The Reasons Why Palestine Has Not Yet Won Victory from the Perspective of the Rohingya Issue
If we cannot unite to help the Rohingya win in Myanmar, then Allah(SWT) will not give us victory in Palestine either.
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The Rohingya issue and the Palestinian issue are two issues of greatest concern to Muslims around the world. Let’s look at these two issues first. The Rohingya Issue is the most barbaric and cruel of all the issues and challenges currently faced by Muslims. The Rohingya are an ethnic minority in the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar. They were subjected to genocide by the Myanmar military junta and army. Before the end of World War II, and even before the 21st century, many genocides occurred on this earth, reaching their peak especially during World War II. This triggered a common reflection among all mankind. After World War II, this evil practice gradually became less common. In the 21st century, we all believe that those horrific and heinous things will no longer exist in this world, but unfortunately these behaviors still occur in many places. The Rohingya settlement in Myanmar is one of them. Elsewhere, colonizers tended to find a plausible excuse for their actions, but Myanmar’s military and government did not even find a high-sounding excuse for genocide. Their trucks loaded with soldiers broke into Rohingya villages, shot and killed the residents indiscriminately, whether they were the elderly, children, pregnant women or sick people, and burned down houses and mosques. The level of brutality was unprecedented in this century, until what happened recently in Gaza.
The Palestine Issue is the most important and influential issue among many issues. Jerusalem (al-Quds) is a world-class religious holy place in West Asia and the place where the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing upon him) ascended to heaven (miraj), which makes it of great significance. The area has long been occupied by Israel. Recently, Israel’s barbaric acts have not only aroused condemnation from many knowledgeable people in the international community, but the United Nations has also passed several resolutions against Israel’s barbaric acts. Since the Palestinian issue has always been well-known, I will not go into details here.
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The Ummah are not united now but are working on their own issues individually. This is because, in reality, we tend to think of these two issues as separate and unrelated to each other. But obviously, this view has not solved or improved the problem, neither for this Ummah nor for the Muslim brothers in Palestine and Rohingya. Allah does not create the world with a playful attitude, so Allah’s predestination must be full of wisdom. This leads to two conclusions: First, as Muslims, we should believe that the Palestinian issue and the Rohingya issue are related, and this connection is a reflection of Allah’s Almighty and Wiseness; Second, if we want to solve the problem, we must use Islamic wisdom. This wisdom can only be found in the history of Islam in the past, because these histories are part of the world created by Allah, and it is also the wisdom that Allah has revealed to us.
Among these wisdoms, the most worthy of reference for the Palestinian and Rohingya issues are the three battles during the Medina period.
The Battle of Badr
Already had Allah given you victory at the battle of Badr while you were weak (3:123)
In March 624, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) led more than 300 Muslims to fight against nearly a thousand Meccan troops at Badr, southwest of Medina, and won a great victory. At the most critical moment of the Battle of Badr, Allah sent thousands of angels to help the Muslims. As proof of Allah’s protection, this victory won the support of the Medina people for Islam, greatly boosted the morale of the Ummah, improved Muhammad’s reputation among the Arab tribes, and laid a solid foundation for the consolidation and development of the Ummah.
The Battle of Uhud
In March 625, the Meccan army led more than 3,000 people to attack Medina. Initially Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) advocated taking a defensive stance, closing the city and not leaving, wearing down the enemy’s troops and waiting for an opportunity to fight again. However, because many Muslims were in high fighting mood, they went out of the city to fight and assembled a team of 1,000 people to build fortifications on Uhud Mountain. The hypocrite Abdullah ibn Ubayy in the Muslim army fled with 300 people and retreated to the city. On March 23, the Meccan army attacked the position of the Muslim army. Muhammad commanded 700 Muslim troops to respond calmly and defeated the Meccan attack. Later, many Muslims left their positions without permission to seize the weapons and equipment left behind by the Meccan army, resulting in chaos. The Mecca cavalry took the opportunity to launch an attack from the flank, causing heavy casualties to the Muslim army. Even after being wounded, Muhammad continued to fight and withdrew most of his troops to their positions. The Meccan army was blocked and retreated to Mecca. After the war, the Prophet Muhammad exhorted Muslims to unite and fight to defend “the way of Allah.”
The Battle of the Trench
In March 627, the Meccan army assembled a coalition of more than 10,000 men and prepared to besiege Medina with the help of traitors. The Muslims gathered 3,000 men and dug trenches to hold on. The Meccan army’s offensive failed to break through the Muslim army’s trench defense for more than a month. Later, it was hit by a hurricane and forced to retreat. The Muslim army took the opportunity to attack and won. After this war, the overall situation of Islam changed from passive to active, and eventually became a world religion.
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Let us imagine if we learn the wisdom of Islam, then what should we do?
There is no doubt that we should first solve the Rohingya issue, which is most similar to the battle of Badr. Among Myanmar and Israel, the Myanmar government is the weakest; this is just like the size of the enemy army in the Battle of Badr was the smallest among the three battles. Now the entire Ummah was not united and needed a victory to promote unity; and this was exactly the effect of the Battle of Badr. Allah once sent angels to assist because the Ummah was weak at that time; but now, don’t forget to “tie the camel and trust in Allah”; If we can unite, then why does a mere Myanmar need to rely on the help of angels? In the 21st century, there are already 2 billion Muslims around the world, and even a small part of them are enough to play the role of angels in the past.
Only after we have initially united the entire ummah by resolving the Rohingya issue can we seek to resolve the Palestinian issue. Just like in the battle of Uhud, our journey to resolve the Palestinian issue will be full of twists and turns and challenges; some challenges will come from outside and some will come from within. Not only will we face a powerful and advanced army, but we will also face internal divisions similar to the one we faced during the Battle of Uhoud. But as the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him) said, if we unite and fight to defend the way of Allah, instead of fighting for selfish desires and hatred, then we can achieve final victory.
Resolving the Palestinian issue can fully unite the Ummah in the face of its ultimate enemy. So at this time, we can rely on the trenches to hold on as we did back then, that is, unite, unite with friends, and blockade our enemies. When the enemy’s momentum collapses at the time of Allah’s will, we will gain victory. As for who the final enemy is, perhaps Allah will reveal the answer to us only after we win the Palestinian struggle.
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If we ignore the suffering of the Rohingya brothers and do not regard the Rohingya issue as an issue for the entire Ummah; Or if we don’t find the right sequence and think that “after the Palestinian issue is solved, the Rohingya issue will be a piece of cake”, which is an unintelligent and unrealistic idea, then we will not achieve any success. This conclusion may be disturbing, but the history of Islam over the past thousand years proves that it is true. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing upon him) said: “All Muslim brothers are one body. If any part of the body is in pain, the whole body will feel uncomfortable.” If we can unite, then our victory is also destined. But unity also relies on wisdom. As mentioned before, helping the Rohingya is the first step for us in the Muslim world to unite.