‘Israel has no civilians,’ says a friend: ‘all Israelis are soldiers, waiting to be called up.’
What, not even a 10 year old girl on her way to school or an old man in a care home?
To me, this sounds more like the sunnah of the Irgun gang than the noble deen I follow, which emphasises the impermissiblity of attacking women and children not engaged in direct combat (even if soldiers), where off-duty soldiers are treated as civilians and where collateral damage is considered unlawful (to my knowledge, only the Shafi’i school allows for the possibility of collateral damage, though even then only under specific conditions). Life is sacred.
The notion that all residents are legitimate targets may be the principle the Israeli government and their allies are following in deliberately targeting homes and hospitals, which are clearly non-military targets. But that is not our way.
‘You will surely follow the path trodden by those before you,’ said our blessed Prophet, peace be upon him, ‘step-by-step and inch-by-inch, so much so that if they went down into a lizard hole, you would follow them.’
Our turning away from the rules of war defined by Sacred Law is most certainly a catastrophic lizard hole to charge down, that will only result in more innocents suffering, everywhere.
Where are the wise ones who can advise us, in light of the strict codes of warfare and rules of engagement defined by Sacred Law, how the transgressed should fight back against tyrannical occupiers backed by the richest nations, who use the most sophisticated weapons on earth to destroy homes, kill and maim, and seize yet more land?
Our Sacred Law says be just, even with the enemy. Where are the wise ones who can tell us what this means, and who can set us back on track?
Last modified: 21 July 2014
