Kasim Hafeez understands hate. Growing up with a father who believed “Hitler was a great man whose one mistake was that he did not kill enough Jews,” the British-born Muslim of Pakistani descent has experienced firsthand how an innocent child becomes an Islamist dedicated to the death and destruction of those who are different.
Hafeez, who intended to become a Jihadist, was “saved” after reading The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz and then taking a trip to the Jewish State to justify his life by proving the Harvard professor wrong.
“I’m standing with my head against the Western Wall, and for me it was like a moment of silence in my own mind,” he said. “I experienced this moment of clarity. I’ve met people of all colors, races and religions who are happy here, who are content here. And for years I’ve spread poison about wanting to murder these people. How wrong have I got it, how much have I messed up!”
Hafeez is now a self-proclaimed “Muslim Zionist” on a mission to tell his story and work to save his Jewish brothers and sisters, as well as all minorities under attack in the Middle East. With the support of the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs, Hafeez travels the country telling his story, educating anyone who will listen about the realities the civilized world faces from radical Islam.
But for Hafeez, that isn’t good enough.
Now living in Canada, Hafeez has teamed up with the Jewish human rights advocacy group B’nai Brith in Winnipeg, creating the WE ARE ALL N campaign to bring awareness of the massacring of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East, mostly at the hands of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), also referred to as ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant).
“It’s about raising awareness. People just don’t know; they have no clue about one of the most brutal things we’ve seen in a long time,” Hafeez said. “They’re just butchering people – men, women, children, babies – they just don’t care. The problem with a group like ISIS is that it’s a global ideology, not some nationalistic movement that is contained. It’s a global Jihadist movement. We are talking about an ideology more destructive even than Nazism.”
The campaign takes its name from the Arabic letter “nun” (N) (pronounced “noon”), short for Nasaara, the name given to Christians in Arabic. ISIS is using the letter to label Christian homes, marking them for conversion or death.
As an organization that fights hatred and bigotry throughout the world, B’nai Brith believes we have a moral obligation to stand up for Christians and other oppressed minorities,” said Maria-Fernanda Medina, Winnipeg Community Program Director. “As a Jewish organization, we understand that hatred and bigotry leads to suffering. Standing idly by is not an option.
With a website in development, Hafeez and his colleagues at B’nai Brith are using social media to promote their campaign. Buttons with the Arabic letter “nun” are being distributed for a modest donation mostly to cover costs.
“We need to come together and send a message to world leaders as well as Islamists worldwide, that we will not stand idle as you massacre human beings,” said Hafeez. “These buttons will start conversations, create awareness and show solidarity with the Christian communities as well as the Shias and Yazidis who are being raped and butchered by ISIS. How many more have to die before the world wakes up?”
If you want to learn more about the WE ARE ALL N campaign, visit https://www.facebook.com/
Paul Miller is a contributor to the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity.
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