Earlier this month, an Imam at East London Mosque (ELM) was attacked after calling Israel for what it is: a genocidal state and a colonialist project.
After the killings of more than 40,000 and the recent expansion of the genocide into neighbouring Lebanon, the Telegraph released an article attacking Imam Muzzammil Ahmad, making it seem that he was promoting “anti-Jewish racism” by his remarks. [1]
BACKGROUND
- An East London Mosque (ELM) Imam has been criticised for describing the Zionist state as a 'project of colonialism'
- Acting Religious and Social Affairs Editor Janet Eastham, and Home Affairs Editor Charles Hymas of the Telegraph have given a platform to the Jewish Leadership Council to target the khatīb
- ELM has said, 'criticisms of the actions of the Israeli government and Zionism are not racist or anti-Semitic — they are legitimate philosophical beliefs protected under the Equality Act 2010'
- Since the Gaza genocide began last year, Israeli-aligned media outlets have sought and failed to sway public opinion against the Palestinian legal right to resistance
Media manipulation and harmful JLC role
The Telegraph seemingly regards such comments iterated a few days before the 7 October attacks as offensive and anti-Semitic.
It even went as far as quoting the head of the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) to support the idea.
Claudia Mendoza, Chief Executive of the JLC, told the Telegraph,
“It is deeply concerning to see these comments … on the eve of the anniversary of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.” [1]
What the Telegraph didn’t say, however, was that the JLC is actually a pro-Israel entity that has, in the past, sought to change UK law to prevent arrest warrants against Israeli leaders without the Attorney General’s consent. [2]
For the Telegraph to quote such a source as the JLC and portray it as a legitimate mouthpiece is just one of many manipulative strategies of pushing its pro-Israeli agenda onto the masses.
On top of that, the JLC has written to the Times to support an independent inquiry into the BBC’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war after accusing the BBC of having “institutional bias against Israel”. [3]
BBC does nothing but support the Zionist cause
The BBC is an organisation that has whitewashed the killings of thousands of Palestinians by giving more attention to Israeli deaths, a year after the genocide began on 7 October 2023.
It is an organisation that time and time again demeans Palestinian children by putting them beneath Israeli Zionists through disproportionate screen time.
Analysis undertaken by researchers at Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG) shows that early BBC reports from 7 October to 4 November 2023 consisted of the following:
“‘Murder’, ‘murderous’, ‘mass murder’, ‘brutal murder’, and ‘merciless murder’ were used a total of 52 times by journalists to refer to Israelis’ deaths but never in relation to Palestinian deaths.
“The same pattern could be seen in relation to ‘massacre’, ‘brutal massacre’, and ‘horrific massacre’ (35 times for Israeli deaths, not once for Palestinians deaths).” [4]
The term “genocidal” and its usage
In February, ex-UN official Andrew Gilmour — Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights between 2016-19 — said the rate of civilians killed by the Israeli military in Gaza is the highest since the Rwanda genocide. [5]
Moreover, a May 2024 report by the University Network for Human Rights (UNHR) — a coalition of human rights centres at institutions across the world — warned,
“Specifically, Israel has committed genocidal acts of killing, causing serious harm to, and inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, a protected group that forms a substantial part of the Palestinian people.” [6]
In January of this year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), informally called the “World Court”, also said it is “plausible” that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. [7]
This was half a year before an article published in the Lancet outlined the more likely Gaza death toll of 186,000+. [8]
The fact of the matter is, the majority of the right-minded can acknowledge that the ongoing genocide in Gaza is indeed a genocide.
Now the question arises,
“Is Israel a genocidal state, or is it just its leaders that are genocidal?”
Extreme and genocidal views rampant among Israelis
The reality of genocidal tendencies running through the majority of the Israeli population is being hidden by mainstream Western media, this is not new.
But making it seem that calling Israel a genocidal nation is unacceptable, or worse, anti-Semitic — when studies have proven otherwise — is merely another cover-up that is propelling the genocide further.
The Israeli Democracy Institute (IDI) did a study in February, it found that the majority of Jewish Israeli respondents (68 per cent) support the blocking of humanitarian aid into Gaza, even if it did not come from Hamas and UNRWA-linked organisations. [9]
A majority of Gaza’s population are children! This opinion harboured by a huge part of the Israeli population is arguably one of the many elements that helped Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu implement the most restrictive blockade in Gaza’s history.
It is true that there are thousands of Israeli protesters who call for the conflict to end, and for prisoners to be let back into the country, but it is untrue that the majority of these people would hold the same opinion on a cessation of hostilities, if prisoners of war had already been returned.
The recent widening of the genocide into Lebanon only reinforces this, as the majority of Israelis (52 per cent) are supportive of the expansion northwards, according to an October 2024 IDI poll. [10]
What is the difference between Israel and ISIS?
Recent history of Western foreign policy demonstrates that if terrorist acts are blamed on another nation, all citizens are dealt the same fate as militants and terrorists alike.
From the bombing of the Serbian state news station during the Kosovo War — in which unarmed, non-combatant workers were killed in NATO-led bombings — to the assassination of ISIS terrorists, including civilians who weren’t armed, why should Israel and Israeli terrorists be granted impunity and immunity? [11] [12]
The Western world would not criticise anyone who called ISIS a terrorist group or genocidal “state”. Nor would the Telegraph dare to publish something against such a statement.
Yet when Israel kills more people than ISIS, more children than in the Rwandan genocide, uses chemical weapons like white phosphorous on civilian areas, makes an entire region uninhabitable, why should it be seen any differently to ISIS?
The Telegraph’s grotesque display of inconsistencies and whitewash outlines the reality of what the paper is, a media outlet worse than that supporting terrorism, it is an outlet that supports genocide, the likes of which no terrorist organisation has gone anywhere near in terms of deaths.
The Imam who’s chosen to remove the covering of the people
As English philosopher John Stuart Mill said in 1867,
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” [13]
The reality is, the idea of inaction in the midst of a genocide that is being livestreamed gives ample leeway for the aggressor to commit aggression.
It also makes the aggressor more bold and confident that it can achieve its ambitions. It doesn’t feel the least bit deterred. It likely desires to become more and more aggressive.
Yes, Imam Muzzammil Ahmad called Israel a genocidal state a few days before the 7 October commemorations.
And yes, it was a well-timed and highly informative way of raising attention to the likely 186,000+ Gazans who have been martyred as a result of Israeli aggression since 7 October, while also a good way of straightening the narrative that Israeli losses are most worthy of remembrance.
A last note on a boy burnt alive while on an IV
A few days ago, Sha’ban al-Dalou, a 19-year-old software engineering student and blood donor, was burnt alive while attached to an IV drip. [14]
He had been displaced and sheltering at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital — not in the main building but a makeshift tent, owing to prior Israeli bombings. His mother was also burnt alive. [14]
To ignore or pay more attention to one side’s losses while attempting to conceal the other is an outrage. A modest estimate suggests 11,000 Palestinian children have been murdered in the last year, how is any of this not a hallmark of genocide? [15]
Also read
- Did the West die on October 7?
- Only resistance will lead to liberation
- Spain, Norway, and Ireland to recognise Palestine
- Researchers warn Gaza death toll may have hit 186,000
- Student sit-ins spread in US and UK over Gaza genocide
- Israel added to “list of shame” for crimes against children
- Israel using white phosphorus and vacuum bombs in Gaza?
Also watch
- Even AI has turned against Israel
- What has this genocide taught me?
- Israel slammed at the World Court again
- We edited Netanyahu’s speech to make it true
- Inaction can be a sin; here is how you can avoid it
- Why do Muslims treat prisoners better than others?
- Islamic scholar answers Muslim student protest FAQs
Source: Islam21c
Notes
[2] https://www.thejc.com/news/muslim-anger-over-war-crime-law-pledge-e8tk2x76
[3] https://www.thejlc.org/news/letter-to-times-on-bbc-coverage
[4] https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/israel-palestine-bbc-news-coverage-bias-gaza-war/
[6] https://www.bu.edu/articles/2024/is-israel-committing-genocide-in-gaza/
[7] https://www.icj-cij.org/node/203447
[8] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext
[9] https://en.idi.org.il/articles/52976
[10] https://en.idi.org.il/articles/56156
[11] https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/apr/24/balkans3
[12] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45799035
[13] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/17188-bad-men-need-nothing-more-to-compass-their-ends-than
In a day where many muslims are being attacked and many western people have been allowed to be indoctrinated into thinking all muslims are “bad”, shows the need of this article. If we were to look into what the Muslim is rather than being told by a person that isn’t a Muslim, then there would be a hope if understanding. This is a great piece of truth to unvover the lies and manipulation of media. The imam (leader of the congregation) preaches justice and to stand for your right and goodness. “O you who believe, be upright for God, and be bearers of witness with justice!” [Quran, 5:8]
Terrorist is from the French, derived from the French words terroriste and terrorisme “The term was originally used to describe the actions of the Jacobin Club during the Reign of Terror.” Not a Muslim.
Muslims are notoriously known to encourage justice as stated in their Book “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both.” [Quran, 4:135] so one must carry out to the best of his ability, justice.
Muslims are the terrorists so he’s got that wrong