Belal Muhammad, the UFC’s welterweight champion, is utilizing his platform to make clear the continued struggling of Palestinians, drawing consideration to the catastrophic influence of the battle. As the primary UFC fighter of Palestinian descent to safe a championship title, Muhammad’s victory in July 2024 at UFC 304 in Manchester, England, was a historic second for his heritage. However for Muhammad, it was a chance to characterize Palestine on the worldwide stage.
Voice for Palestine’s Struggling
Born in Chicago to Palestinian immigrant dad and mom, Belal Muhammad has lengthy been outspoken in regards to the struggles confronted by the Palestinian individuals. Following his win, he devoted his title to his household and to Palestine, stressing the urgency of worldwide consideration to the ache of the Palestinian individuals. “It took me the lengthy highway, however they did give it to me, proper? So I simply needed to take advantage of it. And now, being the champion, now I simply acquired to characterize, and I simply acquired to indicate the individuals of Palestine, you already know, that they’ve a champion now,” Muhammad stated in a latest interview.
Belal Muhammad Stands for Palestine Amid Disaster
His phrases are a chilly reminder of the continued violence in Gaza, the place Palestinian civilians, together with youngsters, are struggling at an alarming charge. “It’s loopy how a lot they don’t care about youngsters dying, you already know? These are girls, youngsters, males—it doesn’t even matter the place they’re from or what they’re doing,” Muhammad continued. “It’s like we’re displaying you. You’re seeing it each single day on Twitter, on Instagram, on social media.”
Story of Jude
Muhammad shared an emotional story about Jude, a younger boy who now lives together with his household after surviving an assault. The kid was seen in a viral video carrying a Spider-Man shirt, his knee badly injured, as his mom died defending him. “However I’m like, this can be a actual child. Here’s a child now,” Muhammad stated, reflecting on the human toll of the battle. Jude now lives with Belal Muhammad.
The Devastating Influence
The tragedy just isn’t restricted to people like Jude. Since October 2023, almost 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, with nearly all of victims being girls and youngsters. The continued violence has not solely claimed lives but additionally destroyed houses, infrastructure, and livelihoods. The United Nations stories that over 7,000 minors and almost 5,000 girls have died on account of the battle, with youngsters aged 5-9 struggling essentially the most. The disaster has displaced numerous civilians, with many now dwelling in overcrowded situations in a tiny fraction of Gaza’s territory, going through starvation, trauma, and the lack of entry to training.
Belal Muhammad’s victory got here at a time when the Palestinian group, significantly athletes, had been impacted by the violence. Because the battle escalated, stories point out that almost 400 Palestinian athletes have misplaced their lives. Muhammad’s platform has allowed him to attract consideration to the plight of those victims.
For Belal Muhammad, that is s about standing up for what is correct and guaranteeing that the world doesn’t flip a blind eye to the continued ache of Palestine. Muhammad stays steadfast in his mission to make sure that Palestine’s struggling just isn’t forgotten.
“[The conflict] actually has nothing to do with faith, it has to do with humanity. Persons are actually dying and persons are shedding their houses. You present an image of youngsters dying and I get so many feedback like, ‘What about Hamas?’ Bro, you assume this 3-year-old child that simply acquired bombed and killed is Hamas? Individuals search for key phrases, set off phrases that can get different trolls that simply remark in your factor to get an increase out of you.”
