Amal Al-Sibai Saudi Gazette The word extremism, in the media, is almost always coupled with the word Arabs or Muslims or Islam. The press refers to the Palestinians' reaction to being expelled out of their homeland and their resistance to the oppression, injustice, and humiliation they have endured from Israeli occupation, as Arab anger or Palestinian violence. It is true that responding to violence with violence is no solution, but it also true that the Palestinian struggle is not fairly represented in the media in the West, and that often a Palestinian's reported ‘act of violence' is actually in self-defense. A Palestinian defending himself against armed Israeli troops or fighting for his right to live in his home, or resisting seizure when trying to cross checkpoints to take his laboring wife to the hospital is often reported as a terrorist or extremist. How about violence coming from the other side, from the Israeli side? Very rarely does the media in the West show the violence perpetrated by Israeli soldiers against Palestinian women, old and ailing men, and teenage boys. Homes are demolished and bulldozed and families are terrorized but their stories do not usually make the headlines – until last week. When Mohammad Abu Khieder was burned to death by Israelis, and when his cousin, a 15 year-old Palestinian-American, Tareq Abu Khieder, posted a video revealing how he was brutally beaten by Israeli soldiers, the world took notice. Is Tareq's life more significant and newsworthy because he is American? Tareq has received widespread public attention, unlike countless other boys who have suffered similar atrocities, but their experiences failed to spur many news reports. The Washington Post reported that the Israeli government has arrested 6 Jewish suspects who are believed to have burned to death an Arab teenager as an act of revenge for the death of three Israeli soldiers. This heinous crime swelled Palestinian anger and set off a wave of protests. The Washington Post article stated, “Human rights advocates have long warned of an alarming rise in anti- Arab vandalism and vigilante attacks carried out by Jewish extremists.” Contrary to common news reporting, last week the word extremist was used for a group other than Arabs and Muslims. After Mohammad Abu Khieder's funeral, protestors took to the streets. Among the protestors was the deceased's cousin, Tareq, a Florida-born teenage boy who was vacationing with his family in East Jerusalem, when his vacation turned into a nightmare. Tareq was attacked and ruthlessly beaten by Israeli police officers. In a report by the Huffington Post, the boy's family said that he was not involved in the clashes, which ensued during the protests, but he was merely watching what was happening. In a video interview with Post TV, bruises, a swollen eye and lips, and other telling marks of abuse are evident on Tareq's face. He said, “I was standing there watching what was happening and then I heard some people screaming from the left side of me. I saw Israeli soldiers heading to me, so I ran, and when I tried to jump over a fence, I fell. Then the soldiers picked me up and slammed me on the ground and they kept beating me and then I went unconscious, and I woke up in the hospital.” Suha, the boy's mother, said on the video, “I'm angry, I'm disturbed. I'm ready to take legal action because this happens to Palestinians every single day. He's an American who happened to be here; that's why he had the opportunity for the media and for the whole world to hear him. But other Palestinians that live here; this happens to them all the time, and they never have a voice.” Innocent people suffering in Palestine, Syria, Burma, Ethiopia, and other places of the world have no voice. It is up to the conscientious thinkers, human rights activists, journalists, legalists, doctors, politicians, and religious leaders around the globe to make sure that these people's voices are heard no matter how hard their oppressors attempt to muffle their cries. Whether a person is an American or Palestinian, Christian or Jew or Muslim, the sanctity of a human life is universal. The only nationality or identity that matters is being a member of the human race. All men and women were created by God to worship Him, to build and nurture the Earth — not destroy it, and to serve mankind — not to torture fellow human beings. The headlines that we read each day are an indication that collectively as humans, we have lost mercy and sanctity for human life. Prophet Muhammad's words should resonate in our minds and hearts today. He (peace be upon him) said, “Those who are merciful, the Most Merciful (Allah) shall have mercy on them. Be merciful towards those on this Earth; so the One in the Heaven shall have mercy on you.” (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1847) Imam Al-Tibi, a scholar of Hadith explained, “The Prophet spoke in general terms to include all types of creatures. It means that mercy should be towards the righteous and unrighteous, towards humans and animals, towards beasts and birds.” (Mirqat al-Masabih, Hadith 4969)
