Photo: Ahmad Alabadla (left), Antony Loewenstein (centre) and Zia Ahmad (right) at the screening of The Palestine Laboratory at Dendy Cinemas in Newtown on Saturday 28 June.
As the sacred month of Muharram dawns, I find myself reflecting deeply on the timeless lesson of Imam Hussain (r), the beloved grandson of Prophet Muhammad (s), who stood fearlessly against the brutal Umayyad empire in 680 CE.
With only 72 loyal companions, Imam Hussain (r) refused to bow to the tyrant Yazid, choosing sacrifice over submission, truth over falsehood, and dignity over oppression.
His stand at Karbala is a beacon of hope for anyone who faces injustice — a reminder that it is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.
Fast forward the genocide being perpetrated in Gaza by the all powerful Zionist state with impunity against Palestinians’ meagre resistance against all odds in occupied lands, oppressed, starved and killed at will by Israel’s brutal forces.
Last Saturday night 28 June in Sydney, I was privileged to witness a modern echo of that fearless spirit while I attended the premiere screening of The Palestine Laboratory at Dendy Cinemas in Newtown, a powerful new documentary by Antony Loewenstein, an award-winning Australian investigative journalist, author, and filmmaker.
Although I had read his book before and it was reviewed in AMUST, it was my first time meeting Loewenstein in person, and I was stunned by the raw courage of his words while he laid bare a chilling reality: Israel, using technology perfected on Palestinians, has become a leading global superpower in weapons, surveillance, and digital repression.
Loewenstein, himself Jewish, spoke frankly about how Zionism has hijacked Judaism, turning a faith rooted in justice into a tool for apartheid and colonisation.
He challenged Israel’s claim to speak in his name, exposing how the Zionist state has built a multi-billion-dollar arms and surveillance industry by testing its weapons on the occupied Palestinian population, then selling them to governments worldwide.
His words cut through the fog of mainstream narratives like a sword. I couldn’t help but think of Imam Hussain (r) standing alone in the desert of Karbala, confronting Yazid’s mighty army.
Like Imam Hussain (r), Loewenstein has chosen to stand for justice despite the odds. He knows he will be defamed — and indeed, he shared how many in the global Jewish diaspora, including in Australia, dismiss him as a “self-hating Jew” for daring to expose Israel’s crimes. Yet he refuses to be silenced.
Loewenstein’s passionate warning about the “Zionist hijacking of Judaism” struck me deeply where Israel today uses Jewish identity as a shield for its oppression of Palestinians.
Loewenstein made it clear that what happens in Gaza is not only a Palestinian tragedy — it is a crisis that corrupts the moral core of Judaism itself. He said, “What’s happening in Gaza is not about Jewish people really, it’s about Palestinians. But this is being done in my name as a Jew.”
Israel has convinced much of the world that opposing its apartheid policies is anti-Semitic, a lie designed to silence conscience and bury justice. Loewenstein’s refusal to accept this moral blackmail reminded me of Imam Hussain’s (r) immortal stand: a refusal to be complicit in evil.
Loewenstein’s voice thundered with urgency: if we don’t act, if we don’t demand accountability, we become like those silent onlookers at Karbala who failed to rise when it mattered most.
What moved me most, however, was Loewenstein’s sincerity. He wasn’t grandstanding; he spoke with the quiet intensity of someone who carries a moral burden.
He called on everyone present to transform outrage into action, just as Imam Hussain’s (r) sacrifice ignited resistance that still inspires to fight for justice, a jihad using all your resources at your disposal.
In this sacred month let us remember that the story of Imam Hussain (r) is not an isolated chapter of Islamic history, it is a living call for every generation to reject tyranny, expose hypocrisy, and stand with the oppressed — no matter the cost.
In Loewenstein’s courageous stand, I saw the same spirit that moved Imam Hussain (r) to rise, reminding us all that the struggle for justice is eternal and I am personally inspired by him to stand for justice whatever meagre resources I have at my disposal.
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