Palestinianism—a definition

Whenever you see a pro-Arab demonstration, you will notice two things. First, you will see posters carrying slogans that support the reason for the protest. For example, you might see signs saying, ‘Free Libya’ or ‘Democracy for Egypt’.

But you will also see something else: signs and slogans to support ‘Palestine’.

Why would someone carry a ‘Palestine’ sign at a ‘Free Syria’ or a ‘free Egypt’ protest? What does that ‘Palestine’ sign have to do with Syria or Egypt?

If you ask such a question, someone in the crowd will invariably tell you that the ‘Palestine’ sign is appropriate. ‘Palestine,’ you will be told, is part of a world-wide solidarity for freedom. Why wouldn’t you support a ‘Free Palestine’?

It’s a nice sentiment. Everyone wants freedom. It’s a universal desire. It rings true, especially for the Muslim world. Isn’t this what the Arab Spring is all about?

But freedom for ‘Palestine’ is a problem. ‘Palestinians’ aren’t the only Muslims yearning for their own state. The Kurds, primarily Muslim, also want statehood. Why don’t you see ‘Free the Kurd’ signs?

This question is important. The Kurds are important.  They reveal the truth about ‘Palestinianism’.

For example, Kurds are very different from ‘Palestinians’. Kurds have their own language. Their language is recognized by regional neighbours. It distinguishes the Kurd as a unique ‘people’.  

Palestinians have no linguistically identifiable language. Their speech is not distinctively different from their Arab neighbours.  Their language marks them as exactly like other Arabs in their Region.

The Kurds have a distinctive history. Their stories and tales go back more than a 1,000 years. Kurdish rulers have names and family histories. There are Kurdish dynasties you can talk about and compare. Kurds fought wars and battles you can study.

Palestinians have no such history. They have no leaders from times of old. They have no ‘Palestinian’ dynasties. Their ‘national predecessors’ have no battles to study. They have no national predecessors.

Kurds have literature. They have poetry. ‘Palestinians’ don’t.

Unlike Kurds, ‘Palestinians’ have no borders. They have no homeland to sing about. They have no evidence that identifies them as a distinct ‘people’.

Both Kurds and Palestinians say they yearn for self-determination. Both yearn for their own state.

But only the Kurd has a distinctive history to validate his distinctiveness. Only the Kurd has a language. Only the Kurd has a national poetry. Only the Kurd has an identifiable homeland.

But only the Palestinian gets support at pro-Muslim protests. The Kurds--who have the stronger case for statehood--are neglected.

There is a reason for this. The ‘Palestinian’ cause is different from the Kurd cause. The Kurd cause is about their local political situation. It’s about statehood.

The Palestinian cause is not local. If you listen to their Arabic rhetoric (even in translation), their cause isn’t about statehood. It’s about religion.

That’s why every Arab protest includes solidarity with ‘Palestinians’. That solidarity isn’t political. It’s religious. It is a Muslim solidarity for Muslims fighting a religious war for Islam against infidels. That religious connection is what prompts the support for ‘Palestine’—and the neglect of the Kurd.

The Kurd doesn’t fight against the infidel. He doesn’t fight to expand the hegemony of Islam. He fights only for himself. The Palestinian, however, fights for Islam.

Read the Hamas Charter. It’s all there. ‘Hamas’ does not mean ‘statehood’. It does not mean ‘Arab Nationalism Movement’. It translates as, ‘Islamic Resistance Movement.’

Hamas is a religious Islamic organization. It is dedicated to Mujahida—armed struggle in the name of the Islamic god.

Second, Hamas’ battle (struggle) is not for statehood. It is a battle ‘with [against] the Jews.’

Hamas is religious. It is anti-Semitic. It is racist.

For Hamas, there is no political solution to the ‘Palestinian’ problem. The only solution is Jihad. 

Jihad does not refer to politics. It does not refer to statehood. Jihad is holy war.

Third, the raison d’etre of Hamas is not political. ‘The Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas] is a link in [a long] chain of the Jihad against the Zionist’. Its raison d’etre is the destruction of the infidel Jewish entity.

Fourth, the Hamas goal is not peace. Its goal is to replace Israel with an Islamic entity.

The PLO Charter repeats this goal using a more Western-palatable language. It is more ‘secular’ in its presentation. But its goal is the same—to remove the ‘Zionist’ entity.

For the Muslim, Hamas is the religious half of the war against the Jews. Fatah (the PLO) is the secular half of the war against the Jews.

Together, Hamas and Fatah lead the struggle against Israel. Together, they form ‘Palestinianism’.  ‘Palestinianism’ is the religious struggle to destroy Judaism and the Jewish state so that Islam can rule supreme in the Middle East.

Support the ‘two state solution’ and you support ‘Palestine’.

Support ‘Palestine’ and you support ‘Palestinianism’.

By supporting ‘Palestinianism’, you support Islamic conquest.