Let’s be mindful of the oppressor’s tactics. The blueprint never changes. By recognising the signs, we can remain on the right side of history and stand up for those who need our support.
Let’s be mindful of the oppressor’s tactics. The blueprint never changes. By recognising the signs, we can remain on the right side of history and stand up for those who need our support.
The current genocide in Gaza and the massacre of the Prophet’s (PBUH) family in Karbala show that the tactics used by the oppressors to suppress innocent people remain the same.
This article’s purpose isn’t a comparison of the Palestinian genocide with the events on Ashura Day. Although both events involve the mass murder of innocent people, the Karbala discussion has theological and sectarian implications that are outside the scope of this article, as is any discussion of the circumstances that led to both events.
Rather, the article highlights that, despite both events being over a millennium apart, the tactics employed by the evildoers have mostly stayed the same.
Here are nine ways Yazid’s army is similar to Netanyahu’s.
1. They use religion as a guise
What’s Israel’s overall thinking behind its gruesome colonisation campaign?
That Palestine is a land God promised them because they are the chosen people. Israel uses this rationale as justification for mercilessly killing and expelling the native Palestinian people.
In recent times, Netanyahu has been seen referring to religious scripts to justify his genocidal campaign. For example, Netanyahu used the biblical quote “Remember what the Amalek did to you.”
In biblical history, God commands King Saul in the first Book of Samuel to kill every person in Amalek, a rival nation to the ancient Israelites. Thus, his quotation of this verse was seen as a call for genocide justified by religious scripts.
Yazid was as un-Islamic as a caliph could get. The scholar Ibn Hazm, in his book Al Muhalla, describes Yazid as “oppressive and devoid of any legitimacy.”
Many scholars, such as Allaamah Shawkaani and Abul Hasan Ali bin Muhammad Bin Ali Al Twabarii, have further stated how Yazid was a drunkard, which is a well-known fact in many scholarly circles of all sects.
So, how did Yazid get to a position where he could murder Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet?
Yazid’s father, Muawiya, was the caliph before Yazid. Muawiya had agreed to give the caliphate to Imam Hasan, the eldest grandson of the Holy Prophet, yet passed it to Yazid instead.
The seat of Islam gave Yazid the authority to justify his actions.
2. Cutting off water supply
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli government has taken significant measures to decimate Gaza’s water supply.
On October 9, 2023, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared a “total blockade” of Gaza, including a ban on food and water.
Concurrently, Energy Minister Yisrael Katz ordered the cessation of Israel’s water supply to Gaza as part of this blockade.
This decision intensified an already precarious situation, as Gaza’s access to clean water was severely limited even before the current genocide.
Water blockades that deny civilians access to essential resources are generally illegal under international law.
Cutting off water supply can lead to severe dehydration, increased risk of waterborne diseases, and deterioration of sanitation conditions for the affected population.
Similarly, Yazid’s army, led by Umar ibn Saad, cut off the water supply from Imam Hussain and his family on the 7th of Muharram. Imam Hussain was martyred on 10th Muharram, which meant he, his family and companions spent three days in scorching Arabia without any water.
3. Killing children
Since 7 October alone, Israel has slaughtered over 24,000 Palestinian women and children.
Deliberately killing women and children is a war crime under the Geneva Convention.
On the Ashura Day, the evildoers did the same:
- Imam Hussain’s newborn baby was shot in the neck with an arrow.
- Other children and nephews, some of which were under pre-baligh.
Women and children have nothing to do with war. Killing them intentionally is a crime against Allah (swt.)
4. Taking women and children prisoners
Yazid’s army wasn’t satisfied with killing Imam Hussain (as). The army proceeded to burn Imam Hussain’s tents, take the women and children captive, and steal their belongings.
Since October 7 alone:
- 275 women have been arrested
- 520 children have been arrested
All arrests are practically for petty or non-crimes. They are held without a hearing.
5. Spreading propaganda
A common tactic of the perpetrator is to brand themselves as the victim.
Isn’t that what Israel is doing?
Despite illegally occupying Palestine, Israel claims they are the victims of violence and anti-semitism. They use this to brainwash their army to carry out their crimes, and the wider world supports their pursuits.
Imam Hussain’s opposition to Yazid was posited as a “rebellion against a legitimate Islamic ruler.”
In actuality, Imam Hussain saw the values brought by his grandfather, the Holy Prophet, were slowly being eroded by the Ummayad empire. As a result, he wanted to return Islam to the Prophetic version.
In his own words, Hussain said he was rising up “to revive the affairs of the Ummah of my grandfather”, and to “enjoin the good, and forbid the evil”.
6. Suppressing any voices of support
Before Ashura Day, Imam Hussain sent his cousin Muslim ibn Aqil to Kufa to garner support. Muslim managed to get thousands of Muslims to support Imam Hussain’s mission. However, the Ummayad government used threat tactics to discourage the Muslims from joining Hussain.
Similarly, the Ummayad imprisoned Hussain’s supporters. For example, Mukhtar al-Thaqafi was imprisoned before the Battle of Karbala.
Similarly, anyone who stands up for Palestine is:
- Labeled a terrorist
- Fired from their job
- Ridiculed and mocked
- Funding taken away from where they work
- Character assassinated
7. Enclavement
Ironically, it was a right winger and former UK Prime Minister David Cameron who called Gaza an open-air prison.
Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas on Earth, with over 2 million people living in a small region only 41 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide.
Despite withdrawing its troops and settlers in 2005, Israel still controls Gaza’s airspace, shared border, and shoreline. Both Israel and Egypt impose a partial blockade on Gaza, restricting the movement of people and goods.
Although the Oslo Accords recognized the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a single territorial unit, Israel has heavily restricted movement between these areas. People can only travel from the West Bank to Gaza if they permanently relocate there, effectively splitting the Palestinian territories.
Additionally, Israel enforces a comprehensive system of movement restrictions within the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), including checkpoints, roadblocks, and permit requirements, affecting travel within the OPT, to Israel, and the rest of the world.
Similarly, Imam Hussain and his camp were enclaved. They were forced to set up the tent in Karbala on either the 2nd or 3rd of Muharram, and they were surrounded by enemies from all angles, making it impossible to escape or fetch water.
8. Mockery
After Karbala, Imam Hussain’s head and the heads of the other martyrs were paraded on spears in the public. The surviving family members were tied up and chained and paraded in the streets of Damascus. People threw objects like boiling water at them and they were humiliated this way.
Today, we see disgusting Israeli soldiers playing with and trying on Palestinian women’s underwear and keeping prisoners naked in the open air.
9. But the minority kept the message alive
No matter what the oppressors try, the truth cannot remain hidden.
In Karbala, the survivors kept the truth about Ashura Day alive. This truth has been passed down from generation to generation and is the reason we can write about it today.
Similarly, we, the people, are keeping the truth behind Palestine alive by attending protests and using our social media channels. Our efforts mean the wider world is understanding the truth behind Israel, and their mask is slipping.
More and more non-Muslims are speaking out and attending protests-even celebrities.
The blueprint never changes
Let’s be mindful of the oppressor’s tactics. The blueprint never changes. By recognising the signs, we can remain on the right side of history and stand up for those who need our support.
