Gaza: A Test for Justice and Love

Islamophobia is everywhere, impacting Muslims or those perceived as such all around the world and justifying the use of more violence against them. Since October 7, 2023, Islamophobic acts have increased sharply in various countries (mainly in Europe and in the United States), revealing similar racist mechanisms against Muslims and Palestinians. Markers of ‘Muslimness’ (such as a hijab or a beard) as well as markers of ‘Palestinian-ness’ (such as a keffiyeh or a flag) become the target of racist anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian attacks. Thus, the Palestinian identity is 'Muslimized,' and vice versa, the racialized Muslim identity is 'Palestinized.' Such a conflation has led to the dehumanization of Muslims and Palestinians, but also of Arabs and any racialized minority group. All these victims are resisting the same criminal imperial machine and are part of the same global struggle against oppression, even if each one faces their own local problems. A convergence of struggles is therefore necessary, calling for rising up against all forms of injustice, whatever they may be. For example, overlooking the injustice that the Palestinians are currently suffering and failing to clearly show solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to exist and defend their territory is no longer acceptable. But such genocidal contexts also allow us to better know who is who and who believes in indivisible justice. The fight for greater social justice must be observed and measured every day and for each victim throughout the world, because without it, there is no love possible. Gaza has offered us all the opportunity to return to the very essence of love (which corresponds to a natural desire for fair treatment) by refocusing the struggle for a true indivisible justice that must liberate itself from everything that chains it to imperialism, subjugation, racism, and capitalism.