Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the Central Board of the Islamic mass organisation Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) support the actions of the Indonesian people in condemning Israel's aggression against Palestine, especially in Gaza. One of the actions people have taken is to boycott products originating from or affiliated with Israel.
PBNU Chairperson Ahmad Fahrurrazi or Gus Fahrur said he supports the Indonesian peoples continued efforts to boycott products originating from or affiliated with Israel. For him, this effort is a peaceful jihad that can be pursued by the Indonesian people for the sake of international solidarity.
"We support all efforts to stop the war in Palestine, boycotts and economic pressure on Israeli products are a peaceful jihad", said Fahrurrazi on Monday October 7.
Fahrurrazi is of the view that Israel has been waging a cruel war against the Palestinian people. Therefore, a position of not buying Israeli-affiliated products is the same as an effort to stop the war.
"Not buying their products is part of an effort to pressure them to stop the war. We stand with the Palestinian people", he said.
Likewise, the MUI has issued a statement on the situation and conditions in Palestine in order to remain consistent in continuing the boycott of Israel in all areas. The MUI said that the boycott of Israel is regulated in a MUI fatwa (edict) regarding support for the Palestinian people's struggle.
"[We] call on the government and all elements of society to consistently continue the boycott of Israel in all areas, including against any party that is directly or indirectly affiliated with providing a place, opportunity and support for Zionist agents, Israeli acts of aggression and genocide against the Palestinian people", reads the MUI's statement on its official website.
Today on Monday, Israel's aggression in the Gaza Strip entered its first year. Over this one-year period, Israel's aggression in Gaza has claimed the lives of 41,870 people. In addition to the fatalities, 97,166 people have reportedly been injured and 11 thousand residents are still missing.
And it is not just in Gaza, over the last two weeks Israel has also bombarded Lebanon and Yemen with rockets.
Israel claims that it carried out the aggression against Gaza to target Hamas militia that attacked its territory in October 2023, while in Lebanon they claim to have targeted Hezbollah and in Yemen they claim to have only targeted the Houthi militia.
At the time of writing, quoting from CNN, the Israeli military (IDF) has surrounded the Jabalya area in North Gaza. The IDF's latest ground operation was carried out to hunt down Hamas militants who are claimed to be in the area along with many Gaza refugees. Jabalya is a densely populated area of Gaza refugees, and was one of the first targets of Israel's repeated attacks a year ago.
In the centre of Jabalya earlier on Sunday, it was reported that at least 25 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes that hit a mosque and school. Israel claims the two buildings were Hamas weapons storage sites. (kid/kid)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "MUI-PBNU Dukung Lanjutkan Boikot Produk Israel: Kita Bersama Palestina".]
