Daijiworld Media Network – Istanbul

Istanbul, May 31: British academic Salman Sayyid from the University of Leeds has said that Palestine represents a broader global demand for justice, especially among Muslim societies striving for autonomy and dignity.

Speaking at the Reorienting Resistance, the fourth edition of the Critical Muslim Studies Conference held in Istanbul, Sayyid noted that the event brought together scholars and researchers from around the world to reflect on how knowledge about Islam and Muslims is produced and contested in today’s global context.

Sayyid remarked that the ongoing crisis in Palestine has exposed the limits of Muslim influence over global affairs and their own governments. He said, “If we cannot protect people suffering live on our TVs from the horrors, then the international order itself needs to be rethought, especially when Palestinians face the last Western colonial settler state.”

He also underlined the growing international support for Palestine, citing recent actions by Latin American countries severing ties with Israel, and said this reflects a wider awakening to injustice.

According to Sayyid, resistance as a concept has been deliberately sidelined by Western media and academia since the Cold War. He believes the liberal international order has failed to deliver equality or justice for Muslims globally.

The academic emphasized the need for transnational solidarities in building a just and democratic world, where governments make autonomous decisions and reflect genuine popular will rather than bowing to external powers.

Sayyid further noted that while most Muslim countries gained independence decades ago, many still lack true sovereignty, and decolonization and emancipation remain the most urgent issues for Muslim societies today.