Dear Muslim World Leaders,

We the people of the Ummah are writing this letter with deep concern about the ongoing attacks in Palestine which have seen many innocent lives lost as a result of Israeli occupying forces. Just to put those numbers into perspective, 236 people were martyred and out of 236 people, 75 were children. We just want you to understand that 75 children lost their lives in a war imposed upon them by Israel.

As world leaders who take an oath before Allah (SWT) and also before the Ummah that you will serve the people, it seems that the cries of the Palestinians have fallen on deaf ears. Your presidential victories give hope to people that you will carry the torch of justice and fight for the betterment of a fair and equal society. You stand before your entire countries and pledge to make your country better again and help the Ummah, yet those actions and words have not been reflective of what is happening in Palestine. While you may argue that Palestine is not an issue for any other country to be involved in, you have a duty and responsibility to speak about injustices that cause harm to innocent people but at the same time condemn the country that is involved in causing such level of atrocities.

As you all know, Palestinians have been suffering the last 73 years since the Nakba but perhaps even more since the Balfour Declaration in 1917. This is a tremendous amount of time to watch the suffering of the Palestinians unfold by not offering any help to give them some kind of hope that their sufferings are being heard. Your imbalanced reactions and untruthful depiction of the ongoing Israeli-Hamas conflict demeans you and your nations. You stay silent on the genocide that is taking place in Palestine particularly in the West Bank and Gaza is sign of complicity.

If you pay close attention to the unfolding events that have recently occurred in Gaza and Jerusalem particularly with Masjid Al-Aqsa you will notice that the first rocket to be fired by Hamas was 27 days later after Israeli forces raided Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and cut off the cables to the mosque’s loud speakers. This was the first day of Ramadan. The following events unfolded during the entire month of Ramadan where Israeli forces used extreme force to hurt and humiliate the congregational prayers. All of this unfolded while Muslim world leaders watched silently.

The siege on Al-Aqsa wounded 305 Palestinians at the mosque causing severe injuries to many who were trying to protect the mosque. While the Palestinians in Jerusalem were busy trying to protect Al-Aqsa, right wing Zionist settlers backed by Israeli judiciary and apartheid laws, were forcing the evictions of several Arab families from Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is facing corruption charges and a possible collapse of his government gave a few amusing words on national television about the events unfolding in Jerusalem has been soaking up the desert sands with the blood of a few thousand Palestinians all in the name of boosting his political standing with the Zionist factions of Israel.

History has been our longstanding witness when it comes to the atrocities that have seen the displacement and dispossession of many Palestinians. We have seen the European Christians, who for centuries brutalised the Jews and tried to exterminate them, have of gifting Palestinian land to the Zionist that, too, in such an unequal way.

Since the inception of the Balfour Declaration created by a devout Zionist we have seen the continuous effort by Israel who have dispossessed many Palestinians from their homelands. We have seen the increased number of Israeli settlers merge their way back into Palestine by the help of their Zionist regime, a mere ideology that has infiltrated the entire world in believing that Israel has a right to occupy Palestine, a land that does not belong to them.

Let’s put this into perspective what the unlawful resettlement of Israeli’s who have been doing nothing but stealing Palestinian land means to those that matter the most, the Palestinians:

Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza are restricted from accessing any international aid

There are over 700 check points to get to Gaza which means families are unable to visit their loved ones

Palestinians who live the West Bank and Gaza are not allowed to have passports and leave the country

Those who live in Jerusalem have the luxury to get a Passport and travel are also questioned for hours on end at every single International airport

Israel monitors what comes in and out of Gaza especially if people are trying to send money to family and loved ones

Palestinians living in Gaza have no access to health facilities and other types of aid

Palestinians have limited access to mental health services despite the tremendous amount of trauma that have had to endure since 1917, 1948 – continuing

There is limited supply of water to the West Bank

Only 6-hours of electricity a day is provided to them.

By any given definition the abovementioned points would be considered as acts of ethnic cleansing and genocide that has been taking place in Palestine but for some unbeknownst reason the leaders of the world choose to remain silent on the matter. When we choose to remain silent we simply agreeing to the mere fact that the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians is normal and justified. We are also sending a message to the generations of tomorrow that silence is ignorance.  

Today, we are seeing Palestinian refugees and their descendants’ number more than seven million. Many stay in languish in refugee camps in neighbouring Arab countries and abroad, waiting to return to their homeland, a land that belongs only to Palestinians. Due to the support of Western countries and Muslim countries, Israel has become an unlawful occupation of the whole of Palestine limiting what goes in and out of Gaza all in the name of Hamas.

As mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters we have seen our families, friends and Palestinians in general go through so much. The unspoken trauma and intergenerational trauma that is often manifested in the youth is beyond comprehension. Despite carrying such a burden on their bodies, they have continued with the spirit of one day returning to their homeland while Muslim world leaders either watch silently or provide financial aid as a way to showcase some kind of solidarity with the Palestinians. Whilst financial aid is great in rebuilding the country, it is simply not good enough.

When we see Muslim world leaders stand on the podium after their presidential elections, we place faith in your ability to stand against injustice and inequality demanding that the voices of the voiceless be heard. As Muslim world leaders uttering a few simplistic nuances to show some kind of “solidarity” with the Palestinians is simply not good enough. We demand action.

We have seen far too many killings of innocent lives and we say enough is enough.

How is it possible that nearly all international organisations that matter, from the Red Cross to Amnesty International, Human Rights Council, the ICJ, and the UN Human Rights Commissioner, have all found Israel guilty of the ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinians yet our own Muslim world leaders choose to remain silent on the matter. Your political platforms should provide an unwavering voice to Israel demanding the end of the apartheid laws that are exterminating Palestinians and continuing to dispossess them from their own homeland. You simply cannot follow the law of Islam where justice always prevails and disregard the plight of the Palestinians.

We ask this of you, as world leaders, if this happened to your child, your family or your friends, would you still choose to remain silent?

We, the Ummah, demand the following action from our Muslim world leaders:

Humanitarian aid – each Muslim nation to place set amount of relief designated to Palestine, the amount can be set as per the country’s GDP and should only be used for economic, infrastructure and educational development

Collectively put pressure on the United Nations to place Israel under sanctions for not only breaching international law but also for the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians

Countries who have developed diplomatic relations with Israel need to either pull out or provide conditions that involve helping the people of Gaza

Countries need to open up their borders and provide refuge to Palestinians

Leaders to use their political influence and platforms to speak up against the apartheid regime that is called Israel and call for action with all Muslim and non-Muslim world leaders to stop the siege in Gaza, demolition of Palestinian homes, state-sanctioned violence and illegal settlements happening in and all-around of Palestine.

Boycott any trade with Israel by joining the BDS movement

Educate your countries on Palestine and why it is important to stand against the atrocities.
 
Yours sincerely,
The Ummah