Outline
- Introduction and Background
- Who Was Shireen Abu Akleh
- Dying for a Cause
- An Overview of the Mixed Reactions that Followed the Killing
- The Cause of the Confusion
- When Emotions and Rational Decide Our Religion
- How Should a Muslim Reacts to the Death of non-Muslim?
- What Guides the Muslim?
- Similar Incident
- Conclusion
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Beneficent
Introduction and Background
Alhamdulillah… infinite thanks and praise are due to the Almighty Allah, the Owner of the Day of Judgement. Complete peace and salutations are upon our intercessor on the Day of Judgement, Sayyidunā Muhammad, his household, his companions, and all those who follow his guided path.
On 11/5/2022, Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American and a long-time correspondent for Aljazeera Arabic channel was assassinated by the Israeli forces in the city of Jenin. According to a witness cited by Aljazeera, Shireen was assassinated while covering Israeli army raids in the city.
With her assassination, Shireen Abu Akleh turned from a news reporter to herself being the news. It was not surprising then, that her killing was received with mixed reactions in the Muslim world, more specifically in the Middle East. However, the mixed reactions have revealed a strange, yet great level of confusion in the minds of some Muslims. In all honesty, the level of confusion is scarier than we thought.
This article discusses the assassination of Shireen Abu Akleh and the confusion that was observed thereafter. To better understand the bigger picture, it’s important to get to know who Shireen Abu Akleh was.
Who Was Shireen Abu Akleh
Born in 1971 in Jerusalem, Shireen Abu Akleh was a prominent correspondent for the Aljazeera news channel. She joined the channel in 1996, a year after its launch, and remained with them for 25 years, until her assassination. When I started watching Aljazeera, Shireen Abu Akleh was already effectively reporting from Palestine.
In other words, a whole generation of youth today opened their eyes to the voice and image of Shireen. For the past 25 years, it was unlikely, that reports from Palestine would be aired on Aljazeera (Arabic) without one of them being reported by Shireen Abu Akleh.
Besides journalism, Shireen was a native Palestinian, thus, she reported the struggles and sufferings of the Palestinian people with Palestinian eyes. That made the viewer immersed with her and the Palestinian issue in general.
In numerous reports, or say documentaries, Shireen did indicate her fears of being assassinated by the Israeli forces one day. And that is exactly what has happened.
Undoubtedly, she lived and died for a cause she believed in. That’s being the voice of Palestine to the outside world, with readiness to die for that cause.
However, not many of us, especially non-Arabic Arabic viewers (or speakers) from outside the Arab world knew Shireen was not Muslim. She was rather a Catholic Christian.
Her religious status is what revealed the confusion that many Muslims have in their minds.
Dying for a Cause
Anyone who dies for a cause he believes in is respected and honoured by people(s) who also have the same cause at heart. In fact, even when the cause is wrong, for one to die for it means he was true to his belief. And this is the type of cause Shireen died for. Even people from faiths different from hers respected her.
This means, likewise many Palestinian Christians, Shireen also believed that the conflicts surrounding al-Masjid al-Aqsa and the Palestine was a cause worth fighting and dying for. This is exactly as it is for Muslims, especially Palestinian Muslims.
However, while a non-Muslim fights for a land for the sake of the land, the Muslim fights for a land for the sake of Allah. Had Allah not made the land sacred, or encouraged defending it, it would have no value.
So, Palestinian Muslims and Christians are defending the same thing, but with different (opposite) ideological motives.
This simple equation which you just read is what caused the mixed reactions that followed Shireen’s assassination.
An Overview of the Mixed Reactions that Followed the Killing
Shireen Abu Akleh used her journalism profession to advocate for the Palestinian issue. Furthermore, she was killed while carrying out her profession and documenting the Israeli transgressions against the Palestinian people. This happened, even though she had her bullet proof vest that was clearly labeled with “PRESS” on it. Her killing happened on air. And her death happened instantly.
Besides being born in Jerusalem, Palestine, and besides her history and legacy, the way she was killed touched and triggered a lot of emotions. This is also beside the fact that she was seen as a role model in journalism for many in the Arab world, especially Palestinian young girls.
With that, emotions escalated rapidly. Very rapidly. And young men with little or no fundamental knowledge about Islam jumped in to perform Islamic rituals in the name of Islam for Shireen. Well, it’s against the Islamic teachings to perform such rituals on non-Muslims.
For instance, a Muslim can’t pray for a person who died as non-Muslim, regardless of the cause of his, and regardless of the cause he lived for. In fact, even if the person is a blood relative to the Muslim, i.e., a parent, a spouse, a child, or a sibling. Let alone a distance person who happens to be a journalist.
The effects of losing or undermining religious ruling became obvious when some Muslims uttered the following:
- “If Shireen doesn’t go to Paradise, I don’t want such a heaven.” Does this sound familiar? A few days prior to that, Elon Musk declared that he doesn’t care if he ends up in Hell, since the majority of humans will end up in Hell. A statement like this clearly takes one out of the fold of Islam.
- “We must pray for the Shireen even if it’s against the clear teachings of Allah.” Well, Allah rejecteced Ibliss simply because he went against the command, and wanted things his way.
Besides that, we have seen people:
- Reciting Surah al-Fatihah on the Shireen’s soul. If we agree on the permissibility of reading al-Fatihah for the souls of the deceased, it should only be done for the Muslim. Not for non-Muslim.
- Performing salah al-Janazah for Shireen. How do you perform Islamic prayer on a non-Muslim?
- Claiming martyrdom for Shireen. In Islam, martyrdom is for Muslims, who die for Allah’s cause. Not who die for any other cause with Allah out of the equation.
- Name their newborns after Shireen.
In the end, while people were emotionally affected, it was obvious that, they lost Allah in the process. What made this even worse is that some perceived Islamic scholars came out to make fatwas approving praying for Shireen. Unfortunately, using the strangest justifications.
The Cause of the Confusion
For a non-Arabic speaking person, or who doesn’t follow Arabic speaking media, you probably only heard of Shireen Abu Akleh after her assassination. However, for any Arabic-speaking person, if they watch Aljazeera Arabic, Shireen Abu Akleh is one of two or three Aljazeera icons who reported from Palestine.
As indicated earlier, a whole generation opened their eyes to this world through the voice and image of Shireen. This is besides the fact that she has been reporting about the sufferings, the struggles as well as the plight of the Palestinian people, she’s seen as an angel. Regardless of what here religion could be.
And this, “failing to understand the effect of one’s faith/religion, for when his death arrives, and realising the crucial nature of that and the need to learn to manage it” is what revealed more confusions that many Muslims have in their minds.
To be honest, I never thought about Shireen’s religion. However, after the announcement of her killing, I paused when I wanted to pray for her. Shortly after that, the debate and arguments pertaining to her religion started, and in no time, it became a sensation in the Middle East.
The little awareness I have helped me out. Also, I have known the ruling pertaining to that, way before I even knew about Shireen herself. Therefore, it was only a matter of whether she qualifies for the Muslim to pray for her. When I realized she doesn’t qualify, I aligned my emotions and rationale with the rule and commands of Allah and His Messenger.
Therefore, a lack of Islamic religious knowledge has led to the absence of awareness. And the absence of awareness has led to following emotions and rationale in religious matters.
When Emotions and Rational Decide Our Religion
While I refer to the reactions as confusion, and they are, indeed, I must admit that it’s a reflection of being overwhelmed by emotions.
The majority of the Muslims in the world, more so in the Middle East have been keeping so much frustrated for a long time. The sense of transgression is one thing. The humiliation is another. Being discriminated against is from another angle. And being denied justice is a whole different story.
It’s needless to indicate the unfairness that the Palestinian people have been going through. And Shireen Abu Akleh had been part of the story making of the struggle of the Palestinian people.
Thus, it’s normal for anyone to feel sorry and angered for what has happened to Shireen. That’s the emotional part. And as humans, it’s alright to be emotional. However, our emotions must be guided by Islam and tamed with Islam.
Therefore, how we react to the death of anyone who was killed unjustly, be he Shireen or anyone else depends on whether the person dies as Muslim or not. If a person dies as a Muslim, Islam has a package of guidelines on how to react to that. And if the person dies as a non-Muslim also, there’s a guideline given to us by Islam to follow.
Mind you, we don’t just ignore. Just that, the protocols are different. We can still convey our condolences to their relatives. In fact, we can pray for the relatives too.
How Should a Muslim React to the Death of a non-Muslim?
GSalam.Net has a detailed article that outlines The Islamic Way of Reacting to the Death of Non-Muslims. Please give it a read, and share it with your family, children, relatives, friends, and loved ones.
What Guides the Muslim?
A Muslim is a Muslim because he subscribes to Islam. Thus, Islam decides for him what he can or can’t do. In fact, Islam regulates for him his emotions, his life, his death, his family life, social interactions, business transactions, governance, and international relations.
قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ * لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ ۖ وَبِذَٰلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ.ـ
“Say, “My prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds; He has no partner. So am I commanded, and I am the first of those who submit.”” (Surah al-An'ām, 6:162-163)
It’s therefore not wise, in fact not guidance to aggressively push Muslims to go against the clear teachings of Islam… which is our way of life! and make Shireen a Muslim.
Similar Incident
If you’re out the Arab world and don’t follow the regional media of the place, you may not be aware about her. However, there’re similar incidents that might have happened in your location or a location of interest to you. Think of the following:
- Nelson Mandela of South Africa
- Steve Jobs, of Apple
- Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore
- Stephen Hawking, the English theoretical physicist
Conclusion
The Ummah reached this level of great confusion in the minds of its youth due to two main factors. They’re the home education factor, and factor of the conventional education system.
As for the home education factor, it’s probably because both parents are busy working outside the home. Thus, children are deprived of the basics of the fundamentals of Islam. And this, if you’re aware of the ideological invasion against Islam, you know it’s planned to be so.
As for the conventional education system factor, I’m sure you’ll agree with me, that the conventional education system succeeded in shaping the mindset or producing Muslims with very shaky faith or low faith, indeed. A generation of Muslims, who are driven by their emotions and deception (that they want to refer to as logic and rationale) than been led by their submission and obedience to Allah. A generation of Facebook and Tiktok.
What can be done to rectify things before it’s too late? Please share your thoughts in the comments area below.
Allah knows best.
Allahu Hafiz 🙂
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