for a ceasefire. These calls are important, and they should continue till one is established, beyond the short-lived truce and any humanitarian pauses and other such concepts. Other than stopping the wanton killing, a ceasefire will limit the Zionist entity’s scope of action, allow for the basics of healthcare provision, and the return of Palestinian hostages⁷. But we need to look beyond.
Beyond Ceasefire
What we really need is peace, justice, and liberation, for Palestine and the world. How do we get there?
From the Prophet SAW⁸, we know there are three levels of faith when confronted by evil.
“Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.”
So, for Gaza and Palestine: Those fighting to resist and eradicate the Zionist menace are the best of us in faith. Those building institutions, marshalling society, and organizing solidarity, and those doing direct action, like the heroes blockading arms shipments to the Zionist army, or sabotaging Zionist weapon production in the West, or walking off their jobs when they involve transporting Zionist weapon or supplies or Zionists marching for genocide, demonstrate the high quality and purity of their faith. Those speaking out against Zionist tyranny, broadcasting their horror at Zionist atrocities and Western complicity in them, and trying to work towards peace with their words and their platforms are higher in faith than those who remain silent in the face of the very real cancel culture pro-Palestinians face⁹.
Okay, as Muslims, we know the importance of prayer. So, pray. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. Pray for our brothers and sisters in faith and outside of faith who face tyranny and oppression. Pray for their ease. Pray for their protection and for their success. Pray for the taufeeq/opportunity to support them. Pray for your own soul. Pray that world leaders, in the West and in the Muslim world, develop a conscience. Beyond praying, we must fulfil the basics we are taught as young Muslims be honest, be truthful, pray namaz/salat on time and in congregation, do not sever the bonds of kinship, send peace and blessings upon the Prophet SAW, and read Quran and do dhikr etc. etc. etc.
At the same time, we should not reduce faith to magical thinking and avoid our responsibilities in our salvation. We should seek to understand those who are most passionate about our liberation and learn from them. Our forebears took what was the best in pre-Islamic thought and kicked off the golden ages of Islamic civilisation. Similarly, we need to learn from and use the best of modern science and philosophy and thought. That is why up next is a very Marxist analysis of the situation today.
Analysis of the current situation
Four aspects of the situation, two within Palestine and two within Western Asia and the world in general, are inter-related and worth fleshing out.
The resistance is resisting.
Zionist deterrence is dead. Hundreds of thousands of settlers have been evacuated from the north and south. The Zionist entity is now lashing out, killing civilians to reimpose its deterrence, but it will not succeed (Inshallah).
The Palestinians have an unyielding will to continue¹⁰. Our place is not to condemn the oppressed for the weapons they choose. The resistance does not have the same level of weaponry or power as does their Zionist enemy. They therefore fight in the best way they can. All support to the resistance coalition fighting to liberate Palestine. From the river to the sea.
The Zionist entity is being torn apart by its own contradictions
It is a slowly dying hydra, with many of its heads (internal unity, Western support, military superiority in its neighbourhood) being actively cut off and cauterized by the central contradiction at its heart between safety and violence. It is a violent, setter-colonial state that purports to be a safe haven for Jews but will never be one until it changes what is core to it: its commitments to ethnonationalism, apartheid, and genocide and its refusal to behave like a normal country. Its economy, while dependent on war, is also threatened by it. It is losing $260m a day(!). Its tourism lies in tatters. Its industries grapple with a shortage of employees as its reservists line up for a dose of trauma, death, or murder. Its settlements in the north and near Gaza lie empty. Its vaunted security exports face a reputational hit after it was blindsided by Hamas.
The Zionist entity is not as strong as it seems. These airstrikes on evacuees, hospitals, mosques, bakeries, and reporters are it lashing out as it has been found out as its security and its very sense of self have been shaken to the core. It is wary of provoking a second front in Lebanon. It is tetchy and afraid as it sends armoured carriers without any infantry support. It needs to maintain western sympathy and complicity but is too afraid of the resistance to fight them in urban combat or to smoke out Hamas from their tunnels. Its soldiers are not brave like the Palestinian fighters are. So, it uses overwhelming air power against a captive and occupied civilian population to terrorize the Palestinians and to try to cow the resistance into giving up, not understanding its evil and excesses will only strengthen the resistance. And it loses sympathy and support as hasbara propaganda cannot put enough lipstick on the large, unpleasant, ugly hog of Zionist crimes.
The western Empire, including the Zionist entity, is failing, but retains significant strength and power
US regional deterrence is dead. State-backed and independent militias today drone US bases and down US drones. They send missile barrages and injure and kill US soldiers and contractors in their exposed and lightly protected bases across the region. The US’s trip-wire escalation strategy in the region is exposed as a bluff as it wages war on Russia and prepares for war with China.
That said, the US-led empire is the central contradiction of today. Despite its decay, it is still enormously powerful, wealthy, and incredibly ruthless. Similarly, the Zionist entity retains significant airpower and mobilized soldiers and can still expect the support of Western toady backers (who will ignore Ukraine now). They are losing support daily in the court of public opinion, but that is not enough, since western elites and governments are well aware of its true purpose: to be the speartip of US power projection in West Asia.
Countries and movements not aligned with the US-led empire are growing in power, strength, and abilities
Geopolitical foes of the west are increasingly powerful enough to defy the US. States like Russia, China, and Iran chart their own paths despite US meddling, sabotage, sanctions, and pressure. The west has declined in value as a partner, as other countries have grown economically and developed trade relations outside of exploitative western frameworks. The presence of options outside the west, decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, has changed the calculus for governments in the region and beyond. China has brokered peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia, or at least a resumption of diplomatic ties. The changing fortunes of the countries outside the Western empire has an impact on the Muslim governments in the region that have recently not demonstrated much interest in defending the Palestinians because of deep elite dependencies on the west¹¹. This, along with an increased consideration of their populations’ earnest support for the Palestinian cause, seems to be changing the situation on the ground.
So what?
The situation is fluid but presents an excellent opportunity for Palestinian, Muslim, and global liberation from the Western empire. Our efforts have the real potential to make a difference (and earn sadqa e jariah¹²). What we need is to think, plan, and execute this liberation in our individual and community capacities. And for that we have the hadith introduced earlier.
Exegesis of the hadith, or what is to be done
The hadith, on the face of it, is quite simple. Action is better than speech which is better than internal belief. But is throwing a Molotov cocktail better than organizing a reading group? Doubtful. Or is attending a demonstration defined as action or as speech? Probably, as speech. What about stunts that get people arrested in exchange for limited or no concrete gains? Speech (and hard pass). And where does voting fit in? Actually, voting is not the sum total, and definitely not the important part, of your civic duty. In each case, it is important to understand the specific context in which any speech or action is undertaken to maximize its short-term and long-term impact so we can get to the end of the Muslim Century of Humiliation.
I define the key terms as:
- Internal Belief: Any belief that is not even voiced or shared outside of yourself or your close ones.
- Speech: Any action to call for others to act, raise awareness for the sake of raising awareness, widen the Overton window, contest the narratives of reactionaries and Zionists, or otherwise provide doers with demonstrative support that is limited to one-off or otherwise limited to the level of the individual.
- Action: Any concrete step taken to enable liberation, whether to improve the material conditions required or to build or improve the enabling infrastructure essential for liberation. Material conditions for liberation include improved socio-economic outcomes that permit people to work towards self- and national-actualization. Enabling infrastructure includes new and existing community institutions. Therefore actions include any step to develop, improve, and empower these institutions, and to support their coordination and linkages with one another, all to lead to a better today and a better tomorrow¹³.
So, here’s what we do.
The lowest level of faith: no action, just (internal) vibes
It is better than being an active cheerleader of Zionists, but it is not great either. Read more Quran and stories of the Sahaba and that of revolutionaries and change-makers. Ask God to give you taufeeq and courage and faith. Read (or listen to) Iqbal’s Shikwa and Jawab-e-Shikwa in Urdu or in translation.
The second level of faith: speak out
Things are tough, yes. Hopeless, never. And especially in this moment, where solidarity with Palestinians is becoming truly mainstream. You cannot keep killing thousands with flimsy, temporary, or no pretexts at all without turning most right-thinking people against you. And yes, now most people globally are against the Zionist entity and its horrors. But governments in the imperial core are still not listening to the large majority of their citizens that want a ceasefire. That said, they will listen if we speak out loud enough, or make it so that we cannot be ignored. So.
Raise your voice. On social media and in real life. It is okay to be upset. 15,000+ people have been killed and their deaths are met (by too many) with indifference. It is incredible how western ghouls and toadies can cry crocodile tears for the Ukrainians they sent to die and not have the slightest change in expression as they dismiss or ignore Palestinian fatalities¹⁴. Attend demonstrations for Palestine. Be safe, but do it. Show these ghouls you will not be ignored. Ask your representatives how many murdered Palestinian children it will take for them to ask for a ceasefire. Ask them online. Ask them when they walk around, when they eat, when they travel, when they work. Call for a ceasefire. Do not let western leaders have a moment of peace as they insist on Israel’s (non-existent) right to self-defence¹⁵. Call for an end to the occupation.
Follow the BDS list. Do not call to boycott anyone and everyone. Targeted boycotts are more effective.
Raise your voice to protect those fired or under attack for being pro-Palestinian and anti-genocide.
If asked to condemn Hamas, do not condemn Hamas. Do not volunteer to condemn Hamas. Do not start, move, or end a conversation on the Zionists’ terms. They are murderous and whiny. Bully Zionists online and in real life.
Speak out against antisemitism. Non-Zionist Jews are some of the most committed to Palestinian liberation. Even if they were not, antisemitism still sucks. Note, I do not suggest avoiding normal actions or statements or plain old breathing while anti-Zionist that Zionist organizations tendentiously mislabel “antisemitism.”
The highest level of faith: actual action
But speaking out against evil is not the highest expression of faith. It is working to stop evil with your own hands and your own efforts.
So, the question for us is, what can we do to make sure such evil can never happen again? That Palestinian babies can sleep easy in a free Palestine without fear or bombs or raids or, anything, really? That Palestinian men, women, and children can be free from murder, maiming, blinding, terror, kidnapping, imprisonment, torture, sundry indignities, and the need to prove their humanity over and over again? That “never again” means never again, not just for Palestine but for everyone?
Well, we will need hard power to make that a reality. And that we, as Muslims inside and outside the Muslim world, lack. Simply put, our governments or our sheer numbers can not cow any tyrant to not even think about oppressing any of our Muslim (or human!) brethren. Our countries and people have been toyed with, bombed, and left out to dry by those stronger than us. Palestine is just the most recent and the most obvious example of overall, generalized Muslim impotence¹⁶.
This essay is for the millions of us in countries too weak or too scared to do anything to stop the genocide in front of us. Its title is inspired by the Chinese Century of Humiliation, which ended once the Chinese became independent, united, and developed. The Muslim world is notionally independent, increasingly less disunited, but developed? Not at all. We are traders and resource extractors at best. We have no media platforms or internet giants of our own. We depend upon foreign know-how, machine tooling, and general technology and equipment and pay outsized rents in unequal exchange. We need to strengthen ourselves to the point where we can truly be the community that encourages good and forbids evil¹⁷.
And that will require material and economic development, spiritual and intellectual rejuvenation, control of our own narrative, and smart, focused alliance building with our allies, Muslims and non-Muslims both.
Each of these deserves an article of its own, so the below analysis is not exhaustive. But it reflects, in my view, the bare minimum needed to spark a revival of Islamic thought, civilization, and power. Inshallah, we will end the Muslim Century of Humiliation, and protect ourselves and the innocent.
Material and economic development. We need to revitalize our societies and our people. We need to be educated, technologically capable, industrious, and hard working. We need to be developed; our countries and our people must overcome the (low and) middle income trap. As it is, we are (mostly) weak and divided, whether in, out, or across the Muslim world.
- Individually: Improve yourself. Support your communities. Volunteer to support those left out of our capitalist societies. Learn about previous revolutions. Understand the world around you. Teach others to do the same. Appreciate the spiritual value of economic development. Understand unequal exchange and the reality of the modern economy.
- Communally: Improve your communities. Build and contribute to communal forms of service provision such as co-ops. Invest in improving the capabilities of our community, including those of the most vulnerable, as the Black Panthers did.
Spiritual and intellectual rejuvenation. Are we willing and able to make hard sacrifices? Are regional elites willing to give up the advantages of their comprador status? Do we have a vision for the future? Do we have a plan for the present? If not, get on it.
- Individually: Improve yourself. Pray on time. Meditate. Be alone with your thoughts. Connect with others. Think about the future. Get fit. Learn. Explore. Read historical and current Muslim thinkers like Iqbal, Malcolm X, Shariati, Israr Ahmed, to use and build on their analysis and stand on the shoulder of giants. Read up on Marxist and revolutionary theory to see how revolutions succeed and how hard work does not end upon liberation (Guevara). Use dialectics to understand our world and our place in it, e.g., as Mao did. Analyse your specific situation à la Cabral. Understand the situation of the global economy via Tricontinental. Imbibe the lessons of the past but be nimble while applying them to the present or the future¹⁸. Write about your journey, vision, plans and share them.
- Communally: Connect with your community, especially with those already working on civilizational revitalisation. Provide opportunities for people to connect, improve, and work together on shared goals and aims. Develop a vision for the future. Start a reading club and work through inspirational literature and theory.
Narrative control. Stop showing how weak and defenseless our civilians are and stop begging the (international community (TM)) world to acknowledge our humanity. Share our stories, our vision, our ideas, our lives. Help the world move away from a Western-centric worldview.
- Individually: Use our native languages. Connect with your heritage. Wield English only when it benefits you. Use non-English languages to avoid the overwhelming media superstructure¹⁹ of the anglosphere and its biases, injustices, and evil. Understand the power of mass media via Parenti. At the same time, share our stories and POV in English and other languages and help the global ummah connect with each other. Explore non-western media, in English and other languages, such as Al Jazeera, TRT, RT, CGTN, Dawn. Translation today is immensely powerful, so read across linguistic boundaries.
- Communally: Develop our own media and media platforms in our languages and for our purposes. Share our perspectives. Provide opportunities for normal people to contribute. Build consciousness. Understand how culture is intimately linked to liberation via Cabral.
Alliance-building. Know your allies and your enemies. Western governments, media, and elites are morally and spiritually bankrupt. Do not let them tell you who to love and who to hate.
- Individually: Do not ever take their words at face value. They care not for human rights or for human beings. Their only concern is for their material and geopolitical interests. Remember this when they want you to hate someone other than Muslims (China, Russia, DPRK, etc.).
- Communally: Build relationships and alliances with others facing the sharp end of Western empire and imperialism and opposing it whole-heartedly, whether within the imperial core or without. Learn from past masterclasses in alliance building from Deng.
Conclusion
Muslims have been around for centuries. Yes, our countries are weak, underdeveloped, and disunited. But we have rebuilt from times worse than these. And we have a rich tradition of renewal, rebirth, and hope. Let us learn both from our spiritual ancestors and from all those outside our faith and traditions who have worked to achieve popular liberation.
Across the world, people with a conscience stand with the Palestinians and with us. I hope we can build partnerships with such sincere people who have had enough of seeing evil and not being able to do anything about it, especially on the anti-Zionist left. I hope we can learn from one another, and partner to work for our shared aims: peace and justice everywhere.
Today, the brave people of Palestine still have hope, faith, courage, and love in their hearts. And they are doing their part, all of them, to save their future, their loved ones, their community, and their lives. We owe them our prayers and our material support so we shall, Inshallah, see a Palestine where people of all faiths (and none) will live with equality, in peace and harmony. But more than that, we owe them and each other a commitment to improve ourselves so that our century of humiliation ends. And that “never again” means never again. For Palestine, and for the world.
All that is good in what I have shared comes from Allah, and all that is bad comes from me, or from Shaitan mardood.
سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ، وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ.²⁰
[1] And it continues. See, for example, a discussion on unequal exchange. Ricci, 2023.
[2] You don’t need examples, but see here, and here for a sample.
[3] See here for an up to date collection of people and also actual government officials calling declaring their genocidal intent.
[4] For a legal review, see The Ongoing Nakba: Towards a Legal Framework for Palestine.
[5] See the United Nations: Gaza: ‘Unprecedented and unparalleled’ civilian death toll: Guterres
[6] Qur’an 3: 173. The Prophet Ibrahim AS said it when he was put in the fire. And the Prophet SAW said it at the battle of Khandaq. Recent example of a Palestinian man reciting it after his brother was martyred. May Allah bless him, his family, and all Palestinians.
[7] Israel holds thousands of Palestinians, including children, often with none or trumped up charges in an opaque military court system. 10,000+ in October 2023.
[8] Hadith 34, 40 Hadith an-Nawawi, narrated by Abu Saeed Al Khudri.
[9] Of course, those who are blind, racist, murderous, or all of the above, see Hamas behind every child, any hospital or healthcare worker, any telecommunication infrastructure, any water pipe/well/pump, or in the soul of any non-Zionist not sufficiently on-board with the Zionist’s right to blow shit up and kill people.
[10] An Interview with Abdaljawad Omar on October 7th and the Palestinian Resistance, by Louis Allday. Fascinating interview. Please read it.
[11] The few that have, such as Iran, Syria, and Yemen, are under attack by Western imperialism. Hezbollah and other militias that are part of the ‘Axis of Resistance’ are not states but have provided significant support to the resistance in Palestine.
[12] Ongoing charity — e.g., if you dig a well people use, you will continue to accrue good deeds long after you pass beyond this mortal life.
[13] This analysis owes a significant debt to Gramsci’s Worker’s Democracy.
[14] Spoiler alert, they are probably under counted since Palestinians have been digging many of their dead out by hand and that’s a hard job especially with Zionist trigger fingers being what they are and now that taking out Palestinian capacity to even count their dead seems to be a key Zionist target.
[15] Non-existent because it is an occupying power, see link.
[16] This is not true for the Axis of Resistance, but this essay is not for them.
[17] Quran 3:110. “You are the best community ever raised for humanity — you encourage good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah.”
[18] It will be important to learn from the experience (good and bad) of previous / current Islamic revival movements, from the Tablighi Jamaat to the Muslim Brotherhood to the Iranian Revolution, as well as that of revival/revolutionary movements across other creeds and cultures.
[19] In Marxist thought, superstructure refers to the political, legal, religious, and cultural institutions that rest upon and are determined by the economic base, or mode of production.
[20] Surah Saffaat (Qur’an 37:180–182)
