Detroit area imams speak out in aftermath of violence in Israel, Gaza

Muslim leaders from across Metro Detroit on Wednesday spoke against recent violence in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, called for a ceasefire and asked the public and government leaders to recognize the region's complicated history.

At news conference at the Islamic Center of Detroit, members of the Michigan Imams Council as well as several mosques and Islamic centers made clear they were against the deaths of innocent people, particularly women and children.

"Killing innocent people is something that is condemned across all world religions, by people of all backgrounds," said Imam Suleiman Hani, resident scholar at the Muslim Community Mosque, adding that the matter was not purely religious. "We condemn the killing of innocent people as we've condemned the killing of innocent people for 75 years."

The press conference came after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Saturday, killing some military members but mostly civilians and taking hostages back into Gaza. Israel declared war on Sunday and began air bombardments of Gaza.

The Muslim religious leaders asked that people recognize the lengthy history of violence between Israel and Palestine.

"History did not start on Oct. 7," said Khalid Turaani of the Michigan Task Force for Palestine. "It would be misguided to think of these events as if somebody woke up on the morning of Oct. 7 and decided to do an incursion here or an attack there. The issue must be seen in the context of 75 years of ethnic cleansing that is being exercised against the Palestinians and 50 years of occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip."

He stressed that the public, in following the reports on the war and the violence, recognize what is factual and what, in the fog of war, might be either unverifiable or not yet verified and be aware of "atrocity propaganda."

Turaani pointed to unconfirmed reports of beheadings of babies and children and urged caution in reading such reports that could be used to justify violence against Palestinians. The Detroit News and media on the ground have not confirmed themselves or through eyewitnesses the gruesome reports.

Some reports, Turaani said, made him feel sick to his stomach as well — until he learned that some were either unconfirmed or debunked as further information came out.

But such reports could clear the way for what he called the "indiscriminate carpet bombing of residential areas in Gaza." The United Nations holds that intentional attacks against civilian populations are considered a war crime.

Turaani called for a ceasefire, one that allows for immediate delivery of humanitarian supplies and the restoration of water and electricity, as well as an exchange of hostages.

Imran Salha, imam of the Islamic Center of Detroit, said he was saddened, calling the events "nothing less than a tragedy."

"Any conversation that doesn't recognize 75 years of occupation is an incomplete conversation," Salha said.

Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, from the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights and co-chair of the Imams Council of Michigan, called out President Joe Biden, who he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would never show respect for and pointed to what he called the disparity in how the U.S. is responding to the Ukraine invasion by Russia and the occupation of Palestinian lands.

"Our President Biden is spending billions and billions of dollars against occupation in Ukraine, but then spends billions of dollars to keep occupation in Gaza and West Bank and other Palestinian territories," Elahi said. "Why is it that occupation is bad, is horrible, in Ukraine, but the occupation is OK in Palestinian land, in Palestinian territories? What is it that you are gaining?"

In August 2005, Israeli forces unilaterally withdeaw from Gaza 38 years after capturing it from Egypt in a war, leaving it under the control of the Palestinian Authority.

Asked what people could do to support the humanitarian effort in the region, Turaani said people could give to fundraising efforts in Metro Detroit.

He also invited people to participate in a prayer service for peace and justice, scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday. Details on the event are expected soon, he said.

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