The protest took place in front of a shopping mall in the central Kayapınar district, where Ercan Fidan, representing the Prophet’s Lovers Foundation, delivered a powerful press statement. The statement highlighted the resilience and suffering of the people of Gaza while criticizing the lack of action and betrayal from within the Muslim community.

Self-Reflection and Criticism

Fidan began his statement with a verse from the Holy Quran, emphasizing the dire situation of the oppressed in Gaza and urging action against the oppressors. He declared: “Today, friends, we have gathered to stick the needle and the nail into ourselves. Today we have come together to shout the word straight. Today we have decided to speak openly. Today we are dedicated to saying 'the king is naked' with the attitude and eyes of innocent children. Today we have decided to expose the sultans, emirs, presidents, kings, and chieftains.”

This call for introspection and accountability underscored the necessity for Muslims to confront their own failures and take decisive action. Fidan remarked: “We will not give statistics today, friends. We are not going to tell you how many thousands of children and women were brutally massacred, which everyone watched on live TV. Today, we will not explain what is being done by who knows how many people in who knows where in the world, who have not the slightest influence on the genocide and the course of the atrocity.”

A Call for Muslim Unity and Action

Fidan emphasized the internal struggle and the need for Muslims to hold their leaders accountable. He stated: “Yes! By Allah, Palestinian Muslims will win. They will win even if they die all together; they will win even if they defeat the Zionist gang if Allah grants them. The real loser of this war is us! It is the Muslim peoples/Ummah who do not take action to overthrow the leaders who have plagued the Islamic Ummah and their leaders.”

The statement highlighted the hypocrisy of some Muslim leaders who criticize the West while failing to take meaningful action themselves. Fidan continued: “We are not here today to expose and curse the West for fighting Gazans. They are the perpetrators of this atrocity, and they are the clear face of the Zionist-Crusader alliance. We are here to expose who Gaza is fighting. Gaza is not fighting the Zionists, it is not fighting the Crusaders. Gaza is fighting Muslims. Gaza is fighting the leaders of Egypt, Saud, Jordan, and the UAE who support Zionism in every way. Gaza is fighting with the people who until yesterday sold goods to the Zionists and did nothing more than talk and shout. Gaza is fighting with the traitors, the unwary, the collaborators, the weak, the cowards, and the sell-outs among us.”

The Need for Decisive Action

Fidan urged the necessity of compelling Muslim rulers to take action, saying, “The whole world has now realized that it is not possible to prevent this atrocity with the power of the conscientious masses taking to the streets. Of course, every action taken for Palestine is very valuable and admirable. However, we have closely witnessed that this atrocity will not end until the brutal Zionist/Western system that rules the world and the rulers of the Islamic world who are engaged and servile to this system are reformed, forced to develop an attitude, and exposed.”

He called for a unified response from the Muslim community to expose and condemn their own leaders who fail to act. “Therefore, our precious Muslim people! In addition to our protests and boycotts for Gaza, what we really need to do is to force our own rulers to make decisions and take action. We must expose them and condemn them. They incite us to national and sectarian conflicts and fuel these conflicts so that they will not be unmasked. This is one of the projects of the Zionist gang itself. We must never fall into this trap. We are drawn into this trap by these weak-willed, incompetent, parasitic, and servile rulers themselves. They do not and have never had any concern for sects and denominations. It is nothing but a game they play in partnership with their Western friends so that we forget about them and deal with each other.”

Solidarity with Gaza

In his concluding remarks, Fidan addressed the people of Gaza, expressing solidarity and admiration for their resilience. “O the most oppressed and heroic people that human history has ever seen! Wallahi, you have won but we are losing. May Allah's mercy and blessings be upon you!”

The protest underscored the ongoing plight of the Palestinian people and called for global and internal Muslim solidarity and action against oppression. The Prophet’s Lovers Foundation reiterated the importance of confronting internal failures and the necessity for decisive action to support the people of Gaza in their struggle for freedom and justice. (ILKHA)