THE NEW AGE WEAPON OF TERRORISM : THE PEN!
Today I am writing something which is not in line with my usual posts of self-help and personal development but of my sentiments as a Muslim. After all these horrendous terroist attacks in Pakistan, France, genocide in Burma, and Nigeria, somehow instead of those terrorists I feel more subjected to all this anti-Islam outrage. I will narrate a story from our Prophet’s (pbuh) life that demonstrates the most non-violent and peaceful way of life. I will use my writing to protest against psychological oppression and discrimination.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) used to pass through a street every day and every day a lady intentionally use to throw trash over him. The Prophet (pbuh) would quietly pass and go on with his day. So every day he use to take his daily route and without a miss the old woman would throw her daily trash on him. One day, when the Prophet (pbuh) was walking through the street, the lady did not throw trash on him and finding it strange he enquired about the old woman. Upon enquiring he found out that the old woman had fallen ill. Our Prophet (pbuh) went in to see the old woman and nursed her back to health. Upon seeing such kindness of the Prophet (pbuh) the old woman converted to Islam. These are the teachings of my religion and the practice we are taught to adopt. But while narrating this story, I will admit that I unintentionally thought twice about mentioning the fact that the old woman converted to Islam because I did not want this writing to be perceived as missionary work or be subjected to any kind of discrimination. This made me realize that how all this hatred that is projected towards Islam is subconsciously silencing my expression. Why should I be conscious of who I am? Why should I have to tailor my speech just so that I will be able to project that I am a peace loving person? Why do unconsciously feel the need to have to prove that in the first place?
I have intentionally narrated that part now because it is my freedom of expression that everyone appears to be going on about. It is my fundamental right to be who I am, to practice whatever faith that I choose, to lead a normal life without having to hide. I am not hurting anyone and so are the majority of people I have grown up with or know in Pakistan or abroad. My faith is personal and just because I choose to pray five times a day and am a proud Muslim, why should I have to pay for a few fanatics who are using the most peaceful religion as a face for murdering innocent people. What common sense does anyone see in stating that somehow these terrorists are protecting my way of life and my faith? It boggles my mind to no limits that the very same people who bomb my city, mosques and ruthlessly massacre our children are in some demented way protecting the very faith we practice. Unfortunately, the western media propagates that thinking by not condemning and showing equal outrage against the murders in Nigeria, Burma and Palestine. Perhaps, not explicitly but by implication, yes! Somehow all those human lives do not deserve the same outrage. Even in the western yogic community, I have not come across a single yogi who has even mentioned these tragedies.
I am appalled by the shootings in Paris but I do not have any respect for the magazine because they are using the dignity of the pen to terrorize me. Just because they are not firing bullets does not mean that they are not disrespecting us or taking away our freedom of expression or discriminating against us. It is downright racist! I do not understand why is it accepted that the French magazine so openly discriminate against a community and alongside rant about freedom, equality and secularism. Secularism is where religion has nothing to do with affairs of the state but by banning the wearing of hijabs it is the exact contrary to the entire concept of secularism and has thrown equality down the drain. Have they stopped people from going to church? I am pro secularism but if someone tells me that oh you cannot pray five times a day or celebrate Eid, I will ask them to shut the fuck up and mind their own business. There is something called responsible speech, where people are not offended and disrespected and yet there is freedom to have an opinion. To justify disrespectful cartoons to other people’s peaceful ideologies is just like justifying farting in public as your right to life under the Constitution. IT IS BLOODY INSANE! It does not take a PHD in Human Rights to know that, all it takes is basic etiquettes and respect for each other as humans.
I am enraged and saddened by the incident in the Duke University in America, to cancel the call for prayers for Muslims and heaps of respect for all those who protested against it. Why are those students who are leading a regular life like any other American subjected to such discrimination? How does that help in reducing resentment of the public? Why are they making those terrorists into freedom fighters? Such measures force the average person, who feels oppressed to look upto those terrorists. It is just like the terrorists have made the disrespectful and highly offensive work of the magazine as the ultimate expression of freedom! I put forward a question today that are the governments being responsible and intelligent in uniting the world against terrorism or are they mindlessly fighting a war in which they themselves are sowing the seeds of extremism and oppression?
I am a practicing lawyer and a yogi who wants to make it big in life and spends her days working towards her goals. But today, I find my freedom to practice my faith without judgment or to practice without having to fight for my basic rights, in jeopardy. I have to be conscious of what I say or to hide myself so that I can lead my life with equal opportunities and without pretence. To hide myself so that I am not judged and discriminated against for being a Muslim. Your pen is terrorizing me and for me you are no different than those firing bullets at our children. They oppress our basic right to education by making us feel unsafe and Charlie Hebdo you oppress me by not allowing me to practice my faith. It is all about how we use our power, either to empower others by protecting them or by oppressing them. In my opinion, the magazine is a face of oppression by using the freedom and positivity of the pen as a tool, just like those terrorists who use religion as a tool. Be careful of what you condone because you might become the very thing you are fighting against.
Let’s value human life, irrespective of the religion. BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD!
