The idea that the Palestinian people have only been able to persist because of their religion is ridiculous to me. They are resisting because colonialism, apartheid and genocide are very bad things to which nobody would want to be subjected, not because of Islam. If Palestinians were atheists, is he suggesting that they wouldn’t have the strength or the will to resist? Would their lack of a belief in the supernatural turn them into doormats for Isn’treal?
I like Hakim’s content, but his position on religion is quite frustrating. He is a Muslim first and a Marxist second. Also, Joram van Klaveren is still a right-winger.
To attribute the enduring will of Palestinians to struggle for their freedom solely to their religion is reductive. Of course objective circumstances and material interests are major factors too. But at the same time we should not discount the role that faith and cultural values play in inspiring courage, resilience and faith in victory. Even though these are immaterial factors they are nonetheless real. Religion is of course not the only thing which can fulfil this role, and people can be motivated to endure great suffering and commit selfless acts of sacrifice for the struggle by many different things. Revolutionary fervor, the belief in fighting for a better future, plays a big role in every liberation movement. The impact of morale in a war should not be underestimated.
That being said, it’s probably not a good idea to proselytize your own faith (or lack thereof) to others in the struggle, it creates needless friction when we should accept for now that we each have different reasons why we fight and what matters is that we fight for the same goal.