The Thinking Muslim

** This interview was recorded a few hours before South Africa initiated its ICJ case - the Genocide Convention is discussed in detail here.

When we consider the disgraceful actions of the Israeli state, it becomes evident that they operate in a system of impunity.

But what, if anything, can we do about this? My guest today, Tayab Ali, is a lawyer specialising in criminal trials. He is a partner at the legal firm Bindmans. He has been described as “an irresistible force – he’s fearless.” He is rated as a Super Lawyer by Thompson Reuters and recognised in Civil Liberties by The Legal 500. He has represented clients in the Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights and at international political and legal institutions, including the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights.

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The events in Gaza, the horrific slaughter of over 20,000 Gazans remains a deep wound all people of conscience have had to contend with over the past two months. The callous way with which the lives of young innocents can be so openly calculated and traded is shocking yet predictable in equal measure. Much of what has happened is premised on a set of collective myths the west has attempted to perpetuate about Israel and its intentions. A compliant media and a political class that have provided a thin veneer of acceptability to Israel’s murderous rampage has all but shattered the myth that the west holds the moral high ground.

Today forensically explore the myths that surround the current crisis. To help us understand the situation better we have back onto the show Dr Azzam Tamimi who is a Palestinian British academic, author of Hamas the unwritten chapter.

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The plight of the Uyghur Muslims in East Turkestan has been described as a genocide. An entire ethnic, cultural and religious group is being erased. We hear stories of mass detention, the banning of Ramadan, and the closure and demolition of mosques. We also hear the disturbing reports of women being forced into marriage, forced sterilisation and children being removed from families and reassigned to Chinese couples.

But at the same time, people question these accounts. There is a disinformation campaign on social media and diplomatic circles, and many, even some government-paid Islamic scholars, have questioned the extent of the persecution, if not the persecution itself, especially since the Biden administration has adopted it as a cause, as part of their fight against an emerging geopolitical rival. So how do we know what to believe. Today we are joined by Abdureşid Eminhaci , he is the Secretary General of International union of The East Turkestan organisation, one of the largest Uyghur organisations in Turkey.

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As the unrelenting Gaza killing of civilians continues unabated, another potential ethnic cleansing in Palestine is underway – again in plain sight. The gradual conquest of Palestinian land is continuing at pace. Armed Israeli settlers, with the full backing of the state, pillage and forcibly vacate entire villages and farming communities. Yet the international community remains mute. This is ethnic cleansing on two fronts.

Today, we have back on The Thinking Muslim. Journalist, author, and public commentator Peter Oborne recently returned from a visit to the West Bank. Peter is almost unique in the mainstream media for being someone who has consistently called out the marginalisation of the Muslim community, both here and abroad. Peter principally writes for the Middle East Eye, amongst other outlets. His books include ‘The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam” and “The Assault on Truth”.

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This past week, the world has reflected on the death of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. As Nixon's national security advisor, he was notorious for his ultra-realist approach to international politics, which saw the policy of triangulation with China and the Soviet Union that was pivotal in bringing China into the Western sphere and ultimately helping the emerging economy become a global power. But also the carpet bombing of Laos and Cambodia, in a failed attempt to solicit concessions from the North Vietnamese. Such unscrupulous foreign policy is again on display over Gaza. The silence with which the Western powers have embraced the slaughter and the tacit, if not open, approval of Israel's behaviour evokes a long-standing memory in the global south about a racist colonial logic. Today, we would like to explore this with our very own elder statesman', Dr Mahathir Mohamed.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister for some 22 years. He has stewarded Malaysia through a difficult period; today it is a thriving economy. He came back to power briefly after winning a resounding victory in 2018. Dr Mahathir has seen first-hand in his 98 years the rise of America and the establishment of Israel, but also the sorry state of much of our ummah - and today, we would like to tap into his extensive knowledge and wisdom.

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The events of the past 6 weeks have exposed the sheer double standards that apply to the implementation of international law. The so-called liberal international order has been found to be nothing short of hypocritical. Gaza has exposed not only this duplicity but also the very ideas that undergird such a system. Today, we explore these ideas. Many surmise that the West has taken a wrong turn, and if only they return back to their original noble enlightenment values. Yet Gaza unveils a more unsettling truth. That the values of secular liberalism have always remained connected to European chauvinism. Their unbridled support for a settler colonial project and the ease with which they absorb genocide reveals the unsettling nature of liberalism. This is the argument of my guest today, Hasan Spiker.

Hasan Spiker is a philosopher and comparative scholar of Islamic, Greek, and modern thought he studied at the University of Cambridge, where he received his MPhil in philosophy and where is carrying out his doctoral research. He also studied the Islamic sciences. His new book, Hierarchy and Freedom: An Examination of Some Classical Metaphysical and Post-Enlightenment Accounts of Human Autonomy, was released this year.

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Wadah Khanfar is the President of Al Sharq Forum and former Al Jazeera Director General from 2003 to 2011.

Gaza has been described as a graveyard of children. But it also represents a graveyard of the liberal world order. The very values that undergird this so-called rules-based system have been revealed for what they really are — a set of norms created to preserve the interests of the West. Their unrepentant support for the worst crimes of Israel, the brutality of indiscriminate bombings, the targeting of civilian infrastructure, the carpet bombings of entire neighbourhoods, and the use of the most wicked weaponry – without even the slightest murmur from Western capitals have consolidated a new consciousness.

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Come election time, Western Muslim communities have been asked to support mainstream political parties in exchange for representation. Some commentators have praised the multiculturalism of countries like the UK, where the party system has integrated many Muslims into the political system. Here in London, we have Sadiq Khan, arguably the highest-ranking elected Muslim official in the Western world. In the United States, there’s a similar push for Muslims to support the Democrats and even the Republicans, and some have broken the glass ceiling and represent the parties at local and national levels.

But does Muslim representation really work? On Gaza, we have seen the limits of the ‘Muslim voice’. What are the structural compromises the system will always want to solicit from Muslim representatives? Does the system only support particular types of candidates, and does the system change the people who set out to change the system?

To explore this topic, I have with me in the studio today Dr Asim Qureishi. Dr Asim Qureshi is the research director at CAGE, a UK-based advocacy organisation working to empower communities impacted by the War on Terror. He has a background in International Law and is the author of the books "Rules of the Game" and "A Virtue of Disobedience".

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Since we last spoke to Sami Hamdi, a lot has happened in the ongoing Gaza slaughter. Israel has finally moved its ground operations into Gaza, and their Western backers have set down their intention to provide diplomatic cover to their settler offshoot and shield it from criticism. Western leaders have had to defend the indefensible as Israel's punitive and indiscriminate action continues. For example, Ursula Vonderlyen, the President of the EU Commission, just yesterday sent out a tweet at a holocaust memorial saying never again. Yet, the day before, she met with an Israeli official and gave her undying commitment to his cause, such is their barefaced duplicity.

Calls for a ceasefire have been vetoed at the UN, and the West accepts no liability for the thousands murdered in cold blood. It is truly astonishing to see how liberals on both sides of the Atlantic have confirmed what most of us have known for a long time: that their so-called rules-based international order is set up to cover their brutality. It is not that they kill civilians without any recourse to humanity. It's that they openly declare their mass murder with knowledge of impunity. The West has given them diplomatic cover to engage in slaughter without red lines. This is truly an age of impunity.

Sami Hamdi is the director of international interest and a regular commentator on mainstream news networks.

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The death toll in Gaza has reached above 10,000, yet the so-called international community, in reality, the Western nations, are deaf to the cries under the rubble. The Israeli war machine no longer worries about redlines as they act in complete impunity. If the hypocrisy of the West was not evident before this crisis, it is clear now that the Liberal World Order was never meant to safeguard the lives and honour of those it deems lesser people.

Amr Abdul Latif was, until recently, a resident and citizen of Gaza. He came to the UK to study for his postgraduate degree at St Andrews University and now works as a software developer. The Western press, even those that show little empathy, present the people of Gaza as lesser human beings who do not have dreams and aspirations. Who are either to be pitied or presented as subhuman. I want to understand what life has been like since 2007, when Israel announced its siege and what the average Gaza actually believes.

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