Boycott Israel, But Not the Corps

I read an article today in Al Arabiya comparing the idea to boycott Israel and the boycott against South Africa during the days of apartheid.

The article was written by a Jewish peace activist, who made the case that a boycott of Israel wouldn’t work. Also, that the situation in Israel today and South Africa in the 1980’s is very different.

For instance, the White South Africans depended on the Black South Africans for labor.

Israel does not need the Palestinian population at all, and in fact bars them at times from working in Israel.

Both White South Africans and Black South Africans considered themselves…South African.

Most Palestinians do not consider themselves Israeli and would find the thought reprehensible. Ditto for the Israelis.

Both White South Africans and Black South Africans wanted the nation to stay united. They may have quarreled over who would control the nation, but both agreed they did not want a Black South Africa and a White South Africa.

While many Israelis do not want a Palestinian state there are many that do. And certainly most Palestinians want a Palestinian state.

For these reasons and more, the author felt that a boycott of Israel would be pointless.

I am an African-American Muslim from Alabama, so I come from a legacy of boycotting. I never did it myself, but I grew up around people involved in the Civil Rights Movement in America who did.

And we are all familiar with the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955  led by Dr. Martin Luther King.

That boycott was successful because the bus system of Montgomery depended on the African-American population.

And while the Jim Crow system of the southern states of America back then was similar to Apartheid, it still cannot be compared to the situation in Israel and Palestine.

Neither White Americans nor African-Americans wanted a separate “Black” State.

Though there are some minor differences, White Americans and African-Americans share the same culture and for the most part, the same religion and values.

Both White Americans and African-Americans considered themselves American first, black and white second, maybe even third.

Alright, now that ends the historical perspective of this post. Now for the religious perspective.

During the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) before the Hijrah (migration) to Medina, there was a boycott in Mecca also.

Huh? What happened? Come again?

Yes. The majority pagan Quraish population of Mecca decided to impose a boycott against the clans that protected Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Banu Hashim and Banu Abdul Muttalib.

According to most sources, a boycott agreement was written up by the pagan Quraish leaders and nailed to the Kaaba. The boycott stipulated that no one in Mecca could trade or intermarry with either clan.

The two clans suffered a great deal from this boycott, some being forced to eat leaves from trees out of sheer hunger.

After about two years or so, the pagans decided to lift the ban.

So I ask my fellow Muslims…why should we follow the example of the pagans of the past and the non-Muslims of today?

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in all his battles and struggles against the pagan and Jewish tribes of Mecca and Medina, never imposed a boycott against them.

He made treaties. He negotiated. He preached. He compromised. And when it became necessary, he fought.

But he never boycotted. So why should we do that? Why do some Muslim governments choose to boycott Israel and companies that do business there like Coca-Cola and McDonalds and Starbucks?

And let’s not forget, that the Arab boycott against Israel of the 1980’s was largely ineffective and is pretty much dead now.

The U.S. government does a lot more for Israel than any of those corporations, yet every Muslim country in the world scrambles at America’s bidding.

And no one in their right mind is talking about boycotting America.

Over a thousand innocent people were killed in Gaza earlier this year, and not a single Muslim country lifted a finger to help.

And they want to talk boycott? Please.

Attention Muslim governments of the world: You have been officially PUNKED!

And Allah knows best.

Here’s the link to the article in Al Arabiya.

P.S. To clarify, the article was talking about a Los Angeles Times writer calling for a worldwide boycott of Israel, not necessarily Muslim countries alone.