“On the Day of Judgement, God will not compare us with each other; He will compare us with who we could have become.”

— Sheikh Mohammad Ali Shomali

AMAZING article about what it means to participate in anti-Zionism work both online and in person.

If your anti-zionism does not in any way acknowledge that it is a way of thought and practice led by and for Palestinians, then you need to reevaluate your "anti-zionism" label.

Some passages that felt especially relevant to tumblr:

If we accept, as those with even the most rudimentary understanding of history do, that zionism is an ongoing process of settler-colonialism, then the undoing of zionism requires anti-zionism, which should be understood as a process of decolonisation. Anti-zionism as a decolonial ideology then becomes rightly situated as an indigenous liberation movement. The resulting implication is two-fold. First, decolonial organising requires that we extract ourselves from the limitations of existing structures of power and knowledge and imagine a new, just world. Second, this understanding clarifies that the caretakers of anti-zionist thought are indigenous communities resisting colonial erasure, and it is from this analysis that the strategies, modes, and goals of decolonial praxis should flow. In simpler terms: Palestinians committed to decolonisation, not Western-based NGOs, are the primary authors of anti-zionist thought. We write this as a Palestinian and a Palestinian-American who live and work in Palestine, and have seen the impact of so-called ‘Western values’ and how the centring of the ‘human rights’ paradigm disrupts real decolonial efforts in Palestine and abroad. This is carried out in favour of maintaining the status quo and gaining proximity to power, using our slogans emptied of Palestinian historical analysis.

Anti-zionist organising is not a new notion, but until now the use of the term in organising circles has been mired with misunderstandings, vague definitions, or minimised outright. Some have incorrectly described anti-zionism as amounting to activities or thought limited to critiques of the present Israeli government – this is a dangerous misrepresentation. Understanding anti-zionism as decolonisation requires the articulation of a political movement with material, articulated goals: the restitution of ancestral territories and upholding the inviolable principle of indigenous repatriation and through the right of return, coupled with the deconstruction of zionist structures and the reconstitution of governing frameworks that are conceived, directed, and implemented by Palestinians.  Anti-zionism illuminates the necessity to return power to the indigenous community and the need for frameworks of justice and accountability for the settler communities that have waged a bloody, unrelenting hundred-year war on the people of Palestine. It means that anti-zionism is much more than a slogan. 

[...]

While our collective imaginations have not fully articulated what a liberated and decolonised Palestine looks like, the rough contours have been laid out repeatedly. Ask any Palestinian refugee displaced from Haifa, the lands of Sheikh Muwannis, or Deir Yassin – they will tell that a decolonised Palestine is, at a minimum, the right of Palestinians’ return to an autonomous political unit from the river to the sea. When self-proclaimed ‘anti-zionists’ use rhetoric like ‘Israel-Palestine’ – or worse, ‘Palestine-Israel’ – we wonder: where do you think ‘Israel’ exists? On which land does it lay, if not Palestine? This is nothing more than an attempt to legitimise a colonial state; the name you are looking for is Palestine – no hyphen required. At a minimum, anti-zionist formations should cut out language that forces upon Palestinians and non-Palestinian allies the violence of colonial theft. 

[...]

The common choice to centre the Oslo Accords, international humanitarian law, and the human rights paradigm over socio-historical Palestinian realities not only limits our analysis and political interventions; it restricts our imagination of what kind of future Palestinians deserve, sidelining questions of decolonization to convince us that it is the new, bad settlers in the West Bank who are the source of violence. Legitimate settlers, who reside within the bounds of Palestinian geographies stolen in 1948 like Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem, are different within this narrative. Like Breaking the Silence, they can be enlightened by learning the error of colonial violence carried out in service of the bad settlers. They can supposedly even be our solidarity partners – all without having to sacrifice a crumb of colonial privilege or denounce pre-1967 zionist violence in any of its cruel manifestations. As a result of this course of thought, solidarity organisations often showcase particular Israelis – those who renounce state violence in service of the bad settlers and their ongoing colonisation of the West Bank – in roles as professionals and peacemakers, positioning them on an equal intellectual, moral, or class footing with Palestinians. There is no recognition of the inherent imbalance of power between these Israelis and the Palestinians they purport to be in solidarity with – stripping away their settler status. The settler is taken out of the historical-political context which afforded them privileged status on stolen land, and is given the power to delineate the Palestinian experience. This is part of the historical occlusion of the zionist narrative, overlooking the context of settler-colonialism to read the settler as an individual, and omitting their class status as a settler. 

It is essential to note that Palestinians have never rejected Jewish indigeneity in Palestine. However, the liberation movement has differentiated between zionist settlers and Jewish natives. Palestinians have established a clear and rational framework for this distinction, like in the Thawabet, the National Charter of Palestine from 1968. Article 6 states, ‘The Jews who had normally resided in Palestine until the beginning of the Zionist invasion will be considered Palestinians.’ When individuals misread ‘decolonisation’ as ‘the mass killing or expulsion of Jews,’ it is often a reflection of their own entanglement in colonialism or a result of zionist propaganda. Perpetuating this rhetoric is a deliberate misinterpretation of Palestinian thought, which has maintained this position over a century of indigenous organising.  Even after 100 years of enduring ethnic cleansing, whole communities bombed and entire family lines erased, Palestinians have never, as a collective, called for the mass killing of Jews or Israelis. Anti-zionism cannot shy away from employing the historical-political definitions of ‘settler’ and ‘indigenous’ in their discourse to confront ahistorical readings of Palestinian decolonial thought and zionist propaganda. 

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In the context of the United States, the most threatening zionist institutions are the entrenched political parties which function to maintain the status quo of the American empire, not Hillel groups on university campuses or even Christian zionist churches. While the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) engage in forms of violence that suppress Palestinian liberation and must not be minimised, it is crucial to recognise that the most consequential institutions in the context of settler-colonialism are not exclusively Jewish in their orientation or representation: the Republican and Democratic Party in the United States do arguably more to manufacture public consent for the slaughtering of Palestinians than the ADL and AIPAC combined. Even the Progressive Caucus and the majority of ‘The Squad’ are guilty of this.

Leila Shomali and Lara Kilani

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Hadith of the day. Sheikh Shomali

I’m ready to be God’s audience

Sheikh Javad Shomali | “Finding Love and Safety with God” Muharram 21 Lecture

Thanks for tagging me @thebanalone <3 

Relationship status: Single af Favourite colour: Yellow Lipstick or Chapstick: Lipstick Last song listened to: Horchata - Vampire Weekend Last movie watched: The Incredible Jessica James Top three shows: Bob’s Burgers is the only one I can think of (I watch a lot of TV but I don’t repeat anything else really) Top three characters: I can’t think of any, my coffee hasn’t kicked in yet Last book read: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and it fucked me up holy shit that book was a mess One hobby: Buying lots of lipstick and then only wearing the same three colors over and over again Favourite time of day: Late evening, around sunset   Coffee shop/cafe order: Something with coconut milk or caramel... or both Favourite childhood movie: Grease lol  Favourite Tumblr colouring trend: I don’t know what that is Favourite holiday and why: Halloween because spooky Question I’d like to add: No.

I tag @ourwarofwords @lipstickstickup @shomali @ace-deuce-bi @vivalajuwa @hanzoistrans @novalillies @shake-for-a-sheikh and anyone else who wants to do it 

Also, just to follow up if a person wants to learn more about God's justice would you recommend any specific lectures if you know any off the top of your head? Thank you - I really appreciate it!

I actually haven’t listened to many lectures this year so I’ve forgotten what is out there entirely. I would recommend anything by Sheikh Mohammad Shomali however. 

ASIA/JORDAN - King Abdallah II confirms: the defense of Christian and Muslim Holy Sites of Jerusalem is a "priority" for the Hashimite Monarchy

Amman - The protection of Jerusalem's holy Muslim and Christian sites is a "priority" for the Hashimite Monarchy, committed to supporting the birth of an independent Palestinian state that has Gerusalem East as the capital. This is what King Abdallah II of Jordan said to a delegation of religious, Christian and Muslim representatives from Jerusalem on Sunday, June 18, in Amman. The Jordanian Monarch remarked that the commitment in favor of Christian and Muslim communities is primarily in the protection of the status quo with respect to all unilateral measures aimed at modifying the traditional management of the Holy Places of Jerusalem and the codified measures that guarantee the access by faithful from various religious communities. King Abdallah also reaffirmed that only the birth of an independent Palestinian state in accordance with internationally defined and confirmed guidelines will really ensure the overcoming of the conflicts that torment the area. The Jordanian leader also expressed confidence in the commitment of US President Donald Trump to work for peace between Palestinians and Israelis. The gerosolomite delegation received by King Abdallah included, among others, Sheikh Abdul Azim Salhab, head of the Jerusalem Peace Council , and Bishop William Shomali, Patriarchal Vicar of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem for the Holy City and Palestine. Members of the delegation also thanked King Abdallah for his personal funding for the restoration project of the Sanctuary of the Holy Sepulcher.

O God, I came to ask You for Your help, but I forgot all my troubles when You showed Yourself to me. If the only way I can be with You is through my hardships, then let the hardships stay

— Sheikh Mohammad Ali Shomali

Our problem isn't that we don't love God—we love Him very much—our problem is that we are forgetful. We are like those who leave their loving family at home, and while wandering in the streets, we get lost. We start to believe that we've been abandoned, we begin to fear that we are alone in the world. And so we look to anyone and anywhere to find shelter, ignoring the holes in the roof and the dirt on the floor. All the while our loving family is at home, eager for our return, anxious for our well being.

The solution then is to remember, to keep God at the forefront of our minds. To begin the day with an intention to devote our little good deeds to God, to acknowledge the blessings He sends our way throughout the day, and to remember our imminent return Home when we will meet our Beloved.

This way, we are infusing a divine fragrance into our days through the sweet remembrance of God. As we keep our focus on Him, gradually our moments of distraction will decrease. And with these humble and broken pieces of remembrance that we manage, as if by magic, it will come together and bring God into our hearts in a very real way.

— Sheikh Mohammad Ali Shomali

Your rank on the ladder is measured by the intensity of your love for humanity, and by how much you feel indebted to God for the blessings He has given not just to you, but to others too.

— Sheikh Mohammad Ali Shomali

:)

May our days and nights always be infused with the fragrance of Quran.

— Sheikh Shomali

Currently reading peace be upon Ibrahim (again) and Self Knowledge by Sheikh Shomali (ha) :)