The idea that the Palestinian people have only been able to persist because of their religion is ridiculous to me. They are resisting because colonialism, apartheid and genocide are very bad things to which nobody would want to be subjected, not because of Islam. If Palestinians were atheists, is he suggesting that they wouldn’t have the strength or the will to resist? Would their lack of a belief in the supernatural turn them into doormats for Isn’treal?
I like Hakim’s content, but his position on religion is quite frustrating. He is a Muslim first and a Marxist second. Also, Joram van Klaveren is still a right-winger.
That is still poor analysis. People can have religion, but to chalk up a people’s survival to it is absurd and horrifically bad material analysis.
It’s better analysis than dogmatically repeating “isn’t religion opium of the people? It dumbs them down, makes them complacent,” even when that’s clearly not what’s happening in this situation.