Posted on: 2000
By Khaled Nusseibeh
Palestinian Jerusalemites do indeed have a sense of the past. Arguably, any people do. How can we begin to define the Palestinians’ sense of history? And can we speak about the existence of a collectively shared sense of the past?
In a sense, it is an objective statement to say that Palestinians are a people with historical belonging to the land of Palestine. It is, moreover, objective to observe that Palestinians share the Arabic Language and an experience of history that dates to biblical and pre-biblical times.
The mistake is sometimes made whereby Palestinian history is viewed as having a beginning in the Arab-Islamic conquest of the lands of Syria and Palestine in the 7th century. Perhaps the processes of conversion to Islam and cultural Arabisation began then- yet Palestinian history by no means started then.
Palestinians are an Arab, predominantly Muslim people with varied ethnic and cultural genealogies and who have inhabited Palestine for countless centuries (1). The various ethnic and cultural genealogies are attested to by the names of its hamlets and towns and through the archeological ruins that communicate a dazzlingly rich history of awesome and modest happenings alike.
The Palestinian, irrespective of his/her level of education, has a sense- intensified by the assaults on his/her land and identity- of belonging to a national community. But this national community accommodates other affiliations and identities such as the Jordanian national identity, the Lebanese national identity, the American national identity, etc.
This writer belongs to a segment of Palestinians who are aware of their being Arab and Palestinian, but who equally underpin this national belonging to a belonging to the community of Islam or the Ummah of Mohammed (Peace be Upon Him).
What does belonging to the Ummah of Islam mean? It means respecting, cherishing, and honoring one’s homeland and the near and distant kinship ties. However, it also means feeling a sense of brotherhood with all who profess the faith of Islam and who bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is His messenger.
This sense of brotherhood/sisterhood transcends the boundaries of politics, ethnicity, geography, language, social standing, etc. Because it is a communal belonging that is based on the sense of our divine origin, the God who created mankind, the universe, the homeland, and history.
The Palestinians are a people with a land, with a history, with a faith, with a struggle, and with a future (God Willing).
Bibliography
(1) Nakhleh, Issa; Encyclopedia of The Palestinian Problem; Intercontinental Books, NY, V. 1; 1991; p. 1
Mr. Khaled Nusseibeh is a translator and writer. He currently manages the Ubada Center for Writing and Translation Services in Amman. Born in Amman in 1961, he obtained his BA and MA from Columbia and Princeton Universities, respectively. Mr. Nusseibeh, who originates from Jerusalem, specialized in Near Eastern Studies with a focus on Islamic thought and studies.
