Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala says: “We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Book (the Torah): ‘You will surely cause corruption on the earth twice, and you will surely become exceedingly arrogant.'” (Q.S. Al-Isra’ [17]: 4)
Imam Ath-Tabari explains the verse, stating that the word “latufsidunna” refers to transgressing against fellow humans and the teachings of Allah Ta’ala.
The Children of Israel repeatedly disobeyed, killed prophets and messengers, disrupted social order, and acted unjustly toward others. These actions ultimately led to their own destruction.
Imam Fakhruddin Ar-Razi explains that this verse is not only about history but also about a divine law in human life: arrogance is the main cause of societal decay and the collapse of civilizations.
The verse warns humanity about the dangers of power without morality and divine guidance. When injustice reaches its peak, destruction comes as a consequence of the established divine law.
Contemporary scholars connect this verse to the establishment of Zionist Israel in Palestine. They see similarities between the Quranic description of arrogance and the reality of occupation, colonization, killing, and destruction of homes that continues in Palestine.
Today, Palestine has become a symbol of global injustice, a stage where international law is violated, oppression is openly displayed, and human values are trampled upon.
Behind this tragedy stands a political entity called Zionist Israel, which remains controversial regarding its historical, moral, and legal legitimacy.
For its supporters, Israel is the “homeland of the Jewish people.” But for the Palestinian people and millions around the world, Israel is a modern colonial project built on expulsion, occupation, and the suffering of another nation.
A major question arises: Is the establishment of Zionist Israel a natural historical process? Or was it born from a global geopolitical scheme designed by malicious forces?
The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Path to Zionist Israel
To understand the birth of Zionist Israel, history must be traced back further than 1948. The roots of the issue go back to the late 19th century when the Ottoman Empire began to weaken.
For centuries, Palestine was under Ottoman protection. While other Muslim lands fell to Western colonial powers, Palestine remained relatively safe from Zionist colonization projects. Sultan Abdul Hamid II was known as a leader who firmly rejected attempts by Zionist figure Theodor Herzl to take over Palestinian land.
In his memoirs, Herzl admitted that he offered substantial financial aid to rescue the struggling Ottoman economy in exchange for permission for Jewish migration to Palestine. However, Sultan Abdul Hamid II refused.
Abdul Hamid II said: “I will not sell even a single inch of Palestinian land, because it is not mine, but belongs to the Muslim community.” This statement shows that Palestine was seen as a trust to be protected from all threats and violations.
Several Middle Eastern writers believe that the Ottoman collapse was not solely due to internal weakness, but also due to a major geopolitical operation involving Western powers.
Britain played a key role in breaking up Ottoman territories by supporting local Arab leaders’ revolts, employing divide-and-rule tactics, and infiltrating nationalist ideologies.
Muslim historian Muhammad Kurd Ali describes how the West exploited internal Muslim weaknesses to destroy the last major center of Islamic political power. For the international Zionist movement, the Ottoman collapse was the gateway to colonizing Palestine.
The Holocaust and the Politics of Global Sympathy
The Holocaust is one of the most controversial events in human history. Nazi Germany is said to have massacred Jews under Adolf Hitler during World War II.
Some historians claim the tragedy was a lie. Others say its narrative was exaggerated. However, for Zionist Jews, the tragedy was real.
Regardless of this controversy, the event had enormous political implications for Palestine. The suffering of Jews in Europe (if any) was to be “paid for” by the seizure of Palestinian land. The Palestinian people had no part in the Holocaust but had to bear its consequences.
Palestinian thinker Edward Said, in his book “The Question of Palestine,” states that the West tried to solve the “Jewish problem in Europe” by creating a new problem in Palestine.
Edward even claims that the Holocaust tragedy was politicized to silence criticism of Zionist Israel. Anyone who criticizes Zionism is labeled an antisemite, even if the criticism is actually directed at colonialism and human rights violations.
World Wars and the New
