Stories of civilians enduring relentless bombardment and displacement under Israel’s genocide on Gaza have shaken hearts all over the world.

Images of mothers running out of bombed buildings — carrying their lifeless children, only to praise Allah while in their deepest pain — have captivated and transformed.

But amidst the terror and devastation, the Gazan genocide has sparked a 400 per cent increase in people accepting Islam in Europe! [1]

The world has been moved by Gaza’s impulsive fortitude and unbreakable faith through just the partial airing of their plight to a God-forsaken world. It has easily eclipsed decades of Islamophobic stereotypes, misinformation, and vilification.

Converts growing at an astronomical pace

In Melbourne, Australia, shortly after the genocide began, at least 30 women announced their conversion to Islam, moved by the faith and strength of the Palestinian people. [2]

The American actor Will Smith has even mentioned being keen to read the Qur’ān.

And the list of high-profile converts includes the American writer Shaun King and his wife, renowned stem cell specialist Henry Klassen, who is an Associate Professor at the University of California, and the former Spanish footballer José Ignacio Peleteiro (commonly known as Jota).

Now, Islam was already the world’s fastest-growing religion. But the Pew Research Center estimates an amazing 70 per cent increase in the global Muslim population by 2060. [3] [4]

By then, Muslims are expected to make up nearly three out of ten people in the world. That is on top of the up to 100,000 who accepted Islam in the United Kingdom and France in the decade leading up to 2013. [5]

In these two countries alone — whose governments have abetted the genocide — the number of new Muslims among their nationals inspired by Gaza has already exceeded the number killed in the onslaught.

Gaza’s pain is inadvertently paving the world’s pathway to Islam. And in this article, we suggest five possible explanations for this phenomenon.

1 | Gazans’ enigmatic reaction to loss

Hunter Graves, a 21-year-old college senior from Nashville, encapsulated this sentiment, saying,

“You see women running out of rubbled buildings holding their lifeless child, and the first thing they do is thank Allah… With faith, suffering has meaning.” [6]

Whatever our pain is, Gaza’s is exponentially greater.

And yet, Gazans find solace and strength in their Creator, when far smaller woes defeat us.

The consensus is that if the Gazans can bear such unimaginable suffering by seeking refuge in God, then perhaps the only way to cope with my own, far smaller nuisances is to do the same.

Harām ibn Milhān on the Day of Bi’r Ma’ūna

The early Companions of the Prophet ﷺ would often lead others to the truth through their steadfastness, even during their own martyrdom.

In the famous story of Bi’r Ma’ūna relayed by Anas ibn Mālik (radiy Allahu ‘anhu), a group of people approached the Prophet ﷺ, requesting that he send some Companions who can teach the Qur’ān.

The Prophet ﷺ selected seventy men from the Ansār, known as al-Qurra’ — the reciters. Among them was Harām, the narrator’s maternal uncle.

Before they could reach their destination, the Qurra’ were ambushed, and all seventy were brutally slain. Harām had been attacked from behind, pierced by a spear.

Seeing the spear emerge from his belly, he uttered his final words:

“By the Lord of the Ka’bah, I have succeeded.” [7]

Long after the event, the haunting words of Harām echoed in in the ears of Harām’s killer, Jabbār ibn Sulma.

He would ask himself,

“What did he win, did I not kill him?” [8]

When he learned that Harām had spoken of the victory of martyrdom — achieving eternal life in the Highest Abode — this became the catalyst for his own journey to Islam. It led him to embrace the way of the very man he had killed.

As Jabbār later reflected,

“Indeed, by God, he has truly succeeded.” [8]

Khabbāb ibn ‘Adi on the Day of Bi’r Ma’ūna

Of the reciters, Khabbāb ibn ‘Adi was taken to Makkah, where he was sold to the leaders of the Quraysh. Khabbāb was brought to a place called Tan’im, outside of Makkah, where he was tied to a stake.

The Quraysh gathered to watch his execution.

Before his death, they mocked and taunted him, offering to spare his life if he would renounce Islam and show allegiance to their idols.

They asked him if he wished that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ could be in his place instead, sparing his life.

Khabbāb replied,

“I would not wish to be safe with my family and children while the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is even pricked by a thorn.” [9]

They tortured him, cutting off pieces of his flesh while he remained patient and resolute.

Before he was killed, he requested permission to pray, which he did, offering two units of prayer with composure and peace. The Quraysh then killed him by impaling him with spears and leaving his body in the desert.

Sa’īd ibn ‘Amīr, a young man at the time, was present during Khabbāb’s public martyrdom, and the memory of that day never left him. It haunted him in both his waking hours and at night, leaving a mark on his soul.

He would frequently envision Khabbāb, calm and composed, performing his two units of prayer before being crucified. He could still hear Khabbāb’s voice as he supplicated against the Quraysh.

Khabbāb’s martyrdom ultimately brought Sa’īd to Islam.

And he would later say,

“By Allah, every time I remember that day and how I failed to come to his aid, I fear that Allah will never forgive me.” [8]

This regret and sense of moral failure became so overwhelming that it would often cause him to pass out, overcome by the memory of the injustice he had witnessed and his own inaction.

The stories of Harām and Khabbāb show how exemplifying steadfastness in one’s most trialling hour, as so clearly shown in Gaza, is of the most powerful catalysts for people accepting Islam.

2 | Collapse of the “god” of human rights

Those who admit to supremacism

Gaza has laid bare plenty of Westerners who have practically admitted that the ideals of human rights, liberty, and justice were mere veneers masking deeper currents of supremacism and colonial domination.

The rhetoric of democracy and human rights is selectively applied and discarded altogether when it conflicts with Western geopolitical interests, particularly regarding Palestine.

Their rejection of the Palestinian cause, despite knowing the truth of the injustice inflicted upon Gaza, is motivated by maintaining the status quo of global power dynamics.

Those who honestly believe in justice

Gaza has also brought to the fore many in the West who genuinely believed in the ideals of human rights, equality, and justice. For a long time, they saw these values as the foundation of their societies and determined them to be cornerstones of moral and civilisational superiority.

However, this genocide has utterly disenchanted followers of human rights and has totally undermined it. Gaza has proven the falsehood of this “god”. This has left well-intentioned Westerners utterly disillusioned, let down by what they venerated, worshipped, and idolised instead of the Creator of the Heavens and Earth.

But their love for justice remained overwhelmingly powerful, so they turned to the heroic Gazans, fighting for truth and justice to find what they had lost.

They desired to be like them, when their systems and leaders had failed them and discovered that the Gazans venerate the Lord of the Heavens and Earth, so Allah guided them to Islam.

The end of the Quraysh boycott

During the time of the Prophet ﷺ, one of the tribal leaders of Quraysh, Mut’im ibn ‘Adi, intervened to end the three-year boycott and crippling siege imposed by the Quraysh on the Muslims in Makkah.

Mut’im later afforded protection to the Prophet ﷺ after the devastating ordeal at Tā’if, in which he was stoned and banished.

The Prophet ﷺ would recall the favour of Mut’im and his well-intentioned nature after the Battle of Badr, in which the Companions had taken captives of war.

He (ﷺ) would later assert that he would have freed the captives for the sake of Mut’im, if he were alive to intercede on their behalf, as narrated by Jubayr, Mut’ims son, who did in fact accept Islam. [10]

Where are the Mut’ims to lift the siege on Gaza and for whose sake the Israeli captives could be freed?

3 | Resistance and resilience with no material means — a new paradigm

In most modern David vs. Goliath narratives — whether it be Afghanistan’s rugged terrain, the “lacking air support” during the American Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961, or its withdrawal from Vietnam due to insurmountable “guerrilla tactics” and domestic opposition — the underdog is often credited with some form of strategic or military advantage.

Terrain, external support, or political leverage typically explains the improbable success.

Gaza stands apart, defying this pattern entirely

There are no mountains to shield it, no air support, no political alliances, and not even basic necessities like food, water, or electricity.

Its borders are closed, and it is besieged by one of the most advanced military powers on Earth.

On top of this, by the end of April 2024, Israel had dropped over 70,000 tonnes of bombs on Gaza, surpassing Dresden, Hamburg, and London combined during World War II. [11]

This is five times the explosive equivalent of the atomic bombs that capitulated the mighty Japanese Empire, and around 20 times what was dropped on Dresden, that brought Germany to its knees.

The US military reached Baghdad in just days, and Russia overran Georgia in a matter of weeks but Gaza has withstood relentless bombardment for nearly a year, confronting some 529,000 soldiers.[12]

It is a miracle unfolding before our eyes

More astonishingly, it has shaken the survivability of its far more powerful adversary, with Israeli pundits (rather than Gazan victims of genocide) wailing about their state’s existential crisis almost daily on national television.

Gaza has shattered the illusions of modern materialism, techno-dominance, and scientific advancement as the measures of supremacy.

It has proven that the true sources of resilience and victory lie not in bombs or bullets, but in dependence upon God.

People around the world are watching this unfold. They are not blind, and see something deeper at play — something deeply spiritual — drawing scores who seek that strength for themselves.

The Qur’ān so powerfully reminds us:

“If Allah helps you, none can overcome you.” [13]

The unyielding resistance of Gaza has left military pundits bewildered, rationalists utterly confused, and materialists silenced.

How can a people, with almost nothing in terms of material resources, not only continue to fight but do so on their own terms — refusing to surrender and instead demanding a ceasefire?

Even seasoned military professionals, like Colonel Hatem al-Falahi, a veteran of three wars, and Major General Fayez al-Dwairy, both experts in the intricacies of warfare, find themselves grappling for words to explain Gaza’s immovable strength despite the vast imbalance.

Gaza is a miracle unfolding before our eyes — forcefully pulling thousands out of their delusions and into the light of Islam.

4 | Façade-shattering war on children

Separating humans from hearts of stone!

The Zionist genocide machine has killed more Gazan children in four months than in four years of world conflicts, and more than twice the number of children killed in the Nazi Blitz of London over four years of WWII. [14] [15a] [15b]

By Israel waging a war on children (who sentient humans are predisposed to love and pity), they are in fact waging a war on man’s nature — their “humanity” in contemporary language.

Gaza has distinguished humans from cold stone, indifferent or even satisfied at the site of murdered toddlers, crushed under concrete rubble, amputated, or destined to continue their lives without a single surviving family member.

Islam is for those who remember their natural inclination

Islam is the religion of fitrah — the natural disposition instilled in every human being.

It is the birthright of every man and woman, a state of pure submission to their Creator from the moment they enter this world.

As the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said,

“Every child is born upon fitrah.”

But it is the distractions and illusions of the world that cloud this innate inclination.

Life’s distractions, specious ideologies, and the corrupting influences of society can bury that natural connection with God deep within the soul.

Yet, there are moments when the veil is torn away — when no false belief or self-delusion can withstand the reality of human suffering.

Normal people condemn child killings

Witnessing the death of a child, or even a continuous stream of slain children, shatters that indifference for most living humans, forcing a person to confront the mercy and compassion that God has placed within them.

The sight of such raw, unfiltered injustice washes away the layers of spiritual apathy, again and again, until that person’s heart returns to its pure, untainted state — its fitrah.

In these moments, people rediscover the mercy, compassion, and submission to the Creator that they were born with, reconnecting with their true nature, their birthright in Islam.

5 | Expression of gratitude

There is something uniquely powerful about the genocide in Gaza that stirs not just empathy, but a deep sense of indebtedness and gratitude.

Gaza is not just enduring its own test — it is confronting the very forces that have oppressed and dehumanised so many around the world.

Zionism, defined by racism, ethno-supremacism, colonial domination, and dehumanisation, encapsulates issues that most have either battled against or suffered from in some form in their lives.

Gaza is the epicentre of a global struggle

By willingly bearing the brunt of this oppression, Gaza stands at the heart of a global struggle.

In its resistance, it fights not just for itself, but for all who have been wronged by these same forces.

Every child lost, every home destroyed in Gaza, feels like a sacrifice made on our behalf. Gaza is settling our shared score with these injustices, building a deep sense of indebtedness for carrying the weight of our collective cause.

It is as if Gaza, in its fight, is taking the blows that have shaped our histories, and creating an inextricable bond of solidarity and gratitude.

People feel that their gratitude is best expressed as members of the same religion as the Gazans, so come to the light of Islam.

Invitation to those on the fence

Gaza has ignited an unprecedented re-evaluation of the world, forcing a collective reassessment of belief, morality, and purpose.

It has presented an irrefutable argument against those who reject God and spirituality — whether through the undeniable impact of faith on those enduring the most desperate circumstances, or through the miraculous toughness displayed by Gaza in the face of an internationally abetted genocide.

Gaza offers an extraordinary invitation, a pivotal opportunity for anyone still undecided about their faith, to embrace the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.

It beckons you to take a stand in this cataclysmic struggle between truth and falsehood. The world after Gaza will not resemble the world before it; every individual will soon be compelled to define their position with clarity.

Just as those who fail to acknowledge the horrors unfolding in Gaza are choosing wilful blindness or cognitive dissonance, Gaza leaves no room for denying God, objective morality rooted in Divine Truth, or the profound effects of God’s presence in this world.

This call is for you

For those who support Palestine and uphold the transcendent value of justice, the image of the Gazan child — whom you recognise as having returned to the presence of God — offers a call.

That call is for you to join them in God’s Eternal Abode, after enduring this tumultuous, God-forsaken world, riddled with trials and tribulations.

Through Gaza we remember that, beyond this suffering, there is a greater end awaiting those who align themselves with truth, justice, and the Creator.

Will you pick up that call?

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Source: Islam21c

Notes

[1] https://x.com/GlobeEyeNews/status/1809566120040439841

[2] https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/western-youth-turn-to-islam-inspired-by-gazans-faith-in-god-17452581

[3] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/04/06/why-muslims-are-the-worlds-fastest-growing-religious-group/

[4] https://sahanjournal.com/changing-minnesota/minnesota-muslim-converts-increase-following-gaza-crisis/

[5] https://www.jpost.com/international/islam-converts-change-face-of-europe

[6] https://mashriqtv.pk/en/2024/01/24/how-the-gaza-war-inspired-a-wave-of-muslim-conversions/

[7] Bukhārī and Muslim on the authority of Anas (radiy Allahu ‘anhu)

[8] Usd al-Ghāba by Ibn al-Athīr

[9] al-Mu’jam al-Kabīr by al-Tabarāni

[10] Bukhārī on the authority of Jubayr ibn Mut’im (radiy Allahu ‘anhu)

[11] https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6282/200-days-of-military-attack-on-Gaza

[12] 169,500 active and 360,000 reservists, according to numerous sources like the Washington Post and others.

[13] al-Qur’ān, 3:160

[14] https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147512

[15a] 7,736 children were killed in the Blitz, with almost double that number — as quoted by the United Nations Human Rights Office — killed at the hands of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

https://iwm.org.uk/history/growing-up-in-the-second-world-war

[15b] https://ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/05/onslaught-violence-against-women-and-children-gaza-unacceptable-un-experts