WHILE the more fortunate will be sharing the joys of Eidul Fitr with their families, many in the Muslim world will be observing the festival in the shadow of genocide, starvation and war.

Therefore, as we celebrate, let us not forget the people of occupied Palestine and Kashmir, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and other Muslim-majority regions whose lives have been shattered by bloodshed and aggression. The people of Gaza have little to celebrate as Israel shattered the fragile ceasefire on March 18, and resumed its genocidal war against this forsaken territory. Over 900 people have been massacred since the truce fell apart, while overall more than 50,000 Palestinians have been slaughtered by Israel in Gaza since Oct 7, 2023. People in the occupied West Bank have it only marginally better as Tel Aviv launches blood-soaked forays into the territory at will.

Elsewhere in the Muslim world things are equally grim. For example, while the people of Syria may have ousted long-time strongman Bashar al-Assad last December, stability eludes the country, while militants allied to the government have been accused of carrying out sectarian massacres of the Alawi community. Moreover, Israel has enlarged its occupation of Syrian territory, along with knocking out much of Damascus’s defensive capabilities, to ensure the Arab state cannot resist Israeli aggression.

Israel — arguably the biggest obstacle to regional peace — has also bombed Beirut after things largely quietened down following last November’s truce between the Zionist state and the Hezbollah movement. In Yemen, the US has been conducting air strikes against the Houthis to apparently punish the group for its anti-Israel rhetoric and blockade of the Red Sea. Over 50 people, including civilians, have been killed in the American attacks.

Meanwhile, the people of occupied Kashmir continue to be denied their fundamental rights, while Indian Muslims are feeling increasingly marginalised by an Islamophobic government that flaunts its Hindutva credentials. There is also no solution on the horizon for Sudan’s bloody civil war, which has dragged on for two years.

Sadly, there has been no unified Muslim response from the ‘ummah’ — principally in the shape of the OIC — to most of these crises, other than hollow statements, thoughts and prayers.

Israel, with the help of the US, has been pulverising the Palestinians of Gaza, while Tel Aviv violates Syrian and Lebanese sovereignty with impunity — but there is no collective pushback from the Muslim world.

In fact, Muslim states that have established ties with Israel have not felt it convenient to suspend diplomatic relations until Tel Aviv permanently stops the slaughter. Non-Muslim states such as South Africa, Brazil and Colombia have arguably done much more in solidarity with Palestinians. Until the Muslim world takes practical steps to end these atrocities, these besieged populations will see no joy.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2025