12 Oct 2023: Affirming my interfaith role in this war
12 October 2023
Affirming my interfaith role in this war
The world has forsaken its clarity; it's no longer just black and white or shades of grey. Instead, it feels cloaked in darkness. It's as if I've lost sight or something has switched off.
Receiving voice messages from Israeli friend filled with cries and waking up to a text from Gaza that begin with "I donโt know if I will stay alive." I've become numb, as facing reality now means confronting feelings I can no longer access. I cannot reason, and therefore I cannot engage.
Embracing my Feelings & and Affirming my Role
I've come to terms with the fact that this distant war has a tangible impact on me, and I won't deny that. However, I've also chosen to distance myself from it to maintain the peace around me.
My role and responsibility lie in fostering good relationships and preserving peaceful relations in my immediate surroundings. That's where I'll focus my efforts. That is the Singaporean ethos I was nurtured with. That is the lesson I learned from years of working on racial and religious harmony.
I do not want to be part of a social media fight, saying things that could hurt people nearby and far affected by what is happening. I wonโt give in to pressure to say something because it will not save lives. That is a hard truth. I'm determined to remain in the middle, even if it means enduring criticism. No criticism can outweigh the pain of the ongoing conflict in which innocent people die.
I will speak where I need to to those who I need to. I will put my opinions across to those who will listen and consider. This is a privilege I earned for the relationships I built, so I have been doing that.
Strengthening my Faith
I believe Allahโs promise to us, Muslims and the world in Quran, 2:45:
โ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ โ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆโ
I must have my faith stronger than before.
I am also reminded of the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks at p 101 of "Rabbi Sacks and the Community We Built":
โ๐๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ง๐ถ๐ญ, ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ; ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐จ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐บ, ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ด๐บ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ต๐ฉ; ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐บ๐ด, ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ง๐ช๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด - ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ โ
Gaining Confidence and strength
Today, I received this flower with a card from a Muslim friend in hash.peace that said, โ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆโ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บโ.
This kind gesture from a Muslim friend who has observed what I am experiencing on social media is a light in the darkness. I thank Allah for sending me confidence through her.
Then, I received a message from a Jewish friend in Singapore, who said: โ๐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฎ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ช๐ค ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ธ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ด๐ณ๐ข๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐งโ.
For someone who shared his confused feelings of unusual anger and sense of personal violation, this a profound expression of understanding and empathy, providing comfort during a challenging time. I thank G-d for sending me strength through him.
This is how I see my part in this situation: to preserve our good relations in Singapore. After all, is that not what years of interfaith relations were about? Keep the relations strong when tested. This is what I dare to do, and I will do.
What can you do?
The cutoff of aid to Gaza is indeed distressing and heartbreaking. I hope this does not continue and changes soon. I sincerely pray for this blockade to be removed as urgently as possible.
Meanwhile, any assistance that reaches the innocent people affected is crucial. However, do not let your emotions cloud your rationality and critical thinking. Insisting on accountability before making donations is a responsible approach. Ask how the aid is reaching the civilians.
For further guidance on responding to the Palestinian people's suffering and finding ways to help, please refer to https://muslim.sg/.../4-ways-to-respond-to-the-suffering....
I also ask you to extend your support and understanding to your Israeli and Jewish friends during this difficult time. They are currently dealing with profound hurt, pain, shock, and trauma following the terrorist attack by Hamas. It's been tough for them.
Regardless of any differences of opinion about the reasons and circumstances behind the attack, it's crucial to demonstrate compassion and kindness to people who both deserve and need it.
Postscript: For those who perceive these statements as overly comforting or simplistic, I urge you to venture beyond your familiar circles. Stepping outside your echo chamber may reveal deeper truths. Engage in sincere, on-the-ground interfaith dialogues with individuals holding diverse perspectives. Such interactions could offer a more nuanced understanding of the realities experienced by those around you.
Holding the Ropes: Interfaith Dialogue & Reflections Surrounding the Israel-Gaza War is a blog series that follows the events, dialogues and reflections experienced by Nazhath Faheema in the aftermath of the 2023 Israel-Gaza war. Triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and Israelโs military response, there continues to be widespread destruction and civilian displacement in Gaza. Additionally, Israeli hostages remain in captivity.
Against this backdrop, Nazhath Faheema, through her reflections, provides insights into the dynamics of the war, its impact on interfaith relations, and the inherent challenges and opportunities in fostering understanding and empathy between Jewish and Muslim communities.
