Kurds must keep their distance from the Palestinian situation and shun aligning with Hamas and its goal in fighting Jews.
Serwan Zangana | Exclusive to iKurd.net
The Jewish rabbi Zvi Kogan, who lived in the United Arab Emirates, went missing in November of 2024. Later in the same month, his body was found near the border of Oman. In fact, Rabbi Kogan was abducted and murdered by three Uzbek nationals, who were arrested by the UAE authorities and sentenced to death by a court on March 31.
The Abu Dhabi Federal Appeal Court ruled that the murder of Rabbi Kogan was an act of “terrorism.” However, by sentencing the murderers of Rabbi Kogan to death, the UAE took a legitimate and firm step against terrorism and anti-Semitism.
The radical Islamic groups, including Hamas, have always failed to send messages through logic and establish a modern democratic system under Islamic rule. In fact, transferring Islam to a political system will not only create a political crisis but also cause social clashes, which lead to permanent unrest in the nation.
It is noteworthy that the UAE Attorney General, Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, assured the public and the world that the UAE is a model society for diversity, and its judiciary system tackles any attempts that undermine the security of the country. According to Emirates News Agency, the Attorney General stated that the UAE “stands as a global model of coexistence and tolerance, where its laws protect all residents, regardless of religion or ethnicity, ensuring their safety and security.”
Indeed, with the violent protests by American university students, ignited by the Israeli-Hamas war, Jews have been living under the stress of the threat in America. The Jewish communities, including students across the U.S., have become targets of pro-Palestinians and Hamas. Obviously, when a certain group’s comfort zone, regardless of its belief or political affiliation, is breached, there will be a freedom crisis. This is what the Jewish community experienced in 2024 during the protests in America.
Today, American society has been trending downhill due to violent protests and antagonistic behaviors, and to a certain degree, U.S. foreign policy and its politics contributed to the agitations and the reactions of people. Also, the radical mindsets of some American politicians and the political conflicts between the Democratic and Republican Parties in America resulted in neglecting the danger of radical Islam in America.
However, the radical Islamic groups’ abhorrent views toward society in general can spark an intense debate on whether political Islam is unable to establish a foundation for a democratic system, or whether it is Islam as a religion per se that has no tolerance for other beliefs. Evidently, Islamic political systems in the past and present have proven their inability to become a foundation for a system that diverse groups and beliefs can stand on freely.
The protesters last year attempted to turn the universities into a conflict zone and the classrooms into a battlefield. Generally, U.S. authorities were not able to take measures and protect the comfort zone of the Jews, and university administrations failed to address the violent acts against Jewish students and adhere to a fair and solid policy to protect all students equally.
It is ironic that while the United States stands firm against global terrorism and defends human rights across the world, it has failed to protect its own citizens in America. Apparently, the politicians’ conflict and prioritization of their interests have impacted the American people and created a hostile environment in the public, as tolerance in America’s diverse society has been severely divided based on political, religious, and differing views overall.
The attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, by Hamas, which murdered many Jewish civilians in the region, and the war that ensued between the two, followed by the violent protests in the U.S. against American Jews. Therefore, American Jews had to take extra security measures and be more vigilant in synagogues and during their worship times.
One rabbi, who asked his name to be undisclosed, said that in addition to police officers providing security, some members of the synagogue are carrying concealed handguns. In fact, many synagogues locked their doors and avoided public interaction.
Security measures are lagging in the U.S., and the remnants of the chaos and violent protests of 2024 can still be observed in America’s major cities and universities.
Many Muslim students who came from abroad to study at American universities have seemingly become Hamas’ representatives, exporting its ideology to American streets and loudly chanting for the destruction and eradication of Jews. Now, the question is: Does Islam as a religion renounce Judaism, or is it the Arab Muslims’ long conflict against Israel and their opposition to the Jewish nation that calls for the destruction of Israel?
Indeed, such a question can create an ideological and political debate, but regardless, no Muslim leader denounced the killing of Jewish civilians after October 7.
The Radical Islam and Its Poisonous Roots
According to some Islamic sources, the history of radical Islam traces back to the early years of Islam with Alkhawarij, dissenters, which was a group that emerged in the Islamic year 73. The members of this group rebelled against Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Islam’s Khalifa, successor, and indeed, he later was assassinated by a member of the group.
However, Islamic scholars are not in complete agreement on the exact time and year of the establishment of Alkhawarij (dorar.net). Radical Islam has deepened its roots and exported its ideology to many communities across the world.
The Kurdish community was not immune to heinous acts of radical Islam, and unfortunately, some Kurds were radicalized and influenced by the extreme ideology of Islam, which caused devastation in Kurdistan.
Ansar-al Islam, which emerged in 2001, is an example of Kurdish Muslim extremists in Iraqi Kurdistan, as they believed in implementing the Islamic rule by force, and engaged in armed conflicts with other secular Kurdish forces, such as the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
In 2013, the Islamic State (ISIS) attacked the security forces in Erbil, which resulted in the killing and injuring of several dozen people.
Believably, in this attack, ISIS’ Kurdish members were involved, and according to Kurdpress, a video was released in Syria by ISIS in which a masked man identified himself as Abu Haris al-Kurdi, threatening the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan by returning and killing everyone: “With these guns, we will return to Kurdistan and we will kill all of the members of the KDP and PUK and security forces.”
In 2024, ISIS invaded many areas of Iraq, including Kurdistan, and committed vicious acts against people, especially the Yazidis. The fact is that Islam, in the form of a political system or any group or organization, will harm the Kurdish identity in the name of the unity of Islam.
Regardless of Islam being the religion of the majority of Kurds, they must not align with the Palestinian conflict.
The Kurds’ complicated political situation and the unsteady environment of Kurdistan are prone to shifting in an undesirable direction that creates severe agony for people. Therefore, Kurds must follow the proverb, “Fix your own problems before fixing others.”
That means it is necessary for Kurds to understand that the catastrophe in Gaza and the Palestinians killed in the Israeli-Hamas war were a consequence of October 7, Hamas’ attack on the Jews.
Hamas has brought long-term destruction to Gaza, which entirely impacted the region and changed the Middle East’s calculation. Kurds must keep their distance from the Palestinian situation and shun aligning with Hamas and its goal of fighting Jews.
Serwan Zangana, a contributing writer for iKurd.net, lives in Virginia, U.S. He serves as a correction officer.
The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of iKurd.net or its editorial team.
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