The idea that the Palestinian people have only been able to persist because of their religion is ridiculous to me. They are resisting because colonialism, apartheid and genocide are very bad things to which nobody would want to be subjected, not because of Islam. If Palestinians were atheists, is he suggesting that they wouldn't have the strength or the will to resist? Would their lack of a belief in the supernatural turn them into doormats for Isn'treal?
I like Hakim's content, but his position on religion is quite frustrating. He is a Muslim first and a Marxist second. Also, Joram van Klaveren is still a right-winger.
i guess we're going off the track here. hamas was propped up by israel because they were religious fanatics, that's true. they never had the majority support, even now the popular support is for the resistance, whether it is saraya al quds or abu ali mustafa brigades, it doesn't matter.
majority muslim population does not necessarily mean a sharia state. in fact most muslim countries are secular.
but islam always plays a big role in these situations, mostly because it gives people a sense of community. we can feel the same thing in demonstrations or civil disobediance. you trust your comrade. when i'm in a demonstration i always have a milk+anti-acid mixture to help people that are exposed to tear gas.
so hamas has a use for a limited time. when that time comes to an end, free people of palestine will decide their fate. and if you look at the historical thought leaders of palestine, they're mostly left leaning, even a good portion is marxist leninist.
I wrote the comment thinking of the Iranian revolution which afaict ended with the clerics taking power and imprisoning/murdering all the atheist leftists they could find. But it's a very different situation from Palestine desperately struggling to form any kind of state at all. My bad and thank you for responding patiently.
It was just weird seeing praise in the op and some comments (in a leftist/Marxist community) for the use of religion as an organizing principle, as smth good in itself instead of a necessary/temporary evil. Like, even our anthem has a line for "Ni dieu, ni césar, ni tribun!"