I wrote this following a late night internet conversation with my cherished Comrade Edna on all (and more!) of the topics included below…

I have been spending a good deal of time over the last few several reading articles on Israel and Palestine and scouring various social media channels for news or information. What I have tended to see, while not surprising, has been a renewed pious quality of my Muslim friends, a communal sense of fear and astonishment among all those posting or sharing anything related to the events of the last weeks, and generally healthy discussion. A Palestinian friend of mine, Khaled wrote candidly on his public Facebook account: “People, stop watching the damn lies of the American and Israeli media. It’s nothing but propaganda, what is going on right now is a country defending themselves against some assault by murders. Gaza is dying and you still say that we are the bombers?? I have seen bombs flashing five times so far in the west bank, WHOLE CIVILIAN FAMILIES are being murdered by airplanes.” Another friend shared an image documenting the loss of land by Palestine over time, accompanied with the caption: “There is no excuse for silence in the face of continued Israeli aggression against Palestinians. “There is no barrier between God and the supplication of the oppressed.” Yet another friend shared the sentiments of Nouman Ali Khan, the founder of The Bayyinah Institute for Arabic and Qur’anic Studies.

These are testing times. May God ease the pain and suffering soon. Malaysia and Gaza our hearts are with you! #Gaza #MH17”

And in yet another post, a friend shared this: “Palestine will prevail in spite of Israel’s bombardment from above, Egypt’s shutting of the border crossing, the deportation of your people by others… God has not shut His door.”

In any discussion of an interfaith crisis involving large civilian populations, certain things happen. People grow intensely factional, defending or condemning actions based on principles of their specific group, be it a cultural or ethnic minority, religion, or ideology. The discussion of the particular issue fails to encapsulate the whole of the conflict or crisis, rather tending to linger on “their” issue or concern. The so-called “Israeli/Palestinian Conflict” is by no means exempt from this. The pitting of Abrahamic faiths against Abrahamic faiths never fails to incite high spirits and fiery tempers. In the discussion of morals and ethics especially, the religious can be quick to cite their holy texts and beliefs. For me, this raises the question of whether or not there is a place for the discussion of God and the Holy in intellectual writings and conversations on issues such as these. Holders of two contradictory religious beliefs are of course capable of maintaining a productive dialogue and empathizing with one another, but would the mentioning of their God perhaps detract from this discussion? And in the case of Palestine, what is gained by calling for the support of God or criticizing the actions of the Israelis as a religious transgression? Are the bombs dropped by the Israeli aggressors and the rapidly shrinking potential Palestinian state, chipped away at daily not enough of a humanitarian issue that given accurate information, people ought to find common ground despite religious differences?

I recognize that this veers dangerously close to the sort of egalitarian idealism that weighs down so much of Western society at the moment, but at least for me, secular news and some sources of secular thought on Palestine are a welcome and refreshing change from the impassioned criticism of Israel by Muslims on religious grounds. In choosing sources for personal news gathering, it is important to me to support independent and individualistic thought, avoid name brand corporate sponsored or imperialist apologist fountainhead such as CNN, New York Times, etc., but rather go towards those closest to the developments and seek out those who write with the interests of the most oppressed in mind. At the current moment, regarding the current Middle East crisis which captivates the West at the moment, this ideal source falls to the Palestinians and Arab neighbors. Unfortunately, the Egyptian, Jordanian and Lebanese medias are highly saturated with religious and nationalistic cries for the liberation of Palestine. Hamas and Hezbollah, some of the most vocal allies of Palestine skirt the line of the counter-productive non-Secular militant groups which tend to garner more bad press than good, perhaps understandably.

I’m left unsatisfied with what I’ve found thus far. On the one hand, foregoing any personal hangups I might have about religion and its influence on political opinions, those whose perspectives tend to be the most valuable – the Palestinians in this case – are, in fact, Muslim. And viewing the issue through an Islamic lens is not fundamentally bad or skewing of the truth in any sense. Furthermore, where Islam does influence journalistic ethics is in cases of governments which happen to be repressive and authoritarian first, Muslim second, such as those of Syria and Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, there is value in the lack of bias… which is of course an impossible dream, but one I notice myself clinging to regardless. I’ll close with the thoughtful (paraphrased” words of a friend of mine: “In humanitarian crises tied up in religion, people affected will cling to what they know. Religion can be a unifying bond between oppressed people and their allies, and that is ok.”