23. Male. British-Asian.
BSocSci in Politics & International Relations - University of Manchester.
Pro-Peace. Pro-Tolerance. Armed with a sword of letters and a mind sewn with a distaste for ignorance. I'd describe my political stance as somewhat "Left" - whilst my beliefs are undoubtedly coloured by my faith, as a progressive Muslim. Though that would be a loose description at best, as I often find labels (such as 'Liberal', 'Islamist' and 'Left wing" and so on) often skew the perceptions of particular politics, polarising debates along preconceived biases / along partisan lines. To me, it's more about discussion and the debate - common sense, progressive thought, rationality, and a respect for our common humanity; Alongside contempt for injustice. Some of My Key Areas of Interest:
Human Rights, Palestine & Israel, The UK, Politics in general, Science, Islam & Muslims, History, Ancient History, Culture, Tolerance, Turkey, Injustices, Imperialism & Colonialism, Indigenous Rights, Under-reported regions; Against Xenophobia, Against Racism, Against Islamophobia and Anti- Semitism. Against excess Nationalism & Tribalism... Amongst various other concerns. Not new to tumblr, but this is my stand-alone blog (concerned with the above, amongst other things and) for various thoughts that might flutter about my mind - or articles I wish to preserve for later reading/for my own reference.. Ask me for my 'main'/photo/personal blog if you want the link. Salaam; Peace. x Various Political Thoughts/Rants Personal "Mission Statement"
I enjoyed having this blog for a long time - however I’ve just not had the time to maintain it for a good couple of years now really.
However, there are a few wonderful people who I've met through here, so thank you to all of you - and thanks for helping to facilitate my intellectual growth throughout the years.
I’ll leave this post here for a few days before deleting - in case any of those amongst you, want to find out how to stay in touch with me - just shoot me an ask. I’ll probably keep my other blog amq.tumblr.com going so you can always follow that too if you so desire.
Banksy unveils a new series of pieces in Gaza, Palestine
After teasing us with a single shot on Instagram earlier this morning (GMT time), Banksy finally revealed the location of the first piece which is Gaza in Palestine. Inspired by “The Thinker” by Rodin the first piece is entitled “Bomb Damage” and obviously with Banksy, the placement is just on point.
On top of that, the elusive British street artist took the opportunity to reveal four new pieces which you will be able to find around Gaza.
Two quotes were enclosed with the images of the new stenciled pieces:
Gaza is often described as ‘the world’s largest open air prison’ because no-one is allowed to enter or leave. But that seems a bit unfair to prisons - they don’t have their electricity and drinking water cut off randomly almost everyday. — Banksy
A local man came up and said ‘Please - what does this mean?’ I explained I wanted to highlight the destruction in Gaza by posting photos on my website – but on the internet people only look at pictures of kittens. — Banksy
Just like in New York City back in 2013, one of the new piece is text based and reads: “If We Wash Our Hands Of The Conflict Between The Powerful And The Powerless We Side With The Powerful - We Don’t Remain Neutral”.
Finally, Banksy drops a strong statement with a 2 minute long video which document his recent trip to Palestine.
Hit the jump to discover more images on these powerful artworks plus the video and as usual keep your eyes peeled on StreetArtNews for the latest Banksy updates.
Police have named 42-year-old Muslim policeman Ahmed Merabet as one of the two officers killed in Wednesday’s attack on a satirical magazine in Paris. He is survived by his wife.
Merabet was seen in videos being killed point-blank on the sidewalk by the Muslim terrorists, after begging for his life. He was a patrolman assigned to the 11th arrondissement– the Paris neighborhood where Charlie Hebdo’s office is located ...
The Daily Caller
It turns out that the policeman murdered in cold blood in the Paris attack, begging for his life, was Muslim: "the officer is named as Ahmed Merabet - a married man and believed to be a Muslim".
May god give solace to the families of all those murdered.
Let no one forget this over the next few days, when the media inevitably puts Islam and all Muslims on trial for the failure to 'curtail "our" extremism'. Let us not let anyone forget that Muslims are literally and regularly killed by these same bastardised ideologies; Which segments of the media will again hold up as poster cases, for the supposed great attack on the free West - with certain narratives portraying monolithic (yet a quarter of the global human population) and backwards peoples, which is just laughable (considering Muslims are also being killed by the same extremists - who we should be looking to tackle effectively, together).
You only need to look at how too many people were making silly generalised narratives, which grouped the Muslim victims of the tragic massacre of over a hundred Muslim children, women and men in Peshawar with their murderous oppressors. Innocent Muslim civilians can be denied their own victimhood, by many of the more ignorant people out there - those just looking to make a quick, populist, nuance-less, and ignorant remark about Islam (even when 132 Muslim children were tragically murdered, by odious people bereft of humanity, adhering to similarly bastardised ideologies). Let it not be forgotten that 8 times more of the murdered victims of extremism, have been Muslim than non-Muslims in the past.
Though I should point out that this is not in any way to detract from the other murdered Frenchmen - as it was a truly despicable act against many innocents, with no rational justification whatsoever.
But I feel it is an important caveat that should be duly noted - as the ensuing narratives may cause Muslims to be marginalised, stigmatised, generalised against, dismissed or stereotyped and ultimately face 'reprisal' attacks, in such sensitive times - In a climate where French Muslims (and Muslims across Europe) have sadly "come to expect discrimination" as a part of daily life, amidst the indifferent narratives - and in a climate where France has seen various other minorities come under attack too. It needs to be noted that Muslims are the ones suffering too, and that we all need to work together to fight such a cancer on humanities common sense of justice, rather than be further divided (as that actually plays right into their hands; the fuel which stokes the fires of such divisively-minded extremism).
If anyone still thinks this is about religion, and not a political struggle with the barest patina of religion as justification for this war, they need only come to Peshawar to attend the funerals of the children, who will be buried before the sun goes down, in the Islamic tradition. They have only to hear what their parents will say, the customary response to the news of a Muslim’s death: to Him we belong and to Him we will return. The children who were killed are of the same religion as the attackers claim to follow. This is not about religion: this is about power, intimidation and revenge.
Bina Shah, The Guardian on the Taliban massacre of school children in Peshawar, Pakistan.
They’re going to hold candle light vigils. We’re going to have meetings about ‘what we can do’. The government will give the victims’ families money. The dead will be buried. Everyone and their mother will ‘strongly condemn these acts of terror’. The right-wingers will blame America, the liberals will blame Islam. A week from now (3 days from now?) everyone will forget and go back to business as usual. Until the next time of course, there’s always a next time. Rinse. Repeat.
If I see this shit I promise you I will hunt you down and rip your fucking throat out. There is no room for patience anymore. Shut up. Shut the fuck up. You don’t give a shit about these people. And you are the most cowardly piece of heartless filth if you can use the deaths over a 100 children and grief of over thousands to try to vilify the same very faith that gives many of these families a shred of fucking solace in the face of something as harrowing as this.
taliban presence in pakistan was virtually nonexistent until increased U.S military occupation in afghanistan. when you feel your heart sink to the bottom of your chest as you read the names of the 17+ children killed today remember this piece of information.
#IndiaWithPakistan: Indians express solidarity after Peshawar school attack
In the aftermath of the terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar, solidarity has been expressed with the people of Pakistan by Indians on the social networking site Twitter.
The hashtag #IndiaWithPakistan is currently trending in which Indians have condemned the attack and expressed condolences with their Pakistani neighbors ...
[Read More: Dawn | via BBC Trending]
See Also:
#IndiaWithPakistan: How two countries united against Peshawar terror attack on Twitter | First Post
Indians Are Using The Hashtag #IndiaWithPakistan To Show Solidarity For Victims Of Peshawar’s School Attack | Buzzfeed
Haven’t slept all night. No amount of crying brings comfort or even a semblance of catharsis. My heart aches uncontrollably. Thank you for your warm messages and solidarity with Pakistan. It helps in so many ways.
Given how utterly disrespected and taken-for-granted Pakistani life is, regardless of age, I can predict the timeline ahead on my social media. It wounds, it numbs. I already work in a field where my nationality is a subject of speculation; the death of my brothers and sisters merely statistics; our loss is described in terms of political strategy; no one remembers we dream too, we weep too. Before the 126 martyred Pakistanis - children being the majority killed - are reduced to mere talking points and statistics, I’d like to save myself from further desensitization and deactivate for a bit. Several days, since no amount of a hiatus will put a rescue wall between me and the conversations people will shove my way in the coming days. “What do you think of Islam then?” “Don’t you think torture is necessary now?” “America should extend its presence in Pakistan.” And more. It bruises, it suffocates.
But if you can, when you see someone opine that these children in Pakistan were killed for “going to school”, please remember that the violence in my motherland is not so black and white, that extremist factions avenge state incursions by taking the lives of the innocent, that our stories deserve not to be essentialized, that it is heartbreaking to carry the infinite weight of a child’s coffin but it is even more agonizing to hear your pain become a convenient, incorrect story for a global audience itching for the next breaking story. In solidarity, if you can, tell our stories according to our terms. Say our names, our children’s names, and please - please - do not forget us.
Australians Use #IllRideWithYou Hashtag in Solidarity With Muslims During Sydney Siege
A bid to prevent an anti-Muslim backlash
Even as tensions remained high in the midst of a hostage siege in Sydney on Monday, some Australians were taking to social media to ensure local Muslims feel safe from potential backlash.
It wasn’t immediately clear what the motive was of a gunman who took hostages in a local cafe, but a black and white Arabic flag could be seen, leading to speculation that an Islamist terrorist was the culprit. Users soon started tweeting the hashtag #IllRideWithYou.
When Rachael Jacobs noticed the woman sitting next to her on the train silently removing her hijab, she told her to keep it on—”I’ll ride with you.”
Others spread the hashtag in a sign of solidarity.
According to social analytics tracker Topsy, the hashtag had been tweeted more than 166k times in the eight hours following @sirtessa’s tweet.
[via Time]
See Also:
#illridewithyou: hashtag offers solidarity with Sydney's Muslims after cafe siege | The Guardian
Australians Offer To Travel With People In Religious Attire By Tweeting #IllRideWithYou; The terrible events in Sydney ... have sparked a heartwarming reaction on social media. | Buzzfeed
Confirmed on various different too: "[Mr Monis] is currently on bail for being an accessory to the murder of his former wife and is facing more than 40 sexual and indecent assault charges"
It’s awfully convenient though that the government decided to proceed with the mid year finance review amongst today’s hostage chaos??? Abbott capitalising on this opportunity while everyone is distracted? Hmm sus.
It does seem plausible that Abbott could be looking to bury potentially unpopular aspects of the review, within the chaos of the news... but I suspect it's more likely the government is consciously trying to project a degree of calm to quell any potential public panic? It would be consistent with the fact they seem to be at odds to stress that people should go about business as usual.
