Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2014-07-17

As the “Protective Edge” campaign by Apartheid Israel continues to annihilate innocent civilians in Gaza, many people are apprehensive about embarking on protest marches in solidarity with Gaza.

According to Moulana Ebrahim Bham, the secretary general of Jamiatul Ulama South Africa, many people ask why should they march or protest as it doesn’t have any type of impact and that more effort should be asserted on deeds and prayer.

“Many times we should be resorting to dua (prayer) but we can’t say dua and protests are contradictory, that if you make dua, you can’t do a protest and if you do a protest you can’t make a dua,” said Moulana Bham.

“I think we need to do both, make dua and protest simultaneously”

“In today’s world, in the world we are living in where you don’t have the means of making an immediate impact upon what is happening, then protests throughout the world has become a very legitimate form of expressing yourself, expressing your anger and expressing your viewpoint on a particular matter,” added Moulana Bham.

Moulana Bham reiterated that throughout the world there have been various protests which have had great impact.

Referring to a protest before the Iraqi war Moulana Bham indicated that there was close to 1, 5 to 2 million people who protested in London against the war.

“I happened to be on the stage when that particular protest was taking place and while it might not have prevented the war; what it has done is consign the then UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in the annals of history as someone who went to war on false pretenses and against the will of his people.”

“Tomorrow (Friday 18th July) from 1:40pm until 3:30pm  there is a Palestinian Solidarity Alliance and BDS protest at the Israeli Embassy’s Trade Office on 4 Sandown Valley Crescent in Sandton and I feel that together with our dua this should also be a way of expressing our anger and our disgust over what is happening in Gaza,” said Moulana Bham.

(Twitter: @Faizie143)