In the Quran, we know the story of how Bani Israel, the Children of Israel, were facing a genocide at the hands of Firaun, the Pharaoh of Egypt. Musa AS goes directly to Firaun and engages in a debate with him on the matter. The points that Firaun had brought up to Musa AS are the very same points that are currently being brought up by the Zionists when they attempt to defend their atrocities towards the Palestinians. If we can understand how Musa AS chose to respond, we can speak with the divine guidance that Allah swt has sent us in the Quran.

The Quran encourages justice and helping the oppressed.

The first argument: “Do you condemn Hamas?”

Firaun says to Musa AS:

وَفَعَلْتَ فَعْلَتَكَ ٱلَّتِى فَعَلْتَ وَأَنتَ مِنَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ ١٩

Then you did what you did,1 being ˹utterly˺ ungrateful

As you can tell, Firaun’s first argument was to bring up Musa AS’s past incident when he killed a soldier of Firaun by mistake. This was extremely hypocritical, as Firaun was slaughtering masses of people himself. This is an example of gaslighting, and is intended to extract a negative reaction from us. This is the equivalent to the notorious question that we’ve been receiving “Do you condemn Hamas’s attack on October 7?”

In addition, he accuses Musa AS of being of the non believers (min al kafireen), for not believing in the religion of the Pharaohs, when Firaun himself is, as we know, the actual non-believer himself. In the same manner, the Zionists are accusing Palestinians of wanting to “eradicate Jews'' and of terrorism in order to create a sense of fear towards Arabs and dehumanize the Palestinians. Again, the Israelis are accusing the Palestinians of desiring to commit the very acts they are actually committing. In reality it is the Israelis that are committing a genocide to eradicate the Palestinians and it is Israel committing acts of terror.

So when we are asked “Do you condemn Hamas?,” how should we respond?

Musa AS responded to Firaun:

قَالَ فَعَلْتُهَآ إِذًۭا وَأَنَا۠ مِنَ ٱلضَّآلِّينَ ٢٠
Moses replied, “I did it then, lacking guidance.”

Musa AS did not deny his crime; he did not try to say it was a mistake or that a soldier was abusing someone causing him to intervene. Instead, he simply acknowledged it and explained it was a past weakness that he moved on.

On Israeli Hasbara, or propaganda, websites, they advise their followers: “DO NOT explain Israel’s policy. DO NOT respond to anti-Israelis who seek to draw the discourse into a discussion about the Israel-Palestinian conflict as a whole…It is very difficult for us to win there (1).“ Instead, they suggest “focus on the hostages (1).”

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Address October 7 but do not play into what the Zionists want - they want to linger and keep the focus on it. We must not forget it is more important to address the oppression of Palestinians as a whole over the past 75 years. When they bring hostages, we should bring the prisoners in occupied Palestine since 2005 and let them give explanations, if they have any. We should keep our focus on international laws, and human rights principles.

Just like Musa AS, we can simply acknowledge the act of Oct 7, because entering into a debate on it or denying it doesn’t help us gain sympathy towards our cause. Instead, we should say “it happened because the Palestinians were facing immense oppression in a concentration camp” or something similar to the words of Musa AS. We can then use this as an opening to start a discussion on the broader Palestinian cause and their countless sufferings.

The common follow up argument:

قَالَ أَلَمْ نُرَبِّكَ فِينَا وَلِيدًۭا وَلَبِثْتَ فِينَا مِنْ عُمُرِكَ سِنِينَ ١٨
Pharaoh protested, “Did we not raise you among us as a child, and you stayed several years of your life in our care?

Firaun played on self virtue, and told Musa AS that he should be grateful because Firaun raised him and provided for him. When Zionists are told that Israel oppresses Palestinians, they commonly respond that they “graciously” provide the Palestinians water and electricity. 🤮

How should we respond to this?

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In the Quran Musa AS says:

وَتِلْكَ نِعْمَةٌۭ تَمُنُّهَا عَلَىَّ أَنْ عَبَّدتَّ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ ٢٢
How can that be a ‘favour,’ of which you remind me, when ˹it was only because˺ you ˹have˺ enslaved the Children of Israel?”

Musa AS argues that the only reason he needed care was because he’d be enslaved with the rest of Bani Israel otherwise. In the same way, just like Musa AS, we should respond that Palestinians only need to receive aid because Israel has stolen all the land and all the resources in the first place. It was in direct result of this that the Palestinians had nothing to begin with and were in need. Israel is giving back a small and unsustainable amount of what they’ve stolen and calling it charity.

Tone and demeanor:

Musa AS was calm and confident in his tone and demeanor and we need to refrain from becoming emotional and angry while speaking. Our tone should be tailored to the audience because there are many people that are hearing about this topic for the first time and may view us negatively based on how we carry ourselves. Engage in a respectful and open dialogue. Focus on understanding their perspective, while expressing your own views thoughtfully. Avoid inflammatory language and try to find common ground for constructive conversation.

We are not just speaking to the elected official or the Zionist. Remember you are communicating to everyone else in the room as well, so don’t use their responses to measure your success. It might be that you’ve convinced someone listening in.

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1. https://israelunderfire.net/best-practices/

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