24 Oct 2023: Understanding Our Feelings about the War

Written By Nazhath Faheema

24 October 2023:

Understanding our Feelings about the War


Today, Yoni Garbourg and I met to have a chat. We attempted to settle our emotions surrounding the situation in Israel and Gaza. We acknowledged the difficulty of reconciling our feelings, perspectives, and responsibilities.

In this interfaith friendship, we pondered how to live with what is happening as individuals identifying with Judaism and Islam. It's not a religious conflict. That we know. But, we feel it impacts our religious identities, communities, and values. Therefore, we have to navigate our faith perspectives while understanding the politics involved.

What I value most about our dialogue are the questions we arrived at: What do we do on Day 2? How can we preserve and advocate effectively for shared humanity and push the hope for peace within our limited roles? How does one be fair to ourselves and those around us?

Where do we go from here?

Well, honestly, we don’t know. We don’t. We really don’t have any answers now. We are just confused and broken, and that’s okay.

But, today, we dared to sit together and ask these questions in our safe space.

Thank you Yoni ❤️.

Holding the Ropes: Interfaith Dialogue & Reflections Surrounding the Israel-Gaza War is a blog series that follows the events, dialogues and reflections experienced by Nazhath Faheema in the aftermath of the 2023 Israel-Gaza war. Triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and Israel’s military response, there continues to be widespread destruction and civilian displacement in Gaza. Additionally, Israeli hostages remain in captivity. 

Against this backdrop, Nazhath Faheema, through her reflections, provides insights into the dynamics of the war, its impact on interfaith relations, and the inherent challenges and opportunities in fostering understanding and empathy between Jewish and Muslim communities.

Nazhath Faheema

Nazhath Faheema, a Singaporean Muslim of Indian descent, actively promotes interfaith dialogue. She holds a full-time position at an NGO where she focuses on organizing interfaith charity events. Additionally, she plays an active role in community development, particularly in developing youth leadership to foster social harmony.

Furthermore, Nazhath serves as an external lecturer at ESSEC Asia Pacific in Singapore. She teaches students from Europe and Asia regions on "Race & Religion in Singapore" and "Islam in Singapore."

Nazhath earned her Master of Science in Asian Studies from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She also holds a certificate in the Comparative Study of Religions in Plural Societies. Her research interests span various areas, including youth interfaith movements in Southeast Asia, Jewish-Muslim relations, interactions between Muslim-majority states and Israel, and interreligious dialogue in diplomacy.

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29 Oct 2023: A Response to Actress Kangana Ranaut’s Visit to the Israel Embassy in New Delhi