Chapter 9: This is Not About Religion: Troubling the Perceptions of Palestine and Palestinians

Shereen Abu Akleh was a world renowned Palestinian American Christian journalist for Al Jazeera who was murdered by Israeli military forces as she was covering the brutality of Israeli raids in Jenin in occupied West Bank, Palestine (Ibrahim & Stepansky, 2022). This was a travesty as she amplified the voices of both Muslims and Christians Palestinians in Palestine. And as we write this book chapter, Israeli military forces are beating mourners carrying her casket as they attempt to proceed with a funeral march in Jerusalem (Ibrahim & Stepansky, 2022). Regardless of her Christian background, she was targeted as a Palestinian. In a moment of grief and mourning, it is important to counter dominant discourses—this is not about religion.