Arresting Hundreds of Peaceful Pro-Palestine Protesters in Britain
is Evidence of a Mockery of Democracy
(Translated)
News:
On Saturday, September 6, nearly 900 people were arrested at a pro-Palestine demonstration in London while protesting the ongoing massacres and starvation of the people of Gaza, in addition to the ban on the "Palestine Action" group, which the British government classified as a terrorist organization in July. Those arrested included priests, clergymen, teachers, doctors, other healthcare workers, and children of Holocaust survivors, as well as protesters with disabilities. Many of them were elderly - in their sixties, seventies, and even eighties - including a 62-year-old blind man in a wheelchair. Police dragged away hundreds of peaceful protesters simply for carrying a sign that read "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action." More than 700 people had been arrested in previous similar demonstrations against the ongoing genocide in Gaza for supporting this organization.
Comment:
Palestine Action is a UK-based organization that has stated its goal is to "end global participation in the Israeli genocide and apartheid regime," such as stopping the supply of weapons from Britain to the Jewish entity, including disrupting the operations of arms factories associated with it, for example, the British branch of Elbit Systems, which is the largest Zionist arms manufacturing company. Some members of this organization have taken direct action in an attempt to achieve their goals, including storming the British Royal Air Force's Brize Norton Air Base in June and damaging two Voyager aircraft, which the organization said was a protest against the government's arms sales to the occupation. It was reported that the air base was used by Jewish entity warplanes that participated in the bombing of Gaza. The organization was designated as a terrorist organization shortly after this incident, making membership or public support for it a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Following this ban, hundreds of protesters have been arrested under terrorism law at peaceful pro-Palestine demonstrations, simply for showing any support or connection to the organization. In May 2024, a government review, allegedly independent, compared the political violence and disturbances caused by the Palestine Action movement to "terrorist groups," and recommended banning its activities. Interestingly, the author of the review, John Woodcock, was a paid advisor to lobbying groups representing arms manufacturers, as well as being the former chairman of the "Friends of Israel" group in the Labor Party.
The fact that the British government is not ashamed to arrest hundreds of peaceful protesters who are demonstrating against the massacres and starvation of people in Gaza, while at the same time being complicit in this genocide by allowing the manufacture and sale of weapons to help with it, clearly illustrates the moral vacuum and lack of humanity in its democratic system. Other organizations in the past have taken direct action for their cause, including advocates for women's suffrage, climate activists, and animal rights groups, yet the fact that terrorism laws are being used against organizations that support the liberation of Palestine confirms that this ban is explicitly aimed at silencing those who oppose the occupation and the British government's complicity in this genocide. Kerry Moscogiuri of Amnesty International UK stated, "When the government arrests people under terrorism laws simply for protesting peacefully, something is seriously wrong here in the UK."
In addition to the arrest and detention of peaceful pro-Palestine protesters, university professors, doctors, and other professionals in Britain have been denied their jobs, and students have been forced to leave their studies for criticizing the occupation and supporting the liberation of Palestine. This injustice has resonated in other democratic countries, including America and Germany.
All of this shows the falsehood of freedom of expression in these democratic countries that promote to the world and lecture on the superiority of their liberal values, but in reality, they are ready to crush these values and abandon them when their political and economic interests are threatened; because political and financial gains, under the democratic secular capitalist system, always outweigh all other issues, including protecting the sanctity of human life. It is clear that the values and beliefs of democracy are changeable and replaceable, just like the moral conscience of the governments that lead it! The democratic system deceives the people that power is granted to them, while in reality, it is firmly entrenched in the hands of the ruling elite or the wealthy who enact laws and policies according to their selfish interests; political and economic. Even freedom of expression is granted and taken away from the people based on what suits the government politically at that time. Moreover, real accountability of rulers is only a dream; as those responsible for arming a genocidal occupation can avoid any political or judicial repercussions!
All of this should be a clear lesson for us Muslims, that the democratic system, whatever its form, can never guarantee justice for the peoples, nor does it possess the moral pillar to stop genocide. The provision of rights is unpredictable and changeable, and there is a fine line between democracy and tyranny, as is evident in America currently, and in many other democratic countries. Stopping the genocide in Gaza and removing the occupation requires the establishment of a state that truly cares about human life, defends humanity, and opposes injustice and oppression in all its forms, regardless of the financial implications. It requires a state that is a protector of Islam and Muslims, and uses its army to defend its cause. This state is the Khilafah upon the method of Prophethood that rules by the Qur'an and Sunnah only. Therefore, if we want to see an end to the massacre that our Ummah is being subjected to in Palestine, Kashmir, Sudan, Yemen, and elsewhere, then we need to work immediately to establish the Khilafah, including urging the Muslim armies to give Nussrah for its establishment without delay.
﴿But those who disbelieve - their deeds are like a mirage in a desert which the thirsty one thinks is water until, when he comes to it, he finds it is nothing﴾
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
Asma Sadiq
