In a May 16, 2025 Friday sermon at the Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara, CA, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) National Chairman Hatem Bazian drew parallels between the conflicts in Palestine and Kashmir, framing both as struggles over identity and land driven by religious nationalism.
Bazian said that in Palestine, the land is being claimed under the pretext of a divine promise tied to Judeo-Christian civilization, while in Kashmir, he argued, the region is being framed as a “pure land of the Hindu gods” in service of building a Hindu nation-state.
Bazian rejected the notion that Palestine belongs to those who claim a divine promise tied to Judeo-Christian civilization, saying it does not belong to those who came from Ukraine or Poland and changed their last names to appear indigenous.
He emphasized that the Canaanites were the original inhabitants of the land and said that they were of Arab origin. Bazian argued that the promise to Abraham was not a bloodline promise but one based on belief, citing a Quranic verse in which God tells Abraham that transgressors from his lineage are not included in the promise.