Resistance Remains Unbowed: Mowahid Addresses Kashmir Solidarity Day
A Pakistan Link Report
Washington, DC: Speaking on Kashmir Solidarity Day before a jam-packed cross-section audience at the Embassy of Pakistan, Washington, DC, Mowahid Hussain Shah, attorney-at-law and author, prioritized fostering an empowering mindset in the American Muslim youth, stating that the conducive climate for action is now. Mowahid maintained that individual actions can be powerful and inspirational, such as those of the 17-year-old young black girl, Darnella Frazier, who captured on her phone the murder of George Floyd in broad daylight on May 25, 2020, in a Minnesota street. Her actions triggered a worldwide civil rights movement, demonstrating thereby that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.
Pointing out the behavioral dichotomy of those who, in effect, grovel before the seemingly powerful and growl before the vulnerable, of what use, Mowahid stressed, is academic competence if unaccompanied by the confidence to speak Haq?
Mowahid castigated Western elite acquiescence to the visible Holocaust unfolding on live TV in the birthplace of Jesus and Christianity. He drew parallels between the grit at Gaza and the indomitability of Kashmiri resolve and resilience under Indian occupation, who, to cite the poem “Invictus,” may be “bloodied but unbowed.”
He cited examples within America of those who spoke truth to power in the face of opposition even within their own community and, yet, have left an enduring nationwide imprint, such as Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali.
Mowahid lauded the sterling precedent of the late Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the incarcerated Yasin Malik and Shabbir Shah, who continue to persevere in their determination, despite uphill odds, to never give up the righteous struggle of the Kashmiri people for justice, dignity, and self-determination. Kashmir is the cause which unifies Pakistan.
Given the rejection by American youth of the mainstream narrative on Gaza, Mowahid expressed optimism that space for a reset is underway. Engage the youth. Build coalitions. The power is within us to effect change.
