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To My Fellow British Muslims: Listen to the Survivors of the Hamas Oct. 7 Attacks
(Jewish Chronicle-UK) Fiyaz Mughal - Since Oct. 7, I have been struck by how little space there has been within British Muslim public discourse for grappling seriously with the horror unleashed by Hamas on that day. During a visit to Israel, I was with a survivor of the Nova music festival. After listening to his account, I needed several hours to process the trauma he had recalled - trauma that clearly still lives within him. Shaun Lemel, 24, and his friends managed to get into a vehicle to escape. As they did so, Hamas fighters poured in from all sides, killing anyone within their line of sight. They survived by chance. At one junction they turned left rather than right, unknowingly avoiding a kibbutz that would suffer catastrophic losses. More than 4,000 Hamas gunmen crossed into southern Israel that morning, attacking homes, families, and communities. The impact of Oct. 7 is felt everywhere in Israel. The country has fundamentally changed - more vigilant, more resolute, and more willing to act decisively against perceived threats. This collective shift is not born of ideology, but of shock and a deep desire that Israel will never again be caught out militarily. What makes us human is our ability to care about suffering wherever it occurs. Listening to Israeli victims of Oct. 7, acknowledging their trauma, and allowing ourselves to feel their pain is not betrayal. It is moral integrity. If this message reaches even one British Muslim and invites reflection, then it has served a purpose. Jews, Muslims, and Christians were attacked by the barbarity of Hamas. To bear witness to that truth is not political. It is human.