Faith leader challenges stereotypes about Palestinians
The stereotype that Palestinians are either Muslim extremists or enemies of faith should be challenged.
This is according to Rev Dr Munther Isaac, who was speaking at the Jumu’ah lecture at the Gatesville Mosque, or Masjidul Quds, on Friday.
Isaac, Bethlehem Institute for Peace and Justice director, focused on Palestinian Christians living in the shadow of Zionism and Christian Zionism, drawing a crowd that filled the mosque beyond capacity.
The lecture, hosted by the Coalition for Good in partnership with Gift of the Givers, comes as Israel’s war on Gaza and continued military operations in the occupied West Bank persist for more than two years after the conflict escalated in October 2023.
Since then, Gaza has faced widespread destruction, mass displacement, severe shortages of food, water and medicine, and a deepening humanitarian crisis, while violence, raids and arrests have persisted in the West Bank.
According to QNA, the death toll from the Israeli occupation’s offensive on the Gaza Strip has risen to 71,271 people, with at least 171,230 others injured since it began.
Isaac said it was important to stay united.
“We are Palestinians, we are Arabs, we are Christians, and we are indigenous to the land — and that identity alone disrupts Zionist propaganda,” he said.
“This is why Israel repeatedly promotes the false claim that Palestinian Christians are persecuted by Muslims and are therefore leaving. It repeats this claim constantly.
“Even last week, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu said this — shame on him.
“The reality is the exact opposite … we need to stay united against a common enemy, and that is Zionism.”
He said: “We challenge the stereotype that Palestinians are either Muslim extremists or enemies of faith.”
Isaac also said it was not conflict of religious nature.
“We insist the problem is colonialism,” he said.
Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman was also present at the event.
The organisation provides extensive humanitarian aid in Palestine, including food, medical support, water, and housing assistance.
Sooliman said people should stand up “strongly and firmly” against those not doing the right thing.
“We, as Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Jews, are not going to allow that in our country or on our continent,” he said.
IOL News