Omid-Safi

Kourosh Ziabari: An Iranian-American professor of Islamic studies believes that the world is waking up to the atrocities and cruelties of the Israeli regime and this is manifested in the mass rallies being held in condemnation of Israel across the world.

According to Prof. Omid Safi, although the Western governments have been mostly silent on the carnage of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the people in different countries, from France to Brazil and from Malaysia to Argentina have strongly stood by the people of Palestine and held massive demonstrations to voice their support for them.

“The latest studies indicate that now a majority of younger people in America are no longer supportive of Israeli policies,” said Prof. Safi in an exclusive interview. “For the first time, many Americans are able to see firsthand the reality of the brutal oppression that Palestinians have been suffering from for decades. Second, there is a translation of the Palestinian cause from an “Arab cause” or a “Muslim cause” to a humanitarian cause,” he added.

“Many people are increasingly able to relate to Palestine as what it is and what it has been for decades: a human rights catastrophe,” Safi noted.

Omid Safi is a Professor of Islamic Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and specializes in Islamic mysticism, contemporary Islamic thought and medieval Islamic history. He had previously taught at the Duke University and published several books and articles on the scholarly journals and non-academic papers. Through the past years, he has led the Study of Islam Section at the American Academy of Religion.

To discuss the recent wave of violence and bloodshed in the Gaza Strip and the different aspects of the Israeli regime’s incursion into the besieged territory as well as the international reactions to the Israeli offensive, I did an interview with Prof. Omid Safi currently based in North Carolina. The following is the text of the interview.

Q: The civilian death toll resulting from the Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip is increasing rapidly, and the United Nations and the world powers have been unable, or unwilling to stop Israel from blowing up the besieged territory. What do you think about the international responses to the ongoing war in Gaza and the killing of more than 2,000 citizens that the Western mainstream media have preferred to leave unnoticed?

A: I would differentiate about the international response and the international political structure. In terms of the response, we have seen demonstrations against the Israeli atrocities in every continent. The response has been present in London, Chicago, Malaysia, Tehran, South Africa, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina, Paris, New York, Australia, and so many other countries. Even in the United States, the strongest supporter of Israel worldwide, we have seen a turning of the popular opinion against the Israeli atrocities.

The structure, on the other hand, is a different story. The current international structure is broken, fractured, and morally bankrupt. In the existing geopolitical order, there are two powers capable of exerting the needed pressure on Israel to halt their genocidal assault on Gaza. The first is the United States, and the second the United Nations. The United States has been for a few decades the primary party responsible for both arming Israel and providing it with political cover. And therefore, the United States has no moral credibility for stopping Israel. As for the United Nations, the current structure of the UN reflects the victorious parties in World War II. The structure of the Security Council permits the United States to repeatedly veto any resolutions against Israel. The world community, reflected in the General Assembly, has passed dozens of resolutions condemning Israeli occupation of Palestine, right of refugees to return, etc., but none of them have a force of law. So we are in need of a radical transformation of the existing structure to one that both reflects the will of the worldwide community while protecting the rights of individual communities as well as individual human beings.

Q: It goes without saying that what Israel is doing in the Gaza Strip, that is the killing of civilians and pounding the hospitals and other non-military infrastructure, is a violation of international law. What international entity is responsible for investigating these violations? If Israel can get away with war crimes, then does it mean that the international law is so fragile and worthless that can be violated in such a massive extent, while the violator will never be held responsible?

A: I am fully in favor of bringing Israel in front of the International Criminal Court. It is long overdue. The Israeli politicians responsible for such massacres fully deserve to be brought to justice alongside others such as Tony Blair, George Bush, and genocidal dictators who have the blood of thousands on their hands.

Q: What do the people in the United States and the European countries think about the Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip? What we can understand is that the official approach of these governments is remaining silent and inactive on the tragic events unfolding in Gaza. What do their people feel? Are they similarly indifferent about the plight of the beleaguered citizens of the Gaza Strip?

A: The view of most Americans – I am in a better situation to comment on USA vs. Europe – is largely shaped by the corporate media that reflects neoliberal capitalism, the current status of the United States as a hegemonic world power, and militarism. In many ways, the issue is not simply about prejudice towards Arabs/Muslims, though that is absolutely real, nor the notion of “Jews controlling America”, though there is no reason to deny the power of groups like AIPAC to put pressure on elected American officials, nor is it simply the commonly asserted notion of “Jewish control of US media”, though there is a great deal of pressure from Jewish lobby organizations here as well. It is a much bigger issue related to Americans being both misinformed and informed in a particular slant that reinforces American hegemony and militarism.

Q: Why do you think the Arab states in the Persian Gulf region have showed such a passive reaction to the ongoing war on Gaza? Why is the destiny of the people of Palestine so unimportant to these Arab leaders, and why is it that they don’t speak out against the cruelty taking place in Gaza by their arch-foe, Israel?

A: Because Palestine for them is largely speaking a political symbol, and not truly a humane concern for the suffering of Palestinians. Most of these Arab states, certainly Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have incredibly warm relationships with both United States and Israel. Saudi Arabia is working on military campaigns with Israel, and Egypt is also complicit in holding Palestinians under siege by closing the passage way in Rafah. All too often, the Arab leaders pay lip service to “the Palestinian cause” while being more concerned with their sectarian interests and their own repositions in the geopolitical restructuring of the Middle East vis-à-vis Iran, Turkey, Saudi, Israel, etc.

Q: It’s widely believed that Israel has been long trying to eliminate the cause of Palestine from the political discourse of the international community, reduce the sensitivity and importance of the Palestinian issue in the eyes of the Western and Arab public, dissuade the world from giving moral and political support to Palestine and then go ahead with its policy of ethnic cleansing in the Occupied Territories. Has it succeeded in realizing this plan?

A: No, I actually see these efforts failing. The latest studies indicate that now a majority of younger people in America are no longer supportive of Israeli policies. I think there are two reasons for this change: one [is] social media. For the first time, many Americans are able to see firsthand the reality of the brutal oppression that Palestinians have been suffering from for decades. Second, there is a translation of the Palestinian cause from an “Arab cause” or a “Muslim cause” to a humanitarian cause. Many people are increasingly able to relate to Palestine as what it is and what it has been for decades: a human rights catastrophe.

Q: Worldwide rallies were held on the International Quds Day (July 24) and people from different countries took to the streets to condemn Israel for its unrelenting mass killing of the Palestinians. In the absence of firm reaction by the Western powers, how much effective can such demonstrations and protests be in forcing the Tel Aviv regime to abandon its atrocious policies?

A: These rallies may not stop the current massacre. But as people of faith, we are promised that no lie can live forever, that “the truth has come and falsehood has vanished.” Every form of tyranny and oppression is ultimately bound to crumble upon itself. What will ultimately bring about this crumbling is not the mere passage of time, but a rising up of people of goodwill here, there, and everywhere, until we change our reality, our society, and our condition. And we come to see the reality of “God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in their soul.” [Qur’an 13:11]