Voice of British Muslim Women

Sameea Jonnud, Aldershot

‘Thou shalt not kill’; whatever background or religion we belong to or whichever country we come from, the taking of a life is a most terrible crime. That crime is even worse when children, innocent and helpless, are the victims, because of course, what kind of person would take the life of a child?

I’ve dwelled on this thought a lot in recent days, too much really, as the number of casualties in Gaza rise to over 10,000, with almost half of those being children. Over 4000 children killed by the bombs fired by the Israelis in their attempts to target Hamas. Unthinkable, except it is happening.

It makes you wonder about the process, the bombs are fired by soldiers, maybe they don’t think about who will be hit, after all, they are just doing a job, ordered by their commanders. Those commanders, they are just giving an order as part of the war being waged by their nation, a Government committed to their course. They say it’s to eradicate the terrorists yet continue even when children are dying instead.

But it goes further back than that, a small country like Israel could do nothing without the long standing support of the West. This became evident after 7th October when fervent shows of solidarity with Israel for the victims of the terrible attack by Hamas were heard across the world. When Israel retaliated, they continued to support. As the death toll of innocent people rose so did waves of protests from people around the world, calling for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds. Yet Western Governments were initially reluctant to agree and in a UN Security council vote many abstained rather than vote for a ceasefire, placing world peace in an even more precarious position. As His Holiness Khalifatul Masih V, may Allah be his Helper, said in his Friday Sermon of 27th October, “For as long as [world leaders] do not courageously strive for a ceasefire, they are invariably responsible for taking the world towards destruction.”

And now, a month into the conflict, with bombs falling on the people of Gaza, with many nations, the UN Secretary General and members of the public, pleading for a ceasefire, it feels like nothing has changed and innocent lives are still being taken. Children’s lives. Children with lives yet to live, with hopes and dreams, children who should be playing carefree games and bubbling with laughter. Who is responsible for their deaths, where does the buck stop?

If the soldier is just doing a job, his commander just following orders, the Israeli Government continuing to give the orders are emboldened by the support of so many Western politicians. Those politicians who have briefly sympathised with the rising number of casualties while declaring total support for Israel’s right to defend herself. Those who have spoken against a ceasefire because “these Islamist groups would likely use a ceasefire to rearm, plan further attacks and hide” so the bombings must continue regardless of the number of civilians killed. If these politicians are also merely following their leaders, is that who is responsible?

Whenever the politicians in the West speak about their support for Israel and offer a fleeting sympathy for suffering civilians I think to myself, are you the one responsible for the deaths of so many children? The Western leaders could put a halt to the absolute carnage in Gaza but choose not to, for their own political purposes. The closest some have come to supporting peace is by talking about ‘humanitarian pauses’ of a few hours a day to allow aid to reach those who need it. What heartlessness is this? Stop the bombings to allow victims to take a deep breath and steel themselves for the next wave of death. It is difficult to believe that they think this is the humanitarian way.

When voices of reason and peace are needed our leaders are sadly lacking. It has been left for ordinary people to speak for peace. His Holiness Khalifatul Masih V (may Allah be his Helper) directed a campaign be started under the banner #VoicesForPeace. This can give hope and direction to those who may otherwise have become engulfed in the heartbreaking stories coming out of Gaza. Through our efforts we can spread the message of peace to the best of our abilities and take part in this effort, joining together with people all over the world who are marching in solidarity with the Palestinian people and speaking out on social media. If only our leaders would join us.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth took the life of Duncan but was afterwards wracked with guilt, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” Now, when our leaders appear before us on television or social media, all I see is the graphic image of the red blood of children dripping from their hands. I wonder whether those responsible for the deaths of the innocent in Palestine will one day feel any remorse for the actions that have led to so much bloodshed.