The long history of Palestinian Shias, what the Wahhabis, Salafis and British Shias won't tell you
A Muslim nation of millions and not having a single Shia is an absurd, illogical and unrealistic claim, especially when you consider the history and the shared borders with southern Lebanon
Today, when we speak about Shiaism, some people quickly link it to the Islamic Republic of Iran and its "expanding influence", completely disregarding the actual history of Shiaism in the West Asian region, as in reality, it originates from the Arab nations, not as they like to claim and pretend.
When the mention of Shiaism is brought up about an Arab nation, especially when it is a Sunni majority nation, the matter completely differs as the Salafis and Wahhabis' sensitivity increases and they become defensive, pretending like Shiaism belongs to Islamic Republic of Iran and it is all due to their influence and them promoting such belief.
The matter reaches its most extreme case with most ignorant denial and rejection of Shiaism in Palestine, where they claim that Palestine has no Shias, and in rare occasions when they acknowledge the Shia presence, they make it like it is due to them being influenced by Iran, rather than Shiaism being found organically, to paint the image that Shias and or Shiaism are not indigenous, as they are completely foreign.
This frustration and delusion stem from their collective failure as a nation for letting the Palestinians down in their struggle, so they fear the tiniest thing for the nation to have in common with the Shia world far more than the disappointment their entire leadership are responsible of.
A Muslim nation of millions and not having a single Shia is an absurd, illogical and unrealistic claim, especially when you consider the history and the shared open borders with southern Lebanon in the past—and even today’s factors.
Before the israeli occupation, the borders were open between northern Palestine and southern Lebanon, making that the mixing of people much easier, as they travel back and forth, social links were common as some Palestinians would marry from the Lebanese and vise versa, especially the Palestinians of Galilee, eventually this leads to adaption of some beliefs, including religious ones, Sunni or Shia. And this was even before the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, before the occupation.
Palestinian professor Khaled Sindawe, affirms the historical presence of Shias in Palestine and the shared history with southern Lebanon before the israeli occupation.
These Shias were referred as "Matawlah", they were commonly found in Nazareth and Galilee (northern Palestine), these Shias used to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein ibn Ali (peace be upon him) on Ashura, the 10th of Muharram of Hijri calendar. Some reciters from southern Lebanon would come to northern Palestine to recite the story of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS), and many of the Shia men and women who are even married to the Sunnis and mixed with the communities. Some of the Shias had properties in Haifa, the old town of Haifa, there are still some Lebanese properties and many of them belong to the Shias.
There are even some religious sites do highlight and prove the long Shia presence in northern Palestine, writings appear on the wall in the site of Prophet Yushaa', of the name Imam Ali (AS) and Imam Hussein (AS), which indicate it is a prominent holy shrine among the Shias in northern Palestine and even the Shias in southern Lebanon.
The site of Prophet Yushaa (PBUH).
The name of Imam Ali (AS) craved on the wall inside the site of Prophet Yushaa’ (AS).
The name of Imam Hussein (AS), the son of Imam Ali craved on the wall inside the site of Prophet Yushaa’ (AS).
According to the statistics by the French geographer, Vital Cuinet "Syrie Liban Et Palestine (1901)", sorting the population of Palestine by religion, it shows that the Shia population goes beyond Galilee, Haifa and Nazareth as they are also found in Acre. Worth noting, the numbers are not exact and some areas being zero, does not mean they do not exist, Shias or any other religious group, it is those who were counted in the statistics, the numbers in the categories is bigger in reality.
Statistics of the Palestinian population by religion and cities (1922).
al-Maqdisi, a 10th century Palestinian traveler from al-Quds says in his The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions, page 179 (985 CE):
"The people of Tiberias, half of Nablus, al-Quds, and most of Amman are Shia"
This is what makes the history of Shias in Palestine long and authentic, contrary to what some claim, either through denial or because of the “influence of Iran” and following them.
Thus, the Palestinian Shia community, are part of Palestine, whether if today are in big numbers or less due to migrations after the occupation or not. In fact, today especially after al-Aqsa Flood and the undeniable role of the Shia resistance, Hezbollah, Iraqi resistance, Yemeni resistance (Ansraullah) and Iran, many Palestinians embraced Shiaism after witnessing their stance which stems from the Shia faith and principles that are based on the Husseini revolution.
As for the British Shias, they are always after separating the cause of Palestine from the Shia nations, they portray it as "Sunni against Jew", while Shias have no relation with it, some state that why some Shias are engaging in the war against israel for the sake of Palestine (Sunni)? They also say "leave that Palestine alone, the Nawasib are not worth it."
The British Shiaism likes to push a notion that israel is only an enemy to those who oppose enmity toward them first and get involved in their conflicts... Meaning that it is reckless and suicidal behavior from the Shia resistance to oppose enmity toward israel and defend the oppressed, like in Palestine and Lebanon.
I ask you this, who were the killers of the Prophets and their oppressors? You as a Shia, who killed Imam Ali (AS)? The list of the names involved in his killing is longer, but who delivered the blow? Ibn Muljam (curses be upon him), and what did the Imam say? "He killed me the son of the Jew", who killed Imam Hussein (AS)? Shimr ibn Thil Jawshan (curses be upon him), Shimr is a name with Hebrew origins, in Arabic would be "Samer", while in Hebrew it is "Shamer".
That is from a historical context on how it is not "Sunni vs Jew", looking at israel today, just not long ago, the invasion and occupation by israel against Lebanon in the late 70s, even Hezbollah did not exist back then, is there any answer to that? How many Shias were killed in that process, let alone the rest of the Lebanese of course..? What explains the israeli aggression here against Lebanon? In fact, Hezbollah formed in the early 80s and the Shia resistance overall in Lebanon existed only as a response to the israeli occupation. The real reason for that is because for israel, yesterday it was Palestine, today it is the neighboring countries and tomorrow will be further expansion, looking at their "Greater israel" project and its map. And if you pay good attention to the map, you will see how they do not only plan to occupy Palestine, but go even beyond that, I ask you this, how will they achieve that? Through peace or invasions and wars? In that process, how many will be killed? Considering that the entirety of Lebanon and half of Iraq included, you tell me how many Shias will be killed in such process? Even more, how many holy shrines of ours will be occupied by the israelis? The occupation in Palestine and the genocide, is not restricted to one specific sect or group, it's a collective targeting of anyone who is in their way, that is not restricted to the people but even to the religious sites!
You as a Shia who believe such notion that israel is only an enemy to the ones who oppose enmity first, how would you feel for holy cities of Karbala and Najaf to be occupied by israel? For the shrine of Imam Ali (AS) to be occupied by his killers? If you think that is a concern from the very far future and until then, we must act accordingly, you are very wrong as they have already crossed many boundaries, while the very British Shia figures whom you follow that condemn Iran and the axis of resistance for fighting israel and defending themselves and the region, either refuse or not care enough to tell you about the israeli past aggression toward religious sites.
Here are some examples:
The Shrine of Lady Sakina in Tiberias, occupied Palestine.
The shrine is located on the western shore of Lake Tiberias. It was mentioned by the traveler Al-Harawi (611 AH) and Yaqut Al-Hamawi (626 AH).
The endowment that stood at the door of the Shrine of Sayyida Sakina in Tiberias.
The Shrine of Sayyida Sakina in Ibn Battuta's travels in the fourteenth century AD.
The shrine of the head of Al-Hussein, peace be upon him, in Ashkelon in occupied Palestine.
The unproven narrative states that the Abbasids secretly transferred the holy head from the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus to Ashkelon in Palestine.
Then the Fatimids arrived and built a large, three-story shrine on that site.
With the arrival of the Crusaders and their siege of Ashkelon, the coffin and its relics were transferred to Cairo, where the shrine attributed to the head of Hussein (peace be upon him) stands today.
With the arrival of Saladin, the pulpit of the Ashkelon shrine was moved to the Hebron shrine.
In 1950, the invading forces demolished the shrine and built a hospital in its place.
All that the israeli occupation has done is to displace the entire people, Sunnis, Shias and Christians, Judaize, loot and demolish not only the names of the regions but even the holy places and religious sites. They are not limited to the Sunnis, Shias or Palestine only.
Soldiers take a woman out of her home during the occupation of Malkiyya. Photo by Benno Rothenberg, May 1948.
Al-Malkiyya was a Palestinian-Lebanese Shia village, one of seven Shia villages that ended up on the Palestinian side of the border when the Sykes-Picot borders were first drawn, these villages were part of Lebanon, but in 1923, they were transferred to Palestine. (The French and British redrew these borders multiple times.) The transfer of the seven villages was done at the request of zionists. They had originally wanted all of South Lebanon to be included in Palestine to further stretch their occupation—going all the way up to Saida, the northernmost point of the south. But the French wouldn’t allow it. Most people from the seven villages identify as Lebanese rather than Palestinian, though some do consider themselves Palestinian. But when their ancestors were born, no one used those terms—they just said (Amili) عاملي and جليلي (Galilean).
When the British and French finished carving up al-Sham in 1924. About 400 people lived in Malkiyya on the eve of the Nakba.
During the 1948 war, control of the village switched between the warring parties several times, until it was eventually captured by the IOF during Operation Hiram, in October 1948. Today, the site of the village is within a closed military area (even before the current war). Kibbutz Malkia was established on the village's land. Its residents are currently evacuated.
Today, we may not see Shiaism clearly and noticeably, because some have sought refuge to southern Lebanon. Many people migrated from northern Palestine during the occupation to southern Lebanon and those who were from the seven Lebanese villages, earned the Lebanese citizenship.
Some may have adapted Sunnism as they mixed with others, and some have stayed. Today, in the West Bank, and especially Jenin... the Jenin Battalion, we see Shia symbols in the slogans on the vests of some of the resistance fighters, such as the number 313 and Zulfiqar sword, and there is love and admiration many resistance fighters for the Shia leaders and fighters, such as martyr Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and martyr Hajj Qassem Soleimani.
Wahhabism and Salafism deny the historical presence of Palestinian Shias, and today they claim that there are no Shias in Palestine, while the British Shias are trying to distance this Islamic issue to defend the oppressed by saying, “Leave them alone, they are Nasibis,” as if it were an issue only between Sunnis and Jews, Palestine and israel, ignoring the israeli records and their continuous crime of genocide, displacing people, demolitions and Judaizing areas and sites whether they are religious or not.
israel remains an enemy for all Muslims, whether Palestine has Shias or not, their aggression even outside Palestine proves their evilness is never limited in Palestine as it is a political matter between the two and we have to distance ourselves from, which is the goal of the Zionist enemy and their useful agents of British Shias who promote such rhetoric that separates the Islamic cause from us and label it as political, between two nations only.
In short, the Shias have been an integral part of the Palestinian nation, like other religious minorities, for a long time. Today, it makes no difference whether they are significantly present or not, given the history and conditions of the region for years, and the Shias’ support and sacrifice for Palestine, its cause, and in defense of its people, it is absurd to assume that has no effect, as many people worldwide, not just Palestine, shown interest in the Shia belief to know more about why it is only the Shias today who are standing against the biggest evil. On top of that, the access of internet and social media today where everyone in the entire world can do their own research and decide for themselves what to believe in... It is delusional to claim that there are no Shias in Palestine.
