There is a road from Galata to Gaza

A global intifada is underway against the savage genocide that Zionist Israel has been carrying out in Gaza for almost 90 days. In every field: in the streets, on the avenues, in the press, in academia, in international relations, in individual consciences, everywhere... Western capitals are witnessing uprisings of conscience not seen for a long time. Demonstrations, rallies, boycotts.

The same things are happening in Turkey. Israel is facing protests it has not seen in its history, hearing criticisms, even curses, it has not heard. There is an anger in the world in which those who support it, cooperate with it, or remain silent toward it also get their share, and this anger is accumulating. Yet all this is not enough to stop Israel, which keeps attacking like a raging bull. That being so, a feeling of the meaninglessness of all this is also forming. That the anger and resentment of so many people, turned into demonstrations, protests, criticism and even curses, is not enough to remove oppression, in turn creates the feeling that all this is being done in vain. Because there, every minute, people and children keep dying. 9 thousand babies and children have died, and of those who have not died, 9 thousand (we are not counting adults here) have been amputated, that is, have lost at least a foot or an arm.

Faced with this scene, there are also those who say what use are rallies, writing articles, holding protests, and who recommend almost stopping such activities. In fact, Abu Obeida, the spokesman of the Qassam Brigades, delivered a very bitter message the other day against this tragic human situation after 7 October, saying that the World is "divided into two: those who cooperate with the criminals and those who stand by as spectators." He had given a message like it at the beginning to the Arab leaders who used expressions of helplessness against this genocide and spoke of aid to Gaza: "God forbid, we ask for help neither from you nor from anyone. We ask for help only from God. And whomever He deems worthy, He sends the help to us through his hand."

The mujahideen of Gaza have taken the whole burden of the war upon themselves alone. In fact, to take on the responsibility of a war with such dignity against oppressors, one must truly, in the real sense of the word, be free of all restraints. And no one at this time other than the people of Gaza has this level of freedom. Therefore, whoever helps Gaza is actually helping himself. Whoever lines up beside Gaza is seeking his own freedom.

Of course, even if it does not have the effect of directly stopping the attacks and the flowing blood, it is not right to say that announcing that one is with the people of Gaza has no meaning. On the contrary, declaring one's side in this matter, doing anything for this cause, surely has a meaning and an effect.

The great gathering that took place at Galata on the first day of the year, in the early hours of the morning, when everyone was fast asleep, was definitely a magnificent event among all the other actions. Our friend Ersin Çelik expressed it very well: "That frame taken from Galata will certainly take its place in the flow of history."

The function and role played by the "line of resistance" with the Istanbul silhouette, given at Galata Bridge where people gathered after the morning prayer at the call of the National Will Platform, will of course not remain merely the performance of an ordinary rally organization. Its real role, with all its density of symbolic meaning, is that in the first hours of 2024, after the morning prayer, in Istanbul, at Galata, such a large community could put forward a will, and make felt that if more is asked of it, it can do as it has done in the past. That the initiative that began in Gaza has a continuation in Istanbul, and therefore in the entire Islamic world.

This initiative, as is known, was set in motion by the brave men of Gaza. Galata is an answer given to the call of Gaza. What we see at Galata are the waves of the Al-Aqsa Flood. The way to make these waves visible is to be a drop in them, of course. If Israel rejoices by bombing Gaza and slaughtering large numbers of Palestinians like animals, barbarically, the message given from Galata is the message of leaving that joy stuck in its throat.

Ersin Çelik also describes the photograph given this way: "A very powerful, very meaningful photograph was given in Istanbul that will shake the Muslim peoples who have chosen to watch the genocide and remain insensitive, wound the consciences of those who still say 'I wonder' even though more than 9 thousand children have died, and encourage those who cower out of fear of Israel's pressure."

No one can say that rallies are not effective, useful or meaningful. If nothing else, they have such an effect; if nothing else, they take the place of prayer and lead to the revival of those who pray it. Just as Istanbul was revived at Galata.

Between Istanbul and Mecca lies Gaza (Palestine, Jerusalem). When we stand for prayer from Istanbul, our faces are turned toward Jerusalem as much as toward Mecca. The greater coincidence is that Jerusalem lies exactly midway between Mecca and Istanbul. This geographical position, these distances make the road between Istanbul and Gaza a road that cannot, and will not, be skipped. Jerusalem may be the first qibla of all Muslims, but for Istanbul it is still a qibla geographically, if not in terms of fiqh.

LET US REMEMBER. In the days of the Battle of the Trench, there was a siege so intense that it drove Muslims into great despair. Beforehand there was also a preparation for a defensive war that led them to dig a trench. At that time, Muslims' winning this war looked almost impossible in terms of the force the Quraysh had gathered. In a state of intense hopelessness, the glad tidings given by the Prophet each time he took up the pickaxe and struck a rock that no one could break were news that seemed impossible in terms of the objective conditions of the time. The glad tidings announced that he saw the collapse of the Byzantine palace and of Khosrow.

Let no one doubt that the scene that formed at Galata in the first hours of the year has created a great hope as a glad tiding of a great victory that will not remain limited to Palestine's liberation in Gaza.