Exclusion
By Mowahid Hussain Shah

 

A friend wrote and drew my attention to the October 20 Washington Post editorial encaptioned, “The cowardice of Senate Republicans blocking a qualified Muslim’s confirmation.” It discusses the conundrum of a Pakistani American, Dilawar Syed, President Biden’s nominee to be deputy administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA).

“But Republicans have frozen his nomination in a Senate committee” states the editorial. “So what’s the problem?” the editorial queries. The editorial answers: “they [Republicans] questioned Mr Syed’s association with an advocacy group that has been critical of Israel.” Further, the editorial references “an email circulated among Republican committee staff focusing on Mr Syed’s religion and place of birth.” The editorial is explicit in its emphasis that Mr Syed is “eminently qualified, who has been endorsed by the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Small Business Association.”

So, what then is the takeaway message? In one word: Exclusion. The dark passage of Muslim exclusion from mainstream US society and polity continues.

I wrote back to my eminent lawyer friend, who has a doctorate in law from Harvard and is in the midst of bravely battling cancer: “Meekness plus the colonial mentality of not speaking up and settling for crumbs as ‘grateful immigrants’ is beginning to exact a heavy toll.”

The youth have seen their community heads squander their energies and waste a generation in futile VIP-hunting with the inner-circle of elitism. Over-feeding the already over-fed. Those energies could have been much better deployed in community-building activities, which would have advanced self-esteem and strengthened self-empowerment.

To date, the community remains fragmented with a weak team ethic. How many of the youth, for example, have volunteered to amplify the media voice of the Los Angeles-based Pakistan Link, whose Editor, the admirable Akhtar Faruqui, has for decades dauntlessly invested his heart and soul in the production of a quality paper?

The other day, a distinguished academic called to point out the ceaseless venom spouted forth by Hindutva elements in America. It stays unchallenged.

Instead, one sees the dismal pattern of sycophancy and appeasement. These are what is displayed in the toolbox of lotus-eaters.

Sycophancy and appeasement send an unmistakable message of helplessness, powerlessness, defeatism, and chronic inferiority. Also, they skirt the unavoidable task of hard toil and heavy lifting. Crucially, it is a dodge to fight for what is right. The existing approach has inflicted “the bigotry of low expectations” making it easy for Muslims in search of equity to be fobbed off.

Predictably then, Muslims vying for a coveted spot are prone to be targeted and vilified. The Dilawar Syed matter is illustrative of that.

The simple question has to be raised: is there a Muslim voice in the American conversation? Representation matters. It is an issue of fundamental fairness.

Exclusion has to be constantly highlighted and spotlighted. It has been said that sunshine is the best disinfectant. If you don’t fight for what is right, instead of a seat at the dining table, you are likely to become a part of the dinner menu.