التاريخ : الخميس 16 مايو 2024 . القسم : Media Statements
On the Anniversary of ‘Nakba’, We Recollect the Palestinian People’s Jihad with Honour and Pride
Today, the fifteenth of May, marks the seventy-sixth anniversary of the ‘Nakba’ (in Arabic means ‘catastrophe’, but the word refers to the ethnic cleansing and expulsion of Palestinians from their homes and lands in 1948), the catastrophe of our Arab and Islamic nation in a spot that is one of the most precious and honourable places on earth, namely, Palestine: the cradle of Divine Messages (religions), the prayer place of prophets, the greatest Mi’raj (ascension) of the greatest Messenger into heaven, and the first qibla (prayer direction) of Muslims. Therefore, it is not peculiar to claim that the Nakba was not only Palestinian, as the crimes of the occupiers struck the core of our nation, where the usurping entity has always been the main cause behind impairing it.
Today, we remember the human tragedy caused by the crimes of the gangs of the Zionist movement in Palestine over the years before 1948, including killing, displacement, ethnic cleansing, and usurpation of land and honour. More than 750,000 Palestinians were turned into refugees, dozens of massacres and acts of looting were committed, more than 500 villages were demolished, Palestinian cities were destroyed, and their identity was totally erased.
After eight decades, although the Israeli enemy still continues its aggression with the support of Western powers, yet, there are significant changes in the Palestinian scene between yesterday and today, most notably the fact that the victorious Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October dispelled the myth of the invincible army and ended the so-called deterrence strategy, that the Palestinian people has learned the lesson of displacement and has become more wedded to its land and rallied around its cause and its valiant resistance, and that the global public opinion has positively shifted towards the Palestinian cause.
However, what has not changed between the past and the present is the isolation of the Muslim peoples and the Islamic world armies and keeping them away from standing by Palestine in the face of the occupation despite the bonds of religion, language, land, and destiny among us; and despite the fact that the Palestinian cause is a fair cause from the perspective of international law and human rights!! The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and other countries have stood by the Palestinian right, fought the Zionist gangs, and registered a bright and well-known history in this regard, but they were prevented from jihad on the land of Palestine.
Hence, the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) stresses the significance of Islamic unity, the centrality of the Palestine cause for the Arab and Muslim nations, and that borders should not break the bonds that Allah has placed between its peoples. Allah Almighty says: ﴾ Truly, this, your Ummah (nation, creed) is one, and I am your Lord, therefore worship Me.﴿ (Al-Anbiya: 92). The Brotherhood emphasizes that the Palestinian cause is not the cause of Palestinians alone, nor only Arabs. The duty of jihad for the liberation of Al-Aqsa Mosque is a duty imposed on the Muslim nation, which cannot be waived by borders or prevented by obstacles, as various forms of political, media, legal and financial jihad are still possible.
We address our people in Palestine, with the battle of the Al-Aqsa Flood raging: May Allah Almighty grant you all success in hitting your targets, let your enemy down, and let down those who failed to support you. We look with respect and admiration at those who sacrificed for Palestine, and at the blessed blood that was shed for the sake of Allah, and the pure souls that rose (to heaven) in defence of their land, honour, and sanctities. My greetings and appreciation to the young people who greatly have humiliated the enemy, won the hearts of the free people of the world; made the enemy taste ‘Nakba’, fear, death, and diaspora, made the Muslims experience the taste of honour and pride. To those we say: Rejoice, for Allah will fulfill His promise to His faithful servants; and truly He will support His soldiers. Allah Almighty says: ﴾ Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah). ﴿ (An-Nur: 55)
Allah Is the Greatest, and May Praise Be to Allah
Dr. Salah Abdel Haq
Acting Muslim Brotherhood General Guide
(Wednesday, 7 Dhul-Qi’dah 1445 AH, 15 May 2024 AD)