By Kasim Hafeez
Posted by Tal Wolf on ISRAELI FRONTLINE facebook group
Islamist-turned-Zionist says Europe obsessed with Israel, ignores global atrocities...
The recent decision by the Canadian government to close the Iranian embassy and expel all Iranian diplomats, citing "Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today," is as courageous as it is logical. It has been apparent from its very ascent to power that the regime in Tehran has been a sponsor of terror all over the globe - particularly targeting Israel and Jews.
Equally apparent is that the so called "Arab Spring" has rapidly descended into an Islamist winter, Assad’s regime will continue murdering its own people until it silences all opposition, the Saudi-funded Islamist ideology despises all other ideologies and, saddest of all, no one cares because the pathological obsession with Israel seems to mute the real human rights tragedies around the world.
Here in Europe and more so the Muslim world, people have bought into this obsession, seeing Israel and the Jews as the root of all evil, in droves we have taken part in flytillas, flotillas and every other publicity stunt meant to vilify Israel, citing human rights, while disregarding the fact that these stunts are performed under the patronage of the Iranian regime and the support of the Assad regime in Damascus.
Islamists who present themselves as the guardians of Islam have destroyed the Mausoleum of the Sufi saint Shaykh Ahmad Zarruq, accusing Muslims of engaging in idolatry. Similar acts have taken place in Mali, Pakistan and Iraq, as well as in Mecca and Medina over a century ago. The actual eradication of Muslim history takes place with no objection, yet Israel is repeatedly accused of conspiring to destroy the Al Aqsa mosque – an accusation that leads to condemnation from the Arab league and acts of violence.
Kasim during visit to Israel that changed his life
While these are just a few examples some of the true atrocities that are taking in place in the world, one could be fooled into believing that the only nation perpetrating any sort of wrongdoing is, you guessed it, Israel.
Boycotts, protests and weekly meetings to discuss how to further target ‘apartheid Israel’ occur all over the world, yet the silent cries of the victims of Assad's regime are ignored, the Islamist destruction of Sufi heritage continues unabated, and a regime that continuously exports terror moves forward with its quest for nuclear weapons - yet Israel is labeled a threat to world peace.
To be pro-Israel and Zionist can be a bit disheartening these days. With all the chaos, violence and terror around the world, Israel is still singled out for criticism from governments, the United Nations and protesters holding Al-Quds Day marches in cities all over the world, including right here in London.
Being a pro-Israel Muslim brings its own unique set of problems: I am accused of being a traitor by the more radical members of my faith, some of the so-called defenders of the Palestinians call me a paid stooge who has been brainwashed, while some of the stranger members of the pro-Israel movement accused me of practicing Taqiyah or being part of some grand deception.
I actually believe that we have much to be proud of. I recently visited Israel, and I can say with certainty that when it comes to making a case for Israel we have a huge advantage over our opponents - the truth. Israel is a nation where Muslims, Christians, Jews and other groups live side by side; there is no segregation or apartheid.
I was able to walk along Tel Aviv's beach and then walk into a mosque to pray. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, let’s be proud and tell people the truth about Israel, no matter how much people scream apartheid and genocide. Many of the lies are regurgitated by even the mainstream media, but that doesn’t stop the truth being the truth. As someone who spent so many years blindly hating Israel, I can say that learning the truth about Israel is inspiring and heartening.
It breaks my heart to see the images from Syria and the abhorrent silence from the self-appointed guardians of human rights, whose obsession with Israel has made them blind to the real tragedies taking place in so many nations where the leaders butcher their citizens.
We should be proud that even with the challenges, hate and terror Israel faces daily, it is determined to remain a beacon of democracy and freedom in a region so frequently darkened by totalitarian regimes. Where else in the Middle East, or the world even, would you find a country that sends aid to a territory whose rulers are committed to its destruction and fire rockets at it daily - only Israel! Israel isn’t what's wrong with the Middle East; it is what is truly amazing about the Middle East.
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Muslim, Zionist and Proud
His father praised Hitler, but Kasim Hafeez writes about love for Israel and Jewish people Source: YNet NEWS
By Kasim Hafeez
I am a Zionist, a proud Muslim Zionist, and I love Israel, but this was not always the case. In fact, for many years I was quite the extreme opposite. I experienced the high levels of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activity taking place on British university campuses, because I was the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel activist.
Growing up in the Muslim community in the UK I was exposed to materials and opinions at best condemning Israel, painting Jews as usurpers and murderers, and at worse calling for the wholesale destruction of the "Zionist Entity" and all Jews. In short, there was no accommodating a Jewish State in the Middle East.
To grow up around this constant barrage of hatred directed at Israel has a massive effect on an individual’s own opinions. More disturbingly, many of these people weren’t radical or extreme, but when it was about Israel the most vicious of rhetoric poured out, coupled with the casual anti-Semitism that seemed too prevalent, when the phrase "stop being a Jew" used as an insult.
My father, however, was much more brazen in his hatred, boasting of how Adolf Hitler was a hero, his only failing being that he didn't kill enough Jews.
By the time I had reached 18 I was completely indoctrinated to the fold of radical Islamism. My hate for Israel and for the Jews was fuelled by images of death and destruction, set to the backdrop of Arabic melodies about Jihad and speeches of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah or Osama Bin Laden.
These views were reinforced when I attended Nakba Day rallies, where speakers predicted Israel's demise as Hezbollah flags were waved proudly in the centre of London.
The Case for Israel
Was there a case for Israel? In my mind, of course not, there was no shadow of doubt. Even the most moderate clerics I came across refused to condemn terrorism against Israel as unjustified; the Jews must obviously deserve it, I believed.
So what changed? How could I go from all this hatred to the great love for and affinity with Israel and the Jewish people? I found myself in the Israel and Palestine section of a local bookstore and picked up a copy of Alan Dershowitz’s The Case for Israel. Given my worldview, the Jews and Americans controlled the media, so after brief look at the back, I scoffed thinking "vile Zionist propaganda."
I did, however, decide to buy it, content that I would shortly be deconstructing this propaganda piece, showing that Israel had no case and claiming my findings as a personal victory for the Palestinian cause.
As I read Dershowitz’s arguments and deconstruction of many lies I saw as unquestionable truths, I searched despairingly for counter arguments, but found more hollow rhetoric that I’d believed for many years. I felt a real crisis of conscience, and thus began a period of unbiased research. Up until that point I had not been exposed to anything remotely positive about Israel.
Now, I didn't know what to believe. I'd blindly followed others for so long, yet here I was questioning whether I had been wrong. I reached a point where I felt I had no other choice but to see Israel for myself; only that way I’d really know the truth. At the risk of sounding cliché, it was a life-changing visit.
No apartheid state
I did not encounter an apartheid racist state, but rather, quite the opposite. I was confronted by synagogues, mosques and churches, by Jews and Arabs living together, by minorities playing huge parts in all areas of Israeli life, from the military to the judiciary. It was shocking and eye-opening. This wasn't the evil Zionist Israel that I had been told about.
After much soul searching, I knew what I had once believed was wrong. I had been confronted with the truth and had to accept it. But I had a bigger question to confront, what now? I’d for years campaigned against Israel, but now I knew the truth.
The choice was obvious: I had to stand with Israel, with this tiny nation, free, democratic, making huge strides in medicine, research and development, yet the victim of the same lies and hatred that nearly consumed me.
Doing this is not easy and that’s something that has become very obvious. I have faced hostility from my own community and even some within the Jewish community in the UK, but that’s the reality of standing up for Israel in Europe today. It is not easy, and that’s what makes it so necessary.
This isn’t about religion and politics; it’s about the truth.
When it comes to Israel, the truth is not being heard, the ranks of those filed with blind hatred continue to swell, yet many have not been exposed to the reality, away from the empty rhetoric and politically charged slogans they are so fond of.
We can change this situation but we need to be strong and united. Israel is not just a Jewish issue - it’s about freedom, human rights and democracy, all the values that Western nations cherish. It’s also about trying to be a light among nations.
Israel’s international humanitarian aid work speaks for itself, but if we don’t get the message out there, no one will. We don’t have to be head-bowed apologists leading with :Israel’s not perfect…" - we should never be afraid to say: I am a Zionist and I’m proud. I stand with Israel. Now I ask, will you do that?
Kasim Hafeez is a British Muslim and former Islamist who is now a proud Zionist and stands with Israel. He runs www.theisraelcampaign.org and has a blog on this site. He is also on the advisory board of StandWithUs in the UK and recently completed a university speaking tour.
