June 6, 2021, will always be remembered as the day
of the Afzaal Family's senseless killing in London, Ontario, Canada. The Afzaal's were standing on a sidewalk and
were rundown by a twenty-year-old Caucasian man[1]. The driver admitted his guilt and gave racism
and anti-Muslim sentiment and hatred as the reason for his barbaric action.
This incident shook Canadian society in general and
every Canadian in particular. Expressions
of sympathy, anger, disbelief started to pour in from the Political Leaders,
Religious Leaders and citizens of Canada. The incident became a topic of
discussion in the global news agencies and political and social analysts, and
critiques.
Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, immediately labelled
it as 'Islamophbia' and renewed his resolve to mobilise the Organisation of
Islamic Countries to address these issues with the European and North American
Countries. Incidentally, he remains the
only Islamic statesperson to equate the killings with Islamophobia. Last year, Mr Khan justified the beheading of
a French teacher by a young Muslim boy by stating that the teacher had shown cartoons
of Prophet Mohammed to the class. Furthermore,
Mr Khan was openly critical of France's decision to protect free speech and liberal
democracy by raising 'Islamophobia' and demanding to rescind free speech related
to either Islam and or Prophet Muhammed.
Tehreek Labeek Pakistan (TLP), a fundamentalist and right-wing Islamic political
party, protested violently on the streets of Pakistan, demanding the expulsion
of the French Ambassador from Pakistan and severing ties with France. Mr Khan's Government listed TLP as a
terrorist organisation, assured them that his motives are the same as theirs
and allowed TLP to contest a by-election in Karachi.
Pakistan's Left-Leaning Journalists and Intellectual
condemned both the killing of Afzaal's, usage of 'Islamophobia', and their Government's
duplicity and hypocrisy. Their argument was
rooted in Islamophobia, root causes of violence towards South Asians, Orientals
and Arabic in the European and North American Countries.
Islamophobia loosely defined is the fear of,
hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam and Muslims in
general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or the source of terrorism.
The meaning of the term continues to be debated, and some view it as
problematic. Some scholars view
Islamophobia and racism as partially overlapping phenomena, while others dispute
the relationship, primarily because religion is not a race. The causes and
characteristics of Islamophobia are also subjects of debate. An increase in
Islamophobia resulted from September 9, 2001, the rise of the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant, and other terror attacks in Europe and the United
States by Islamic extremists. The term has proven problematic and is viewed by some
as an obstacle to constructive criticism of Islam. Its detractors fear that it
can be applied to any critique of Islamic practices and beliefs, suggesting terms
such as 'anti-Muslim' instead.
Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed is an Emeritus
Professor of Political Science at the University of Stockholm. Dr Ahmed refuses
to interpret or label the actions of the French Government or random killings
as Islamophobia because of religious freedom and other liberties afforded to
Muslims in Europe and North America. According
to him, countries have protected their culture (France) and punished perpetrators
against Muslims according to their penal system. He believes it would have been Islamophobia if
the caricatures of Jesus Christ and the criticism of Christianity were a crime
and Islam's criticism was allowed and encouraged. In support of Dr Ahmed, European countries
and Canada opened doors to the Syrian refugees while the middle eastern
countries shut their doors on the Syrian refugees. Canadian Intellectuals of Pakistani origin
such as Mr Gora, Barrister Bhusani, Mr Farooqi's narrative is the same as Dr
Ahmed's.
Ms Arzoo Kazmi, a Pakistani
Journalist, opines that the Pakistani Government, notably Mr Khan, should address
their indifference towards the violent treatment of religious and ethnic
minorities in Pakistan. In the recent
past, Ms Kazmi cites the Government's silence on the kidnapping and forcible
marriages of hundreds of young Hindu girls in Sindh. She also references a Christian couple burnt
alive in a kiln, a Christian couple incarcerated for seven years on baseless blasphemy
charges, and converting a Church into a Mosque by Muslim nurses and demanding
the Christian nurses convert to Islam. Regarding violence to other Muslim
sects, Ms Kazmi highlights targeted killings of Shiite (belonging to Hazara and
other ethnic groups), the disappearance of thousands of Baloch men and the desecration
of Shiite and Ahmadi's cemeteries. On an
international and global scale, Pakistan has not raised any concerns or have
advocated the genocide and inhumane Chinese Government's treatment of the
Urgher's Muslims or have spoken to Saudi Arabia's rulers about the killings of
Houthi's in Yemen.
Ms Kazmi and other like-minded
journalists and Dr Ahmed and other intellectuals posit that the Western world ubiquitous
person sees these images and hear 'Death to Kafir (Infidel)' and the hypocrisy
of the Islamic rulers. These images and
message fuel the negative images of Muslims and emboldens rogue and deranged persons
to kill innocent Muslims. Moreover, while they condemn these incidents as
isolated and barbaric, they point out religious and cultural freedom enshrined in
the constitution and protected through the Charter of Rights of Freedom. Thus, this is not Islamophobia. Instead, it
should be deemed Muslimphobia.
Muslimphobia is an exclusive term
as it represents crimes and attitudes towards Muslim Canadians. This phobia should be understood and
interpreted through the broadest possible lens and juxtapositioning with other crimes
of hate. Since September 2001, hate and
racist crimes and incidents have increased in Canada. These crimes have been against Chinese Canadians,
the Jewish community and the Canadians from South Asia. In the recent past, after discovering Coronavirus,
Chinese Canadians in particular and citizens of the far eastern countries were
discriminated against, harassed and were the victim of violent attacks. Likewise, several groups have attacked Jewish
cemeteries, persons and businesses belonging to them. Canadians of South Asian and Arab origin, since
September 9, 2001, have been targeted, insulted, harassed and subjected to inhuman
treatment. Religion(s) can be a reason,
but the main reason is the hatred, racism and phobia of every ethnic minority
in Canada.
This discussion can be concluded through
the following points:
·
Islamophobia is a misleading term
as it does not represent a race.
·
Canadians of South Asian Origin,
regardless of religious persuasion, have faced racism and violent crimes.
·
Islamic world (Pakistan in
particular) should protect the rights of their minorities and afford them the
same protection as it demands from the Western world.
·
Extremists and White Supremacists
have divided the Canadian population and society into safe Caucasian (Europeans)
Canadians and dangerous Canadians (every other ethnic group).
·
Canadians should confront explicit
and implicit racism and hatred through educational programs and scrutiny of
organisational policies and practices.
A positive step to combat racism
and engender goodwill among citizens can be the Government agencies, non-governmental
agencies, and religious institutions that can facilitate dialogue and
interaction among various ethnic communities to foster relationships.
[1]
Deliberately, I am not taking this man’s name because he does not deserve to be
remembered by his name. He should always
be remembered as a callous, hateful, racist and cruel person – who killed four
innocent people because of their ethnicity.
