Thread: Fearful Masajid Boards Burying Palestine Education?
They have much to protect.
I recently heard about a large Masjid, where there are legitimate concerns about an employee’s immigration status, looking to remove Palestine in important respects. This includes self-censorship going forward and an active effort to delete videos of old programs online that may be used against it.
I wonder, have you seen this yet as well?
Is self-censorship on Palestine too cautious?
Do you think it is too easy to judge masjid leaders when they make these decisions?
Tell me what you think, and what you are seeing.
Perhaps a slightly different perspective... I think people are stuck on "raising awareness" to the extent it's become the peak of taking action for many of us. We now look for who's repeating the news and who isn't.
But hasn't enough awareness been raised? Shouldn't there be a follow up with some practical actions?
One of the worst things to come out of this is the eagerness to share graphic images of dead and injured Muslims. All in the name of "raising awareness".
Mosques should be educating their attendees on what's happening in Palestine. Yes. But don't the people already know?
The mosque could and should be a place to find the solutions. The next steps. Not just a relay point for the same information everyone and their aunt is consuming hundreds of times a day anyway.
(And constantly consuming negativity has it's effects. The mosque should heal. Not amplify.)
I cant speak to most masjids, but I'll say that I'm inclined to take them case-by-case based on personal experience.
I'm on the board of directors for an Islamic relief org, and they explicitly told us to make sure we dont accidentally publish or post anything critical of Israel. That means that when i give khutbahs, I have to ask they dont record anything. Why? Because they don't believe in a free Palestine? Of course not.
It's because 3 out of the 4 world banks are owned by Zios. And one misstep by us could mean the end to aid for countless others.
I know it doesnt translate exactly to masajid, but I wanted to give an example of censorship that actually makes sense when you peel back the layers. Maybe there's an equivalent for some of these masjids censoring pro-Palestinian content.