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A group of big-hearted members from a youth committee have launched a campaign to raise awareness about Palestine, shed light on the constant struggle and to encourage more people to stand up for Palestinian rights.
The Fatima Bint Resq (FR) Youth Committee, which was known as the FR Project when it was first founded and directed in May 2020 by Shaikh Rashid bin Mohamed Al Khalifa in honour of his late grandmother Shaikha Fatima bint Resq bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, is made up of teens and young adults keen on spreading awareness about the traits of benevolence and goodwill from Islam.
The committee, which is a part of the non-profit and non-governmental Council of Environment Improvement (CEI), launched the King Faisal Campaign on May 25 as a result of the heightened tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel.
“Named after the late King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, may Allah rest his soul, this campaign is intended to inform the public about the issues faced by Palestine,” said Fawaz Obaid, the 17-year-old president of the FR Youth Committee from A’ali.
“The campaign was created as a result of the heightened tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel, all of which we witnessed through the lenses of the media. We don’t aim to end this campaign anytime soon; as the issue of Palestine is everlasting and so should our campaign that will always raise awareness towards solving the crux.
“And, rather than highlighting the negative aspects of this issue, we want to outline the positives that arose from this crux to improve the morale of our Arabian and Muslim audience, along with shedding light on this matter as a whole.”
The campaign is made up of two main teams; one managing media posts and the other conducting research on all Palestinian matters. Each team consists of three people selected from the FR Youth Committee. They will be using social media outlets such as Instagram to keep followers updated.
“As the titles suggest, there will be a party that researches the positives of these issues, such as heroic acts of Palestinians which oppose the group that harms them,” explained Fawaz. “On the other hand, the media party will focus on creatively presenting the information brought by the research team to the audience.
“Artistic illustrations and unique Instagram page layouts are a few examples of what this group shall achieve.
“We’re researching about Palestinians and other individuals who stood out from the rest in defying and resisting the Israeli settlement ideology. For example, we researched about Palestinian twin activists Muna and Mohammed El-Kurd who dedicated their own lives towards shedding light on the heinous apartheid system set on Palestinian grounds and some of their contributions even went viral on various social media outlets.
“Our research team is currently working on its first release and shall co-ordinate with the media team to create a final post on our Instagram account. This cycle will be repeated such that at least a single post is up on the page each week.
“By this, we hope to raise awareness, educate and shed light on the Palestinian issue. Moreover, we want to show our gratitude and support to the Palestinian people; especially during tough times like these.
“We believe that through our social media platform that we will be able to achieve these aforementioned goals.”
The campaign could not be more timely as footage on social media last week showed Muna, 23, whose family faces eviction from their home in Sheikh Jarrah after Jewish settlers won an Israeli court ruling, handcuffed and being escorted from her home by Israeli officers.
Her twin brother, Mohammed, later turned himself in at a police station after receiving a summons, their father said. Both were released hours later, he added.
Without explicitly naming Muna, an Israeli police spokeswoman said police had arrested a 23-year-old resident of East Jerusalem under court order, on suspicion of participating in riots that took place in Sheikh Jarrah recently.
The Bahrain group also aims to raise awareness of the importance of protecting holy sites such as the Al Aqsa Mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem, which is the third holiest site in Islam.
* Those that would like to participate in the awareness journey about Palestine can message @kingfaisalcampaign on Instagram, email councilofcei@gmail.com or call 32313116.
