A Campus Question We Can’t Ignore (≈150 words)

Ahmed scrolls through his phone between lectures at his university in Lahore. One video shows students pitching tents at Columbia University. Another shows the ruins of a university in Gaza—its library flattened, classrooms burned, degrees suspended indefinitely.

A question quietly forms: What does this have to do with me?

Ahmed is not Palestinian. He is not facing bombs. But he is a student—and he understands what education means: safety, hope, continuity. As images circulate of Gaza’s entire higher education system reduced to rubble, silence begins to feel like a choice.

Across the world, students are asking similar questions. From North America to South Africa, from Indonesia to Chile, young people are linking their campus lives to a global moral crisis. Not because protest is fashionable—but because the destruction of education strikes at something deeply human.

This is not just about geopolitics. It is about whether learning itself has value—everywhere, for everyone.

Why This Issue Exists: Education Under Systematic Assault

Education in Palestine has not been a “collateral” casualty—it has been systematically targeted.

In Gaza, all universities have been damaged or destroyed. Hundreds of schools have been bombed or raided. Over 90,000 Palestinian university students have lost access to higher education. Faculty members, researchers, and students have been killed, displaced, or silenced.

This reality has pushed Palestinian universities and student organizations to make a clear call: academic isolation of Israeli institutions complicit in occupation, apartheid, and military violence.

For decades, Palestinian students have been at the forefront of non-violent resistance—organizing, documenting, and appealing to international conscience. The global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, led by the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), emerged from this tradition: principled, rights-based, and grounded in international law.

Student encampments in 2024 did not appear overnight. They were the result of years of ignored appeals, unanswered reports, and moral fatigue.

What Students Often Get Wrong About BDS and Solidarity

Many students hesitate because of confusion.

Some believe BDS is about targeting individuals or identities. It is not. BDS explicitly opposes racism and focuses on institutions and corporations complicit in violations of international law.

Others assume student activism is symbolic and ineffective. Yet history shows otherwise. From apartheid South Africa to Vietnam War protests, student pressure has repeatedly reshaped institutional behavior.

A third misconception is that staying “neutral” is safer or more ethical. But neutrality in situations of structural injustice often favors the status quo. When education itself is being erased, silence becomes a form of participation.

Understanding BDS does not require ideological conformity—only moral clarity.

Impact on Muslim Identity and Global Student Culture

For Muslim students, this moment is deeply personal.

Islam places immense value on knowledge (`ilm). The destruction of schools and universities is not only a humanitarian tragedy—it is an assault on human dignity (karāmah). A generation denied education is a generation denied agency.

Globally, student solidarity with Palestine has revived something rare: ethical campus politics. Young people are no longer satisfied with abstract diversity statements while their universities invest in systems of violence.

In Pakistan, where students already face underfunded institutions and educational inequality, the Palestinian case resonates strongly. It forces a shared reflection: Who gets to learn safely, and who does not—and why?

An Islamic Lens: Standing Against Zulm Without Losing Justice

Islamic ethics are clear about oppression (zulm): it must be resisted—but without abandoning justice, wisdom, or humanity.

The Qur’anic moral framework emphasizes:

• Standing with the oppressed
• Rejecting collective punishment
• Upholding dignity, even in disagreement

Importantly, Islam does not demand rage—it demands responsibility. The Prophetic model shows resistance through moral consistency, strategic patience, and principled action.

BDS aligns with this ethic by remaining non-violent, rights-based, and collective. It shifts focus from emotional reaction to structural accountability.

For Muslim students, supporting justice in Palestine is not about anger—it is about refusing indifference.

Ethical Tensions & Trade-offs

Student activism is never cost-free.

There are risks: misrepresentation, backlash, institutional pressure, and fatigue. There are also internal debates—about tactics, language, and long-term impact.

This is why BDS emphasizes “strategic radicalism”:

• Gradualness: building pressure step by step
• Sustainability: protecting gains, not burning out
• Context sensitivity: acting wisely within local realities

Ethical action is not impulsive—it is thoughtful, informed, and disciplined.

Steps to be taken

If you want to engage meaningfully—without chaos or polarization—consider this:

• Educate Yourself First
  Understand Palestinian demands, BDS principles, and academic boycott guidelines.
• Start or Join a Campus Conversation
  Reading groups, seminars, or film screenings can open space without confrontation.
• Work Through Student Structures
  Student unions, societies, and councils are legitimate platforms for advocacy.
• Focus on Institutional Complicity
  Research university investments, partnerships, and research funding.
• Build Coalitions Ethically
  Partner across causes while maintaining moral clarity and anti-racist principles.
• Protect Your Intentions
  Activism rooted in ego fades. Activism rooted in justice lasts.

Closing Reflection: Students as Moral Witnesses

History rarely remembers who stayed comfortable. It remembers who asked difficult questions when silence was easier.

The destruction of Palestinian education has confronted students worldwide with a choice: to treat learning as a private privilege—or as a universal right worth defending.

For Muslim students, this moment is a test of coherence between belief and action. Not everyone will protest. Not everyone will campaign. But everyone can refuse apathy.

You do not need to be loud to be principled. You need to be informed, ethical, and consistent.

In a world where classrooms are bombed and knowledge is buried under rubble, standing for education itself may be one of the most powerful forms of resistance.