Encourage Courage
By Mowahid Hussain Shah
When red lines of civility are being trespassed, inevitable then is the core question: what to do?
According to a New York Times story of December 6, some US Muslims, in the panicked aftermath of Trump’s win, are asking American Jews whose elders fled Hitler’s Germany, whether now is the appropriate time to flee the US and seek safe haven elsewhere.
It throws an unflattering spotlight on a defeatist posture by sending a message that bullying is winning. Disempowerment and disenfranchisement do not occur in a vacuum.
Intolerance presents an opportunity for action. It can begin through small incremental steps like calling, meeting informally, and discussing common concerns within one’s circle of family and friends.
It is not good enough to bemoan one’s predicament. That can generate a spiral of escalation -- exactly what the merchants of hate want.
There are sterling exceptions that exponentially can become beacons in fields of endeavor for Western Muslims.
In the 1970s and 1980s, including during the Thatcher era, Paki-bashing was a sport in England amongst skinheads. In that hostile environment, some in the community were apprehensive of a roundup and expulsion à la what happened to Asians in 1972 under Idi Amin’s Uganda. Today, London’s mayor is a son of an immigrant Pakistani bus driver. And 25 percent of England’s Test cricket squad is Muslim. England’s all-rounder Moeen Ali had the guts to enter the Test ground with a wristband emblazoned with solidarity for beleaguered Gaza.
Australia’s callous disregard for Muslim refugees seeking sanctuary is particularly egregious even by today’s trends, yet there, Islamabad-born Usman Khawaja’s batting exploits in 2016 were such that Australian cricket great Mark Waugh compared him with the legendary Brian Lara. Usman has shown moral courage by openly rejecting an alcohol logo on his cricket kit, as being inconsistent with his Islamic values.
Batting star HashimAmla, from formerly white supremacist South Africa, reportedly spurns prize money from liquor-related sponsors.
All of the above have done so in defiance of prevailing Western norms. All have flourished and won mainstream respect in England, Australia, and South Africa. All have shown that victimhood and self-pity is not a recipe for living with grace. All understood that their silence could have been construed as acquiescence. All of them are not just good at what they do but they are willing to take a stand on human dignity values.
The big mistake is to leave unchallenged attacks on common human decency. Being passive is being submissive.
Smart action works. It is to engage with the media. E-mailing letters to the editor is significant and highlights the representation issue. Going to the media puts a spotlight on intoleranceand increases public pressure. The simple fact remains that intolerance cannot be countered by inaction and that apathy can imply acceptance. Action counters aloneness, isolation, and helplessness.
Lots of folks are prone to roll over with the expectation that now is not the time to take a stand. Hazrat Ali forewarned: “When I have overpowered a foe, it has been with his help.”
What to do then? Discourage defeatism and encourage courage.
