The ongoing genocide in Gaza shows that the perpetrators: the institutionalized West and the illegitimate geopolitical entity called Israel, comprising an unprecedented axis of evil, enjoy no capacity for honoring sanctities, civility, humanness, or values, religious or otherwise.

The only language they speak is one of aggression and savagery, imbued with boundless arrogance as well as inanity. Their social philosophy is the “might is right,” and their political theory is the “law of the jungle.” They tend to drag the world to the abyss that is best described as either modern barbarism or barbaric modernity.

That is why when it comes to potential dialogue, argumentation and reasoning, those people are simply deaf, dumb and blind. Just look at the US election campaign euphoria and the “enlightening” debates the prospective candidates are having.

The West as a destructive force

Towards this end is the fact that the constitutive members of the mentioned devilish axis have amassed so much weaponry of mass and extensive destruction, coupled with an array of entrenched policies, tactics and wiles, that literally nobody anywhere on the planet can feel at ease or secure.

As if corrupting and infesting the entire globe was not enough, the infinite vastness of outer space seems to be the next target. Such is the volume of those people’s diabolical egos. Thus, the defining characteristic of the so-called Western civilization is and has always been its advancements in military technology.

The recurring unfortunate events of the 20 th and early 21 st centuries are clear evidence that the unholy “civilization” in question has excelled primarily in one area: the ability to manipulate, exploit and destroy both humanity and the environment.

From the bloodbaths of the East, West, South and North, most protagonists of the earlier and current world orders dominated by Western leaderships have the blood of innocent victims on their hands. Their articulate encouragement for the Israeli bandits to finish them off - all the residents of Gaza and all of Palestine - just because they refuse to surrender and stoically resist inhumane occupation and oppression, will echo eternally throughout the chronicles of history.

Anyone with a moral compass and a soul will forever be tormented thereby.

Gaza as the graveyard of the imploding so-called Western civilization

The tragedy in Gaza has become the tipping point, exposing the true nature of the West and its intentions. The facade has crumbled, and many are beginning to understand the reality of Western actions. There is no more hiding; the truth must come to light and culprits revealed.
A spade must be called a spade.

Undoubtedly, Gaza is set to become the final resting place for the lingering illusions of Western dominance in culture, military power and socio-political influence. The West will effectively become the ‘Ad, Thamud and Madyan of modern times.

At the moment, while the Gaza carnage is unfolding, many of us feel despondent, especially with the villains seemingly having the upper hand. People believe that nothing can be done in the face of such horrific atrocities, which highlight our apathy and weaknesses. As we contemplate the possibility of eventual triumph, we find ourselves questioning where a breakthrough may originate and who the miraculous savior or saviors may be.

However, the idea that nothing can be done is not true. Every one of us must become a soldier (mujahid) contributing to the establishment of truth and the destruction of falsehood anchored in tyranny. Feelings of hopelessness and stupor are tactics employed by Satan and his minions to weaken our resolve. Evil with all its manifestations and degrees thrive in and with them.

What can we do, both individually and institutionally?

The following is the list of what we as individuals, groups, institutions and governments can do to help and liberate Gaza – and ourselves.

First: get rid of the sources of misinformation and lies

There should be no place in our homes, offices and Muslim countries in general for the sources of misinformation, outright lies and distortions, such as CNN, BBC, Fox News, and the like. The crusade of brainwashing and manipulation of public opinion by those corrupt agencies must come to an end once and for all as far as Muslims are concerned.

It is essential to actively seek out and develop alternative sources of information. We must acknowledge that every conflict inherently involves a clash of differing narratives, each vying for attention and legitimacy, which significantly shapes the dynamics of the situation.

People and their conceptual frameworks, standing behind the mainstream Western media, are immoral and fraudulent. Many are Islamophobic. Freely availing oneself of those media outlets without a twinge of guilt is a stab in the back of the Gaza prospects.

It is universally accepted that when the flow of consumption is interrupted, production will also come to a grinding halt, creating a direct correlation between the two processes.

Second: utilize economic leverage against the wrongdoers

The companies that are proven to be pro-Zionism must be systematically called attention to, boycotted and expelled from the Muslim midst. Their mere presence is harmful and toxic, in that they are more about branding than products. Those companies must become a thing of the past insofar as the Muslim consciousness and consumption patterns are concerned.

Merely boycotting them is not enough.

However, companies that choose to change their stance, to avoid having their operations and existence among us terminated, are expected to officially declare – and prove – this change. It must be explicitly presented to the Muslim mind that giving money to those people is fueling their war machine against the innocent brothers and sisters of Gaza, regardless of the amount.

Honestly speaking, when millions, let alone tens or hundreds of millions, of Muslims unite for a cause, it is certain that they will achieve favorable outcomes for themselves and detrimental ones for their enemies. Our governments should ensure that doing so is not a matter of choice, but an obligation.

Moreover, seeing that materialists – as the related people are - are money worshipers and followers of liberal capitalism, which can be recognized as a contemporary form of paganism, any decrease in their expected profits causes them significant distress. The saintliest thing has thus come under attack, jeopardizing their very reason for existence.

When companies find themselves losing a portion of their market presence, that can lead to an intense and widespread sense of panic, as they become acutely aware of the serious ramifications that such a loss could entail for their overall success and sustainability.

Surely, it is totally embarrassing and perfidious that perhaps the most gruesome anti-Islam and anti-Muslim campaigns in human history take pace in a milieu that is surrounded by hundreds of millions of Muslims, and we claim that nothing can be done.

Not a soul can deny that choosing to remain idle and helpless is an act of treason against heaven, conscience and humanity. The moment has finally arrived for us to cease the endless cycle of self-deception and trickery, as we can no longer afford to rationalize our lack of action with the most feeble and unconvincing excuses imaginable.

Third: stop dealing with the sources of miseducation and misguidance

Western colleges and universities should be avoided by young and vulnerable Muslim youth. In fact, our leaderships ought to so plan and facilitate. It is important to document and preserve for future generations that those educational institutions - especially the major ones which claim to be the bastions of Western principles and values - either remained silent or eloquently justified and defended the mass killings in Gaza, mistreating their students and staff for holding different views.

Additionally, those institutions are conceived in such a way that they will never stop promoting worldviews and knowledge systems that are fundamentally opposed to Islam. Places of this nature, indeed, are not for Muslims, from the academic, moral and spiritual points of view.
That they are all complicit in the crimes of Gaza, one way or another, is one thing, but they likewise signify the centers of “ontological misguidance” and “epistemological fabrications.”
Sending Muslim youth to them is suicidal.

This is the time to help ourselves and the victims in Gaza by rejecting what continues to tear the fabric of the Muslim ummah apart and by working on more constructive options. Gaza is a catalyst, compelling us to adopt clear standpoints and determine our allegiances.

Muslims are in need, more than ever, of universal servants and, at the same time, warriors. They need holistic good men and women, rather than greedy, selfish, disoriented and superficially cultured professionals. The latter denote inferior ingredients in any global ummatic undertaking. One wonders what downright beneficial a young and fragile Muslim mind can benefit from Islamophobic Western educational institutions.

Fourth: start rewriting and reteaching the history of the relations between the West and the Muslim world

The Gaza case has clearly shown that the history of relations between the West and the Muslim world has been distorted and manipulated more than any other historical chapter. The main culprits are the forces behind the unholy association of Western nationalism, colonialism, Zionism and orientalism as a pseudo-science.

This is why the West-Zionism coalition has been able to commit various crimes over the last century without facing accountability from the global community. They are afraid of Islam, which – all things considered - is understandable. As the only truth, Islam and its followers will never stop exposing and confronting their malevolent acts. As anticipated, the ubiquitous feeling quickly morphed into the notion and perceptible reality of Islamophobia.

By the way, to prove that Islam is the supreme faith, it is enough to remember that the only thing its countless enemies can muster against it is a corpus of falsifications and lies. As a result, it should now be a collective Muslim mission to revisit, rewrite and reteach the substantially critical aspects of history. Needless to say that Muslim governmental authorities and the leading Muslim universities are expected to lead the charge. It is disappointing that, a year into the Gaza tragedy, there has been a lack of significant initiatives addressing this matter.

How much longer must we endure, and what additional heart-wrenching reminders must we confront in order to finally awaken from our deep, complacent slumber?

The contents of our libraries should also be reevaluated. Nobody should frown upon the possibility of some books, which are most hardcore in promoting deceit and forgery, ending up blacklisted and even thrown into a dustbin, for that is where they truly belong.

As part of the enterprise, Muslims need to keep examining their knowledge, attitudes and actions. They need to measure what and how much they read against the backdrop of the new realities. Gaza cannot be saved if the Gaza – Palestinian – issue is not properly studied and understood, both locally and internationally.

Liberating Palestine is predicated on the liberation of the minds and souls of the rest of the Muslim world. Only a liberated one can be a liberator.

Apart from the Gaza battlegrounds, Muslims need millions of genuine soldiers in uncontaminated schools, colleges, universities, centers, media outlets and various private and governmental establishments. No Muslim should live without feeling the pressure of the question of whether he or she is a soldier of truth - that is to say, of Islam, the Ummah and its Gaza.

No Muslim furthermore should live without constantly asking himself or herself what he or she is contributing or seriously planning to contribute to Gaza in particular and the Muslim overall cause in general.

Fifth: say “no” to the Western pro-Zionism pop culture

It is clear that the most powerful way for the West to spread its influence globally is through its pop culture, which aims to promote and maintain Western biased principles. The issue worsens when the Western neocolonialist perspective aligns with the Zionist supremacist and jingoistic views within the same culture. This is why this cultural system is either overly admired or intensely criticized, with no middle ground.

Since of late all standard ideologies and religions have fallen, leaving the worthlessness of philosophical relativism to “guide” the world, and since Islam is the only force left not just standing but also getting stronger each day, Islam with its conceptual and operational universes remains the biggest target. In consequence, undermining the legitimacy of the Islamic message, the unity of Muslims, and the remarkable potential of future Muslim generations has become an obsession for the West through its popular culture.

It must be admitted, though, that due to a number of internal and external factors, the West and its Zionist partners have succeeded to a large extent. Owing to the absence of any rational or intellectual appeal, with a total focus on its psychological and sensual draw, the majority of Muslims have fallen for the pop culture of the West.

Accordingly, they have allowed themselves to be brainwashed and thrown into the states of intellectual indifference and spiritual laxity.

Living in a world of false dreams and hopes, they furthermore became unresponsive to the real and pressing issues. They were lulled into a deep civilizational torpor, allowing their enemies to execute their plans unhindered. This explains why the Palestinian problems since the Balfour Declaration in 1917 have often evolved unnoticed and unaddressed.

One of the current critical issues is the Gaza calamity. Many Muslims are still finding it hard to side with and help their affected brothers and sisters in Gaza, while at the same time remaining loyal to the psychological dictates of the Western devilishness woven into the fabric of its pop culture. Combining the two is impossible; something’s got to give.

The mental war inside a great many Muslims is still raging. Muslims must decide: either Gaza and Muslims en bloc, or Western partners of Zionism whose alliances are hallmarks of virtually everything mainstream Western.

At any rate, it is high time to come to terms with the root cause of the problem. Gaza and the wellbeing of the Muslim ummah are our inborn existential priorities, while blindly imitating the West is a colonially imposed artificiality. The former liberates, whereas the latter incapacitates and enslaves.

The Western neocolonialist pop culture must be rejected. The more is such the case, the more will Muslims become self-conscious, spirited and responsive, and the more, by extension, will the unfortunate people of Gaza benefit from our actions and behavioral patterns as a whole. It is difficult to say specifically now what those actions and resultant benefits will be, however, by virtue of converting Muslims into a mindful, alert and willing lot, nothing but positive outcomes are bound to emerge therefrom.

One of the immediate corollaries of this tactic will be strict censorship of the Western movie, music, showbiz, fashion, and other connected industries. Their frivolity, worthlessness and lewdness should be removed forever from our midst. There is no doubt that Muslim authorities are as responsible as providers as ordinary Muslims are as consumers.

Sixth: change yourself before changing others – and helping Gaza

All of the above falls into the mold of the paramount Islamic principle that Almighty Allah will change the condition of a people only after they change what is in themselves (al-Ra’d, 11). This means that helping and changing the condition of Gaza – as an integral part of the Muslim ummah – will only be possible after Muslims embark on changing what is in themselves.

Only when Muslims turn into assets to each other – and to the rest of the normal and respectable world - can they become a force to be reckoned with within the context of Gaza. Gaza is attacked by an alliance of injustice and evil, hence only an alliance of righteousness and virtue, starting with Muslims and extending to the rest of the sensible world, can challenge and eventually neutralize it. Anything less is doomed to fail, as the diffused and “unblessed” efforts of the past year have shown. In passing, Turkish President Erdogan dubbed such an alliance “alliance of humanity.”

Thus changed, enlightened and united, and surrounding the illegal state of Israel on all sides, Muslims will be able to send a clear message to everyone concerned that neither Gaza nor any section of the organic body of the Muslim ummah will be bullied. Any misadventure will be met with an appropriate response, even if large scale military confrontations become an inevitability.

Participating in jihad ought to be a Muslim bliss, for it is better to die with honor than live without it. The necessity for Muslims to stand up against injustices and oppression is a crucial aspect of their faith. Whenever warranted, fighting becomes an obligation, representing the only means to eliminate certain extreme types of evil.

If not, there will be “demolished monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques in which the name of Allah is much mentioned” (al-Hajj, 40), and “there will be fitnah (tumult and oppression) on earth and great corruption” (al-Anfal, 73).

There's no denying that the events occurring in Gaza right now are some of the most painful in the story of mankind. What more do we need in order to fully open our eyes and grasp the severity of the situation?

Therefore, as a form of helping Gaza, Muslims should conduct regular self-examination exercises. They should regularly ask themselves how fast their rate of changing is and where additional improvements can be made. They should never stop measuring their actions with reference to education, worship, Muslim unity, cooperation and productivity in overall performances.

Gaza is an immense tragedy, but even from it numerous lessons can be learned. There has to be a glimmer of hope, which is to be sought and pursued to the end. All the sacrifices cannot be utterly wasted. Only if Gaza, at the end of the day, propels the ummah into action, will the ummah be forgiven by the Gaza victims.

What is special about self-change is that it is likely to trigger divine intervention, and perhaps even a miracle. Allah, as the source of all heavenly interventions and miracles, guarantees that self-improvement among Muslims will inevitably involve Allah’s assistance and enhancement of their overall condition as a community (al-Ra’d, 11).

The Qur’an is also explicit that Allah will help and support only those who help and support Him (His cause) (al-Hajj, 40), and that if the believers help Allah (His cause), He will only then help them and plant firmly their feet (Muhammad, 7).

Though conditioned, Allah’s involvement and help are assured to Muslims, which means that the decision-making power is currently ours. In order to receive assistance, we must first take initiative to help and support ourselves.

The enemies of Islam know this; hence, they are petrified. They will thus do anything to try to thwart such a scenario. They know that no conceivable force can withstand a blend of Muslim unity and Allah’s succor. It's quite clear that, due to these factors, the enemies’ focus is on Gaza as much as it is on the potential for Muslim solidarity and Muslim civilizational revival.
Seventh: forge strategic partnerships

As the continuation of the previous point, strategic political, economic and military partnerships within the global Muslim community and with others who share a commitment to goodwill, will be necessary. This is more of a long-term enterprise, ensuring a sustainable future.

Gaza is destined to be freed in due course and Palestinian issue favorably settled, by whatever means necessary: political, diplomatic, or even military, and at the hands of the enlightened-qua-transformed Muslim community. However, what must be worked towards is that a similar evil never takes off in the heart of Islamdom, and possibly in the world, and that the lessons of history are duly absorbed.

The existence of BRICS and persistent calls to recondition and revitalize OIC is a step in the right direction. Much more is needed for replacing the malfunctioning international institutions and bodies, and for paving the way for the emergence of a new world order. The protagonists of dark forces are to be gradually marginalized and ultimately relegated to the waste bin of history. The more light and goodness there is in the world, the fewer maneuvers those forces possess to subsist and operate.

Concerning this, Almighty Allah declares: “And say, ‘Truth has (now) arrived, and falsehood perished: for falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish’” (al-Isra’, 81).

“Say, ‘O Allah, Owner of sovereignty (power and rule), You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is (all) good. Indeed, You are over all things competent” (Alu ‘Imran, 26).

We might never truly know, but the situation taking place in Gaza could be an early sign of the catastrophic events that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) spoke of, cautioned against, and wanted us to be equipped to face.

He said: “The Hour will not begin until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims will kill them, until a Jew hides behind a rock or a tree, and the rock or tree will say: ‘O Muslim, O slave of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’ Except the gharqad (a thorny tree), for it is one of the trees of the Jews” (Sahih Muslim).

“The Jews will fight you and you will prevail over them, then a rock will say: ‘O Muslim, here is a Jew behind me; kill him’” (Sahih al-Bukhari).

A word for Muslim governments

As a matter of course, Muslim governments are, and should always be, thrust into the spotlight.
The responsibility for the well-being of Muslims predominantly rests with their respective governments, which are accountable for the events that unfold within their communities. They more than anybody else should undergo the drills of self-examination and self-reproach. If they are quick to take credit when things go well, they also have to face criticism when things go badly. The reason for this is clear. Almost every human activity is influenced by some form of organized instigation, management, or supervision.

When people lack strong leadership, they feel disoriented and uncertain about their commitment. Similarly, leaders who do not have a loyal following to guide and inspire become irrelevant and ineffective. Everyone should be wary of leaders without followers and followers without leaders.

O Muslim governments! Connect with your people and get your acts together. While still waiting for your adequate responses, Gaza is bleeding out its last drops of blood. Don’t forget that you are among the primary contributors to the hardships faced by the ummah. The lion's share of culpability rests upon your shoulders. It will be a dire situation to be confronted by the children of Gaza – and your own people – on the Day of Judgment, seeking their due compensation.

O Muslim governments! Stay aligned with those you have been entrusted to lead, and act responsibly towards Him Who is testing you with the tests of authority and power, your Creator and Lord: Almighty Allah.

To rule is not a privilege, but a burden.

In present circumstances, most 'normal' and genuinely sincere people either run away from power or accept it with great hesitation. It’s wise to steer clear of those who are overly fixated on power, as their interest often stems from hidden agendas. The tendency to avoid psychological and physical encumbrance is an instinctive characteristic of human behavior.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “We do not assign the authority of ruling to those who ask for it, nor to those who are keen to have it” (Sahih al- Bukhari).

The Prophet also said: “Do not seek to be a ruler, for if you are given authority on your demand then you will be held responsible for it, but if you are given it without asking (for it), then you will be helped (by Allah) in it” (Sahih al-Bukhari).

Abu Dharr (my Allah be pleased with him) reported: “I said to Messenger of Allah: ‘Why do you not appoint me to an (official) position?’ He (the Prophet) patted me on the shoulder with his hand and said: ‘O Abu Dharr, you are a weak man and it (an official appointment) is a trust and it will be a cause of disgrace and remorse on the Day of Resurrection except for the one who takes it up with a full sense of responsibility and fulfills what is entrusted to him (discharges its obligations efficiently)’” (Sahih Muslim).