I will start a series of blogs in which I will try to simply explain a topic or an issue. This issue might be religious, political, social, or even cultural. I am not an expert but I will introduce to you a simple explanation from a different cultural perspective that might help in promoting mutual understanding. Sometimes when we understand others’ points of view or simply put ourselves in others’ shoes, we can understand their behavior and thinking.

The first issue that I want to explain and which is widely debated these days due to what is taking place in the Middle East is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from a Muslim-Arab perspective. How it is widely seen and how Arabs and Muslims see it?

If we go back to history, we will find that the problem started in Europe where the Jews were exposed to different kinds of discrimination that made them think of one country for all Jews. They chose Palestine and started to migrate to it and this was facilitated by the British government that had a mandate over Palestine at that time. The discrimination against the Jews reached its peak with the Second World War which we all know what happened at that time. This led to an increase in the Jewish migration to Palestine. Before the emergence of the idea of Palestine being a homeland for the Jews, they used to live in different Arab countries without any problems. The problem at that time was Europe and the Jews. But after the 1948 declaration of a Jewish state in Palestine, the problem became officially Arabs and the Jews or more accurately Israel.

From the first day of the declaration of Israel and before, the Palestinians were forced to leave their homes, lands and families. They were killed and exposed to a number of massacres like Deir Yassin massacre. You can definitely read more about that in detail online and see what actually happened. Israel continued occupying more land, displacing more people and violating international law. Israel had occupied three more countries in the region, Egypt and Syria in 1967 (Egypt was freed after the 1973 war and peace treaty), Lebanon in 1982 and ended after the war in 2000.

For more than 70 years people have been killed, forced to leave their homes, and displaced. For more than 15 years and Gaza has been witnessing a blockade more than two million people have lived in a big jail deprived of main needs. Deprived of their rights as humans and their right to move freely. This is what the Muslims and Arabs see and experience generation after generation.

We live in a biased world that asks you to take a stand based on misleading information. I ask you not to take a stand unless you understand. Search for the whole information, the whole story, search for the TRUTH and take a stand beside JUSTICE.

P.S. The role played by social media these days is really remarkable it opens different ways to different views, allows more people to express their views and helps in revealing the reality. The reality is that civilians are being targeted, kids and women are being killed and people are living in unbearable conditions.