August, 1,2026
The Pain of Betrayal and the Hope for Justice
By Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak, Ph.D.
A man or woman
who is betrayed by a spouse after marriage
will be enraged with anger.
The same goes for a businessman
when his partner betrays him.
People of a nation
will feel betrayed
when an elected leader
breaks promises made
before taking the seat of power.
In the case of the Palestinians,
they feel betrayed
by the leaders in the Arab world.
Publicly, Arab leaders say
that they stand with the oppressed people of Palestine,
but clandestinely,
they are with the genocidal regime of Israel,
supplying weapons, oil,
and other basic amenities.
When the Palestinians
were observing their fast during Ramadan,
without having enough access
to food, water, and shelter,
the Arab leaders of the Gulf
stayed dumbfounded
and voiceless.
Knowing the pain and suffering
of the Palestinians,
the Muslim Ummah in the Arab world
grew impatient
and wanted to cross borders
to alleviate the suffering
of their fellow Muslims in Palestine.
The Arab leaders
curtailed such an act.
While the Hitler of the modern era in Israel
was butchering innocent children and women
who were non-combatants,
the United Nations,
which exists under the control
of the rich and powerful,
was not able to take
any affirmative action
against the tyrannical nations
like the United States of America and Israel.
When anger and protest
went lukewarm
in some parts of the Muslim world,
people in the UK,
the US,
and some European countries
kept the pressure on their leaders
not to support the regime in Tel Aviv.
Thank God,
the Internet and social media
have helped the Palestinians,
Yemenis, Lebanese, Iranians,
and other oppressed nations
to let the world know
the amount of injustice and cruelty
they have to endure
at the hands of the Pharaohs
of the modern world.
Despite the cruelty
and the lack of justice,
people of the world,
regardless of race, colour, and religion,
are united
in fighting oppression,
corrupt practices of their leaders,
unnecessary wars
that kill the lives of the innocents,
racism,
and the caste system
that divides people
according to their social status.
Even knowing well
that the path to peace,
fairness, justice, equality, and equity
is laden with thorn bushes and thistles,
religious leaders,
peacemakers,
poets, thinkers,
teachers, and writers
are still hopeful
of a better world
that is to come
after this present chaos.
(The views expressed are those of Dr. Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak, Department of Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Studies, AHAS KIRKHS, IIUM, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Potret Online.)
