Why do they cry when other countries treat Muslims poorly, or when Trump says something, when they themselves cannot and do not treat their own well? Everyone cries about Muslims in Kashmir, about Palestine, about Syria, what about the ones in their own country?
Source/Credit: The Nation | Pakistan
By Shamila Ghyas | December 15, 2015
With mass protests calling for apartheid against Ahmadis in Pakistan, do we have any right to whine about Trump's bigotry?
A little while back, quite possibly the most politically incorrect clown in the US, Donald Trump made a comment demanding that a ban be put on Muslims from all around the world from traveling to the US.
There was a huge uproar from countries near and far and every part of the world including Pakistan, where people ridiculed him, outed him as an ‘Islamophobe’, a hater, and called him out on his obvious bigotry at every given chance.
This was the right thing to do.
One cannot hate a whole group of people based on their religion or ask them to pay the price for the actions of some. It was uncalled for and he was put in his place. Many Muslims he was working with suspended their projects with him as well asa result.
Similarly, a few weeks ago a shopkeeper in Lahore placed a poster outside his shop saying, "Qadiani (derogatory term for Ahmadis) dogs are not allowed in here.” Reminiscent of how Hitler had posters everywhere saying, “Jews and dogs not allowed” before the holocaust took place.There was again a lot of complaints from our empathetic Pakistanis, and the government took notice and had the hateful poster taken down.
This was a huge step because in Pakistan, an Ahmadi is jailed for the simple act of referring to himself as a Muslim or even if he has the Quran in his presence. They are hated for simply being Ahmadis, it does not matter what they are like individually as people.
Many lauded this action and it gave hope that Pakistan was perhaps on the way to accepting Ahmadis as people with rights too. There would be change.
But then today, this happened.
Ironically one of the banners in the protest said, “Wama arsalnaka illa rahmat allil alamin” That is from the Quran Verse 21:107 which translates into “And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.” (Sahih International)
I guess ‘mercy’ means something else entirely in their language.
22 Shias were killed on Sunday in yet another sectarian related violence. There were no protests from these people. They probably read about it, had dinner and went to sleep happy and content.
There are countless child marriages taking place where little girls are being married off to old men to pay off debts, or as little play things for them.
There are people still forced into bonded labor in the villages; they are slaves!
There are numerous murders taking place in the name of honor, in fact Pakistan holds one of the highest yearly records in the world.
Karo Kari exists.
People are murdered by placing false blasphemy charges on them to settle their own scores.
Corruption is rampant everywhere.
Terrorism.
And numerous other problems which hinder the growth of Pakistan as a country.
Why is it that they had no time to protest these real issues so a change could come about, but had the time, energy and passion to rise and protest a hateful poster being taken down?
Why do they cry when other countries treat Muslims poorly, or when Trump says something, when they themselves cannot and do not treat their own well? Everyone cries about Muslims in Kashmir, about Palestine, about Syria, what about the ones in their own country?
Do they have no shame? Or does like the word ‘mercy’, shame means something else entirely as well for them?
They applaud Canadian PM Justin Trudeau for treating Muslims well. Why? Whether people consider Ahmadis as Muslims or not is another matter completely, but why can’t we do the same? Treat our own well? Why do we applaud others then?
A lot of articles have come forth regarding the teachings of Al Huda and most consider it a place where students are taught to follow a very radical version of Islam where Shias etc are not considered Muslims. 1000s and 1000s of students stood up to argue, fight, and scream that they are not radical but peaceful and all the articles are wrong!
So where are they now when something like this is happening? If they are taught tolerance, then why aren’t they speaking up for Ahmadis or Shias in their own countries? Just saying it won’t make any difference, their actions will!
In fact, where are the peaceful Muslims who keep saying they are tolerant. The same ones who say Muslims should have equal rights, when talking about a Western country. How could they tell Trump off when in their own country, they are doing the same to people day in and day out? Every single day!
Why the silence? They constantly talk about heaven and sin but to remain indifferent or silent, shouldn’t that be a sin too?
Or do the people who this is not happening to;simply not care?
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” - Desmond Tutu
___________________
Shamila Ghyas is an author who writes for Khabaristan Times and other publications. Find her on Twitter and Facebook
Read original post here:
This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times. Ahmadiyya Times is not an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.