COLOMBO — Sri Lanka is witnessing the rise of a dangerous ideology disguised as virtue: antizionism that increasingly spills into outright antisemitism. As a Muslim, I find it exhausting and deeply alarming. I have watched its ugly tentacles spread into my homeland thousands of miles away from the Middle East. First, there was hostility toward Israeli tourists visiting Sri Lanka. Then came campaigns against a Chabad house, as if Jewish worship itself was somehow offensive. Now Sri Lankan activists sail in flotillas toward Israel, turning one of the world’s most tragic conflicts into ideological theater.

But beneath the slogans lies a disturbing truth: modern antisemitism often hides behind the language of justice, liberation, and human rights.

October 7 Cannot Be Erased

The war in Gaza did not begin in a vacuum. On October 7, Hamas slaughtered civilians, kidnapped families, and shattered any remaining trust Israelis had in coexistence. Today, most Jewish Israelis genuinely fear living beside another Hamas-controlled entity. Yet the global conversation demands total responsibility from Israel while asking almost nothing of Hamas or Palestinian leadership.

Where is the demand for accountability from Hamas? Where is the outrage that Hamas embedded itself among civilians, built tunnels beneath neighborhoods, and prolonged a war that has devastated Palestinians themselves? Peace cannot emerge while one side is expected to guarantee security and the other is excused from responsibility.

What Islam Actually Teaches About Jews

As Muslims, Deen argues, we should remember something many activists conveniently ignore: Jews and Muslims are deeply connected — religiously and historically. She writes with the authority of a faith she knows from the inside:

Zionism, she states plainly, at its core simply means the legitimate aspiration of the Jewish people to live safely in their ancestral homeland. Supporting Palestinian dignity does not require denying Jewish nationhood. In fact, much of the Arab world itself is moving beyond the endless politics of rage — the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt increasingly understand that economic partnership and regional cooperation matter more than perpetual ideological warfare.

Sri Lanka Knows What Collective Blame Costs

Deen deploys Sri Lanka’s own history as a mirror — and the reflection is uncomfortable. During Sri Lanka’s own ethnic conflict, tens of thousands died and hundreds of thousands fled after the 1983 riots. If Sri Lankans everywhere had been treated as permanent villains because of that history, they would have called it racism immediately. Yet when Jews are targeted collectively, too many remain silent.

The Path Forward: Coexistence, Realism, Humanity

Deen’s conclusion is clear and unequivocal: only Israelis and Palestinians themselves — through mutual recognition, security guarantees, responsible leadership, and compromise — can end this conflict. Sri Lanka’s role is not to perform outrage from the sidelines. It is to stand for coexistence, realism, and humanity — not imported hatred masquerading as activism.