Advancing the Palestinian cause at the expense of marginalization of Sudanese

by Steve Paterno

May 28, 2008 — One Friday afternoon strolling through the White House ground (Washington, D.C.), I stumbled into a huge crowd, most of them were tourists. I know it because they were fascinatingly trying to take pictures of pretty much anything on their views. I believe they took my image in their cameras more than they took the images of the White House fence or that of the Secret Service guards. Among the crowd, I suddenly noticed a small group of demonstrators carrying posters and setting up stage, fitted with microphone and other sound sorround systems. I then approached them and joined with them as an observer. I observed that they were mostly of Arab origin with few African-American of a Muslim faith. I also came to learn the demonstration was sponsored by the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, American Muslims for Palestine, and A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism). They were commemorating the “60th Anniversary of the Nakba, the 1948 forced exile of Palestinians from their homeland and the dispossession of Palestinians from their properties.” To put this in historical perspective, on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel proclaimed its independence and shortly after, it was attacked by five of its Arab neighboring countries of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. This set off the Arab-Israel war and resulted into mass displacement of Palestinians. Now, the Israelis are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their independence while the Palestinians on the other hand are commemorating the 60th anniversary of Nakba, which means the catastrophe that saw the mass displacement of Palestinians from their villages and the razing to the ground of hundreds of Palestinian villages.

Anyway, as the event at the White House ground kicked off, they lined up speakers after speakers. some of them were so eloquent and some of them were not so eloquent. Others were so much well informed while others were not. But in all, they spoke. Some of the greatest speeches and quotations such as “an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere” were invoked repeatedly. That all people with human conscience must join in solidarity with the plight of the suffering Palestinians. They did not hide their hatred toward Zionism. They , in the row repeatedly said, “we don’t hate the Jewish people or their faith, but we hate Zionism.” Of course, they did not miss their opportunities of Bush-bashing. President Bush to them is the greatest terrorist to ever live. They also tried to hold the U.S. government to account for the suffering people of Palestine due to the U.S. government support to the State of Israel and its imperialism ambition. One of the speakers, an old Arab doctor even went as far as saying that all the U.S citizens will suffer the wrath of God (Allah) for being complacence on Palestinian suffering.

As if that is not enough cursing already, one member of the group, an African American, blamed the marginalized groups in Sudan for getting the support of what he called, “imperialism project” from Israel. Such ranting and anti-imperialism slogans directed toward the U.S. and its ally the State of Israel is always expected from groups claiming affiliation to the Palestinian cause. However, what is not expected from such groups is when in the course of advancing the Palestinian cause, they should not do it egregiously at the expense of the other marginalized people such as the marginalized people of Sudan. After all, they affirm to the principle that “an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere.” The marginalized people of Sudan like any marginalized persons in the world has as much right to get the support of whoever can support them, which by the way can also include the U.S. and the State of Israel.

What is sad is that historically, African Americans of Muslim faith tend to always stand in support of Islamic and Arab governments of Khartoum. Such has always been the case with Louis Farrakhan and its Nation of Islam. Farrakhan has been the darling of the brutal Islamic Arab regime of Khartoum. In his association with the brutal Islamic Arab regime of Khartoum, Farrakhan, strongly denies slavery and marginalization of Black Sudanese, dismissing it as “Jewish conspiracy” targeted toward Sudan “because this Islamic government is trying to build an Islamic nation?” It is indeed, unfortunate that most African American Muslims and their organizations share this similar views with their Patron, Louis Farrakhan. For their information, the problem in Sudan as it is eloquently stresses, “is not political in the usual meaning of the term, as it is for one of the Satellite States of the Communist world. It is something greater: actually it is the question of life or death, of racial slavery….From the present Northern Sudanese attitude and the policies applied to the South, we are irresistibly led to the conclusion that their aim is to destroy the African personality and identity in the Sudan and to replace it with an Arabized and Islamized South, thus driving a wedge of the Arab world deep into the continent.”

So looking at Sudan’s problems through anti-U.S. imperialism and a hatred toward the State of Israel is doing a deservice to the marginalized masses of Sudan. Until those who pretend to be concerned begin to view the problems of Sudan in its right context, they should otherwise, leave the suffering people of Sudan struggle on their own. It’s not just ignorance of the situation in Sudan, which is a driving force among these so called, African American Muslims, because most of them claimed to have traveled to Sudan and witness the situation on their own. Perhaps, it is ironic and a little bit hypocritical that they will dare to speak of complacency amid systematic marginalization in Sudan.

Steve Paterno is the author of The Rev. Fr. Saturnino Lohure, A Romain Catholic Priest Turned Rebel. He can be reached at [email protected]