June 17, 2019…the saddest day in recent memory.
The day when Dr. Mohamed Morsi, the first democratically elected President of
Egypt, died in a Kangaroo Court defending himself against ridiculous trumped up
charges. He was not granted a public funeral, a mark of the fear that even the
dead body of a man of truth, inspires in the cowardly hearts of those who
manage to kill him. That is because humans can be killed but what they stood
for, lives on and continues to inspire others, long after they are gone. May
Allahﷻ grant
this pious man the best of rewards in Jannah. May the Qur’an become his Hafiz
in the Aakhira, as he was its Hafiz in this life. His death
underlines the fact that what is important is not whether we live or die,
because everyone dies. What is important is how we die and what we die for.
Morsi left his mark in history. I was in Egypt in 2014 and wrote this piece. https://yawarbaig.com/wherearetheleaders/if-i-were-president-of-egypt/
All humans make mistakes and all mistakes are
opportunities to learn from. That is their only use. When we learn from them,
we don’t make the same mistakes again. When we don’t, we are destined to make
the same mistakes over and over until we learn. ‘Nations (people) that don’t
learn from history are condemned to repeat it.’ Morsi was human and I am sure
if he were alive, he would have been very happy to analyze what happened and
what should be done differently the next time around.
This is my attempt at trying to learn some lessons
from history. Let me warn you in advance that if any analysis is to make
meaning or prove useful, it must be divorced from emotion. I know that many of
my readers, indeed I myself, can think of many excuses for what Morsi did and
explain each action away by seeking refuge behind ‘good intentions’,
‘commitment to Islam’, ‘personal piety of Morsi’ and so on. That would be
totally counterproductive. The issue here is not how the supporters of Morsi
see his decisions or the actions of his party, but how others did and do. It
was that which brought about the tragic events leading to the reinstatement of
dictatorship and the death of Morsi and hundreds of his followers. Surely, that
is a sacrifice which should be enough for us to ask some tough questions and
face some unpleasant facts.
Let us see how things were when Morsi and his
party won the election in Egypt. Egypt is an African country but since its
conquest by Amr ibn Al A’as ® and Abu Ubaida ® in the time of Omar ibn Al
Khattab ®, it has been Arab. Arabic became its language and over the centuries
it was the seat of several powerful Muslim Empires, including the Mamluks who
in the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 defeated the army of Hulegu Khan, the
grandson of Genghis Khan. The first time that a Mongol army had been defeated
by anyone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ain_Jalut
In more recent times, thanks to its size,
population, education, the Arab film industry, Al Azhar University and the
global fame in recitation of the Qur’an, Egypt is the leader of the Arab world.
Though it is an African country, it is more than likely that anyone who is asked
to list the top three most significant countries in Africa and the Arab world,
will list Egypt in the Arab world and not in Africa. So, what happens in Egypt
has repercussions in the world in general but very particularly and powerfully
in the Arab world. Egypt, apart from this is the only country in the Arab world
which is not a hereditary monarchy and has had elected leaders, even if all of
them, excluding Morsi were elected in sham elections and were really dictators.
Yet they were never called ‘King’ or any of its variations and were always
‘President’. This is another reason why Egypt is important because it is a
major departure from the norm of rulers and the ruled, in the region. When the
so-called Arab Spring happened in Egypt, with the fall of the reigning dictator
Hosni Mubarak and the election of Dr. Mohamed Morsi, it was a watershed. It was
a marker in history that a new era was about to be ushered in.
The popularity of Morsi and his party was
unquestioned. The symbolism of people in Tahrir Square, the energy they
displayed, Muslims praying, with Christians standing around them guarding them
from any would-be mischief makers, myriad images on TV, social media and print
media of the events leading to the final removal of Mubarak and the swearing-in
of Morsi, all signaled that the destiny, not only of Egypt, but of the Arab
world, was about to change. Very heady stuff or very alarming stuff, depending
on who was watching. All went well in the beginning. Morsi was welcomed at
home. He met the Coptic Pope and assured him that his government would
safeguard the interest of the Christian minority; which though a minority, is
very significant and powerful in Egypt and has international support. He was
invited by King Abdulla bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia to visit and was
accorded full honors as Head of State and promised to help him with financial
aid. The fact that he was a Hafiz of the Qur’an was mentioned with almost every
mention of him as a person. His humility, piety, clean politics, innocence even,
was the talk of the town, as it were. He was welcomed and applauded in all Arab
countries and practically everywhere else.
Back home however, expectations were high; in
keeping with domestic problems, the chief of them being employment. No matter
who the President may be, people need jobs and food on the table. The burden
that popularly elected leaders get to bear is to deal with high, most of the
time unreasonably high, expectations of those who elected them. Part of the
reason is the election campaigns themselves where leaders must promise to pave
the streets with gold, in order to win elections. Nobody in today’s world will
vote for a leader who speaks the truth and says, ‘After you elect me, you will
still have to go to work and work very hard to feed your family. I will promise
you a clean government, law and order, safety and security, an education system
that will create skilled people over the years, a working medical and
health care system and clean and safe cities. But you are responsible for
yourselves and your families and you must pay taxes to enable the government to
give you all of what I promised you.’ That is perhaps the best speech, which
though totally truthful, is guaranteed never to get you elected. So, leaders
promise to put not merely bread, but Biryani or Lahm Mandi on every table for
every meal at the expense of the state. I am saying this figuratively but the
idea in any election campaign is to make the alternative to status quo look so
attractive that people will be inspired to do whatever it takes to bring in the
new regime. This is the system followed all over the world with its
consequences clearly visible to anyone who chooses to see. Most choose not to.
Ditto Egypt.
Wikipedia has this to say about the events of the
time:
As president, Morsi issued a temporary
constitutional declaration in November 2012 that in effect granted him
unlimited powers and the power
to legislate without judicial oversight or review of his
acts as a pre-emptive move against the expected dissolution of the second
constituent assembly by the Mubarak-era judges. The new
constitution that was then hastily finalized by
the Islamist-dominated constitutional assembly, presented to the
president, and scheduled for a referendum before the Supreme
Constitutional Court could rule on the constitutionality of the assembly,
was described by independent press agencies not aligned with the regime as an
“Islamist coup”. These issues, along with complaints of
prosecutions of journalists and attacks on nonviolent demonstrators, led to the 2012 protests. As
part of a compromise, Morsi rescinded the decrees. In the
referendum on the new constitution, it was approved by approximately two-thirds
of voters.
On 30 June 2013, protests erupted across Egypt, in
which protesters called for the president’s resignation. In response to
the events, Morsi was given a 48-hour ultimatum by Egypt’s military to
meet their demands and to resolve political differences, or else they would
intervene by “implementing their own road map” for the country. He
was unseated on 3 July by a military coup council consisting of
Defense Minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, opposition leader Mohamed
ElBaradei, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Ahmed el-Tayeb, and Coptic
Pope Tawadros II. The military suspended the constitution and appointed
the President of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, Adly Mansour, as
the interim president. The Muslim Brotherhood protested against
the military coup, but the pro-Morsi protests were crushed in the August
2013 Rabaa massacre in which at least 817 civilians were
killed. Opposition leader ElBaradei quit in protest at the massacre.
In simple terms what are we seeing here (what did
the people see)?
Someone
who promised to be democratic, showing that inside the façade lives a dictator
who didn’t take long to have himself declared, “granted him unlimited powers
and the power to legislate without judicial oversight or
review of his acts”. {Public perception: Alarm, chagrin, rage!!! Did
we go through all this to get another Mubarak?}
And
then he does something that no leader must EVER do. He, “As part of a
compromise, Morsi rescinded the decrees.” {Opposition’s reaction: Ah!Gotcha!! He is weak. Bring
him down. Get rid of him. We respect strength. Nothing else.} The rest is
history.
Sisi took over; arrested Morsi, slaughtered
protestors and the Arab Spring turned into a wet squib.
Morsi (and his party and government) made four
cardinal mistakes, which proved suicidal.
Instead
of focusing on economic development, they got bogged down in ideology. Various
statements were made, including by Morsi himself, praising democratic elections
and thereby directly and indirectly criticizing (Arab) monarchies.
Instead
of focusing on building on the goodwill of the minority Christian and Jewish
population and bringing them all together on one Egyptian identity, Morsi and
his party raised the boogie of the Shari’ah and played right into the hands of
their opposition as well as raising the alarm with others. The attempt at
trying to get ‘unlimited powers and to legislate without judicial oversight’
were grist to the mill; a Godsend for anyone planning to bring Morsi and his
party down. The tragedy is that the only people who seem to have been blind to
this was Morsi & Co.
Instead
of focusing on internal issues of employment, hunger, health care, education
and others, it appeared that there was more focus on external issues, be it the
condition of Palestinians or giving aid to disaster affected people in
Indonesia. This coming from a country which almost literally was living off aid
from America and other Arab countries.
Perhaps
the most lethal of them; imagining that personal piety and incorruptibility is
a substitute for political sagacity and wisdom.
It bears to note that Sisi was Morsi’s Army
Commander, reporting to him as the President and at least in the beginning, at
his command and mercy, even to retain his job. Yet Morsi failed to control, let
alone neutralize him. Morsi’s death is tragic. But not surprising. His fate was
sealed when he displayed weakness.
What could he and his party have done? Here’s my
two-cents worth as a rank outsider who by virtue of that, perhaps has a clearer
view than those involved. Objectivity and perspective are a function of distance.
Homework. What seems to be clear is that the entire turn of
events, winning the election, overwhelming support of all people including
those normally opposed, culminating in being able to form a government, came as
a big surprise to Morsi and his party. I don’t believe they really believed
that they could win. So, they were not prepared to move from their position of
at best being in opposition, to being the ruling party. Their reactions seem to
me to be just that, reactions, and therefore unplanned. They were acting in the
moment without a clear (or any) view of why they were doing what they were
doing or what the likely consequences of that may turn out to be. Everything seems
to have been a surprise; some pleasant and some shocking. Clearly for all
aspiring leaders, homework is critical to success. The Shadow Cabinet in the
British Parliament is a brilliant example of preparation. Nothing like
simulation to understand the complexity of leadership and how to prepare for
it. But then, only those who expect to win, prepare for it. And sadly, those
who don’t prepare, squander the gains.
Celebrating
is for others. Keep your head
squarely on your shoulders and forget about celebrating. Let others do it. You,
the leader, must understand that when the celebration is over, it is you to
whom everyone is going to look for the future. So, what do you have to show
them? Can you deliver on what you promised? If yes, then when? If no, then what
is your plan to mitigate the inevitable disappointment? Once again it comes
down to preparation, anticipation and the ability to deliver on your promises. People
expect a change in status quo. That is what they voted for. They didn’t vote
for everything to be the same except the name of the leader. No matter how
‘unreasonable’ that may seem to you, the leader, that is what people expect and
you must give it to them. Maybe not everything, but enough to keep their hopes
high. If you don’t, then the disappointment after an unexpected victory is
proportionate to the joy.
Focus. For any leader, even more for the head of a major
nation like Egypt, there are a million demands on his attention; a million
causes all clamoring for him to deal with them. Focus in the art of ignoring
fluff. What is fluff in this case? It is everything that didn’t get you
elected. Other countries didn’t get you elected, neither did their rulers.
Neither did anything except the hopes of your own people. So, deal with them
before you do anything else. People elected Morsi not only because they loved
him (many didn’t) but because he represented a change from the horrible
dictatorship of Mubarak. If that change is not clearly visible, then it raises
anxiety. By definition, that anxiety will be disproportionate especially with
those who were perhaps anxious in the first place and elected Morsi because
they had no alternative. That means the Christians and Liberals. They need
reassurance. Constant reassurance that their decision was not wrong and that
they picked the right leader who will deliver on his promises and safeguard
their interests.
In such situations, people’s patience, tolerance
and the willingness to take pain, are always in very short supply. In Morsi and
his party’s case, they bore the burden of the negative image of Islam and his
party which was created by the global Islamophobia industry that all Muslims
are the target of, but at a much higher level. Fears arising out of that, no
matter how illogical they may have seemed to Morsi and his supporters, had to
be allayed. Perception is reality, even when it is erroneous. You can’t run
away from it. You must face it and lay it to rest through your visible actions.
As they say about justice, “Not only must it be done, but it must appear to be
done.” This holds true even more in this situation. Solution? Communicate,
communicate, communicate. Morsi didn’t. On the other hand, his government’s
actions fanned the flames and enhanced those fears. The resultant protests and
all that followed was certainly not unexpected, except to those who refused to
see the writing on the wall.
Economic Development. Generate employment. Infrastructure projects,
service projects, education and tourism. I have mentioned these in detail in my
other article quoted above so won’t repeat that here. But basically, give
people something to think about other than politics. Get them off the street
and out of the tea shops and into the workplace where they can earn some money.
This was all doable provided there had been a focus on it. Apart from the aid
from other countries, I have mentioned in my article different ways in which a
government can access funds and resources to generate employment and boost the
economy. Egypt is a resource rich country with a highly capable population. To
make it economically strong is not a difficult task. What has drained is
decades of dictatorship and the corruption that generates. A democratically
elected, clean government was just what the doctor ordered for Egypt. Sadly, it
never took off.
Act with decisiveness. A wrong decision pushed through does less damage
than a right decision that you are tentative and hesitant in implementing.
Morsi’s hardest task was to deal with a military that has gotten used to
ruling. Like Pakistan, where the army runs the show behind the scenes and
political leaders dance to their tune. This was probably the hardest task that
Morsi had; a legacy not to his liking or of his creation, but his
responsibility, nevertheless. What should he have done? I don’t think any
elaboration is necessary. The supremacy of civilian rule needed to be
established and institutionalized in a hostile environment. That needed a level
of wisdom, diplomacy and ruthlessness, which Morsi was not capable of. Like
major life saving surgery, it would have been painful and messy but needed to
be done with decisiveness and speed. That didn’t happen. Maybe Morsi was too
decent a human being for that. Whatever be the reason, the result was the
resurrection of dictatorship.
All that remains is to mourn the passing of a good
man and of the chance of a change of destiny for Egypt. May his memory be
honored, and may others learn lessons so that what he wanted to achieve may one
day be achieved by others. For men die. Not ideas or dreams. Dreams live on in
the hearts of people, to one day emerge and usher in a world that others, like
Morsi died for.
“So, how
did things get so bad?” I am sure you must have heard, asked or thought about
this yourself. So have I. Many times, over the years whenever I saw a
badly-behaved child being fed with the help of an iPad, a spaced-out teenager
who seems lost in his electronic world where Facebook friends are more real to
her than real human ones or when I read reports of rapes and murders being
filmed on smart phones by stupid people. And my instant reaction is, “It was
not like this 40 years ago. What went wrong?” And there would rest the case;
until the next episode. This is 2019 and so when I say, ‘40 years’ we are
talking about two generations; that is the 1980’s. It is not to say that
everything was hunky-dory until 1980 and suddenly in 1981 it all collapsed. But
it is a live demo of the truth of the ‘Boiled Frog Syndrome’.
For the
uninitiated, this has nothing to do with cuisine, but with gradual social
change which suddenly becomes starkly visible, having been unperceived for a
long time before that. The parable is that if you put a frog into a pot of hot
water, it will jump out. But if you put the frog into a pot of water at room
temperature and allow it to get comfortable in it; then you light a fire under
the pot and gradually heat the water, the frog doesn’t register that the water
is getting hotter. It continues to feel comfortable in the water which is
getting hotter and hotter until it reaches a point when it does register that
things are not the same but by then it is too late, and the frog gets boiled.
That is what happens to people and to societies. That is what I believe has
happened to us in India.
Let me do
a flashback to the time that I was growing up, which was in the 60’s and 70’s.
We (me Muslim) lived in a multi-religious society, as we do now, but with a big
difference. Nobody had TV’s or smart phones (we didn’t even have stupid
phones), so our social life was with our friends. We played football and
cricket; yes, really! I mean in the maidan (open field) near our house. We went
to their homes and they came to ours. We participated in their festivals; not
the religious ceremonies, but the fun and games, eats and sweets. And they did
the same with ours. We knew them and their culture and religion, respected it,
understood their boundaries and adhered to them, took an interest in their
culture and they did the same with ours. We spoke about all this because there
was no football or cricket to speak of
and as far as I can recall, (cricket was a 5-day Test Match – a test of
patience for everyone), politics was a given (Panditji was alive after all) and
so there was hardly any discussion about that. We needed people and they needed
us. So, we appreciated each other.
We lived
in joint families, referred to our elders by our relationship with them or an honorific
in keeping with their age. So, it was Dadaji, Amma, Baba, Mataji, Dadiji,
Chachi, Chacha and so on. Hardly anyone was ‘Uncle’ or ‘Aunty’. There were some
but not too many. It was the job of all elders to discipline us, teach us, tell
us stories, guide us in our religious or cultural norms, customs and practices
and when they were doing that, if any of our friends was around, they would get
the benefit of this teaching, no matter which religion they came from. They
listened with respect and so did we. Our culture was distinct from that of
others, but I don’t remember anyone in my family ever referring to the culture
of others in any even remotely derogatory term. I don’t believe that my family
or elders were unique. They were ordinary people of the time. We learnt our
cultural norms, manners, taboos, customs and practices from our environment and
those around us and since we lived in joint families, there were plenty of
those. It didn’t matter that Dad was away at work, Mom was always home and even
if she went anywhere, one or both grandparents, an uncle or aunt or two were
always around to ensure that we ate, slept, were safe, studied, went out and
played and when it was time, prayed. Mom and Dad didn’t need to do these things
exclusively.
We never
ate out because it was considered uncultured to eat in a restaurant. People
asked you, ‘Don’t you have a home?’ If you took a friend out to a restaurant it
meant that he was not close to you or that you didn’t really respect him.
Otherwise you would have brought him home. It was normal to eat at each other’s
homes, no matter that in some cases the food laws are very different and rigid.
But Brahmins, Marwaris, Kayasth and Reddy friends all ate regularly at our place.
When those we knew to be particular about their food laws were coming, strictly
vegetarian food would be cooked. Those that ate meat at our house did that because
they wished to. Nobody forced of even suggested it to them. Once again, this
was not unique. This was the norm. I recall dropping in at the home of my good
friend from school, Gurcharan Singh. I said, “Sat Sri Akal” to his mother
(Mummy), Dad (Dadji), Grandmother (Mataji) and “Hi” to his sister and brothers
and him. They all said, “Come and eat”, as they were having lunch. His mother
said, with a big smile on her face, “Aaloo paratha bana hai. Tujhe pasand hai
na!” because she knew how much I loved it. As I sat down, Guru’s father pointed
to a covered dish and said, “Usay utthay rakh do.” (Put that there; signing to
the sideboard); meaning, take that dish away from the table. Guru jokingly
said, “Dadji koi problem nahin hai. Yawar yahan kha lega.” His father was
distinctly not amused. He said, “Khana hai tho kahin aur ja kar khaye. Ithey
nahin.” (If he wants to eat, let him go and eat somewhere else. Not here.) What
they were talking about was pork vindaloo. I would not have eaten it anyway,
but for them it was not a joking matter. We respected each other’s traditions
and unless someone volunteered to break his own tradition, it was not broken
for him. Some Muslims went to their Hindu and Christian friends to drink
alcohol, but nobody forced them to do it. If they chose to do it, that was
their choice, just as it was the choice of vegetarian Hindus to eat meat in
their Muslim friend’s homes, if they wished. Needless to say, many Hindus are
not vegetarian and eat meat and fish.
Manners
were a very big thing. You never addressed an elder by name. Or even as Mr.
So-and-so. You either called him Uncle So-and-so or just Uncle. Same thing for
the Aunties. If a boy whistled at a girl, anyone older around would simply
thrash him right then and there. You asked permission, said ‘please’ and ‘thank
you’. The role models you looked up to or who were mentioned to you were people
who were known for their honesty, integrity, hard work, compassion; always for
their values. What people owned was not the subject of discussion firstly
because most people owned similar things, drove similar cars (if they drove a
car at all) and lived in similar houses. The differences were not major and it
was considered crass and highly uncivilized to mention money or the price of
anything. If someone asked you how you were, you replied, “Very well
Uncle/Aunty. Thank you.” You didn’t say, “I’m good”, because that is first of
all, not the right answer because the person was not asking about your moral
condition but your physical well-being and secondly because we thought it was
their job to tell us if we were good or bad. Not ours to announce.
Money was
in short supply though we never wanted for anything. We wore each other’s
handed down clothes. We wore shoes until they became holey. Our clothes were
hand-made to measure because that was the cheapest option. Readymade clothes
were expensive and jeans you only saw in pictures. Pocket money was unheard of.
You got money for the bus fare to school and that was it. Whatever else you
needed had to have a reason behind it, and “I want it” was not a reason. We
lived in bungalows on large plots of land because our parents had inherited
them from their parents. We didn’t go on holidays and looked very enviously at
those very few who went to Ooty for two weeks every summer so that they could
return to Hyderabad’s heat and appreciate it better. But then, at that time you
wore a sweater from November to February and the swimming pool (Public Swimming
Pool in Fateh Maidan – does it even exist anymore – where Jeelani Pairak was
the coach) only opened its doors in the middle of March because it was too cold
to swim before that.
There
were all of four career choices, medicine, engineering (mechanical or civil),
Civil Service or Army. You picked one or if you didn’t, it was thrust upon you
for all kinds of reasons out of your control and then you studied for the
exams. When you got 80% you got presents and gave a party. If you got 90%
people thought that you had cheated. Life was simple, uncomplicated and moved
on at its own pace.
Then came
the 80’s. TV came on the scene with its soaps, serials and news. The world
suddenly opened. Education changed. Multiple disciplines became available to
study leading to hitherto unheard-of career options. The Middle East opened up
for jobs, so did America and Canada. Young people left to make their fortunes.
In some cases, the wives and children remained behind. In most other cases, it
was only the elderly parents who saw off their children at the airport to
return to empty houses and loneliness. All in the name of money. Thanks to
repatriation of funds and the effect of the TV, suddenly money was easy and
material things, appliances, clothes, cars, motorcycles, all became affordable.
Rapidly these became not only nice to have but grounds for competition with
neighbors, friends and strangers. Suddenly we discovered that our neighbor’s
name was Jones and we had to compete with them (Keeping up with the Joneses).
The 80’s
sound like ancient history today in 2019 going on the magic number 2020. What
do we have today? Hatred. We hate each other and that sells, that gets you
elected, that gets you followers, it is chic, it is fashionable, and it works. It
is most preferable to hate Muslims, but anyone else will also do, if there are
no Muslims around. As long as you hate. That is the only thing that counts. So,
our world has shrunk. We meet people like ourselves, who talk like we do, eat what
we eat, like what we like and dislike what we dislike. We hate the same people and
in each other’s rhetoric, we find solace.
We live in our echo chamber and that has become our world. There are those
among us who were born in this echo chamber. They don’t know anything else. But
there are those who were born and lived in a world that was very different from
this one. A world where there were no echo chambers, like there were no mobile
phones, laptops, social media and even television. A world that was real. Today
in our echo chamber, we sometimes ask ourselves this question, “What happened
to that world?” Then we correct ourselves and ask, “What did we do to it?”
“Er! Ahem!! Excuse me, you may not have noticed but something is happening. My neighbor has imported a man-eating tiger to eat her mother-in-law.
She wants her MIL to become a MEAL.” (Ugh! Bad pun – or whatever).
“What after the tiger has finished the offending mother-in-law?”
“Well, my neighbor hasn’t thought about it that far. Maybe she thinks the tiger will conveniently disappear into the woodwork.”
“I don’t think so. It is a man-eating tiger. Not a mother-in-law eating tiger. I don’t think it cares about who it eats as long as it is human. Then it will be your neighbor herself, then her family and then you and me.”
“Er! Ahem!! I am not sure it is a good idea to say these things.”
“50 Muslims killed at Friday prayers in #NewZealandShooting by far-right fanatics”, say the headlines. Why do they call them ‘far-right’? They are far-far-wrong. It is not semantics. ‘Right’ has a nice ring to it. Right is just, justifiable, correct, accurate, fair and good. Killing 50 worshipers is none of these things. And then the man livestreams the killing. Let us begin by calling the animal by its correct name which is ‘fascism’. Not far-right, but fascism. Remember what happens when you don’t name the disease. Six million Jews died to teach us a lesson. Millions of Germans, otherwise ‘good’ people I suppose, remained silent and watched it happen. These Jews were not killed by rampaging hordes of barbarians. They were clinically murdered by scientists who developed ever more efficient ways to do it. Just like the man in New Zealand who not only killed innocent people but livestreamed his actions.
Social media platforms which don’t get tired of telling you how state-of-the-art their technology is and how it can catch and identify every message, allowed the video of cold-blooded murder, to travel all over the world, unremarked for many hours after it happened and until someone protested about it. When someone can livestream murder of worshippers at prayer you know depravity has sunk to its lowest level. As I said, something is happening.
What is that something?
That something is the rapid normalization of hate. Hate has suddenly been legitimized and given pride of place. I lived and worked in America and among the things I taught there is the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 is the act which gives the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) authority to sue in federal courts when it finds reasonable cause to believe that there has been employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Yet today none other than the President of America himself, mocks, condemns and expresses hatred against Americans and others on all these bases. And apparently that is acceptable. The truth is that hatred has been stoked and nurtured at every level and it is international. That is what we must accept if we want a cure.
Just to recollect; the gunman who killed worshipers in Quebec, Anders Breivik in Norway, Donald Trump’s brazen anti-Muslim rhetoric, Boris Johnson’s vilification of Muslim women, Tommy Robinson, Katie Hopkins, Jayda Fransen, Paul Golding are all given prime time slots on mainstream media and allowed millions of followers on social media. In India, the rise of fascist views has grown in tandem with extremist Hindu groups supporting Trump and attacking Muslims. This is tacitly supported by a total lack of action against the criminals thereby encouraging them to do more. Israel routinely shoots Palestinian men, women and children. No comments. Communist China imprisons, rapes and tortures over a million Uighur Muslims in the name of fighting extremism. Allegedly peace-loving Buddhists of Myanmar, led by the infamous Aung San Suu Kyi, slaughter and dispossess their Rohingya Muslim citizens with impunity. The list is endless, but this will suffice for what I need to say.
Killing and abusing Muslims has always been justified and easily explained. Just as killing Jews was accepted and justified all through Medieval times. The reality is that there were no Syrian or Iraqi or Libyan or Palestinian refugees until America and its allies created them. Most refugees today are escaping the hell that has been created in their homelands by wars and strife foisted on them by nations seeking resources, selling arms and seeking exploitation. In the same breath as demanding peace, Western nations manufacture and sell weapons of mass destruction to the vilest dictators on the planet or use them in their own personal pursuit of commerce and diplomacy through the barrel of a gun. The comment I heard which is ‘stand-up comedy standard’, is what one of the ‘leaders’ said about a sale of F-16’s, ‘It was not meant to be used in combat.’ Well, what else do you use it for? To take your girlfriend to the movies? I recall a poster when JFK was assassinated. It had a picture of a gun in a square frame and the caption, “This is made for one thing only.” At least someone then, spoke the truth.
The point I want to make is not for those individuals, leaders or groups perpetrating these crimes. I am speaking to the vast majority; people who remain silent even though they are well aware of what is happening. That is why I began with my man-eating tiger analogy. Hatred is a man-eater far more voracious than any poor tiger. Hatred is fire and it burns anything in its path. Hatred is fire and the result is always ash. It doesn’t matter why the fire was lit. Whether it was lit as an act of worship or to cook food or keep warm or anything else. It can do only one thing, burn. And the result is always ash. I ask you, is this what you want to bequeath to the world? To your own children?
Some very heartwarming and encouraging reactions to the horrific incident in New Zealand. Overwhelming support from local communities for the victims and their families. Spontaneous outpouring of love and kindness and courage. Thousands of calls to the mosques where people were killed. An unprecedented clear statement of courage by the Prime Minister who called it an ‘Unprecedented premeditated terrorist act.’ I must admit that I was waiting for the usual, ‘stressed out man with personal problems’, definition that is usually used for all white male terrorists. But God Bless her, she said it like it is. Similar statements by the Head of New Zealand Police which is doing an amazing job of bringing the perpetrators to book. No police force in the world can be expected to anticipate and prevent every crime. But every police force in the world can and must investigate crime when it happens and prosecute the criminal and aid the victim. When that is not done, the police are as culpable as the criminal, if not more.
What I want to say to you is this. Get out of denial. There is a change happening in the world and it is the same the world over. Fascism is gaining roots and is being nourished by those who benefit from it. But even more by your silence. Fascism and cowardice are a lethal combination and you will be the casualty. You think your silence and hiding in your hole will save you? It won’t. On the contrary that is what allows fascism to grow ever stronger until the bell tolls for you one day. Pastor Neimoller’s words are, perhaps even more relevant today. “First they came …” is a poem written by the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984). It is about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis’ rise to power and subsequent incremental purging of their chosen targets, group after group.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum quotes the following text as one of the many poetic versions of the speech:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Yes, it is wonderful when we see good reactions from people after a horrific incident happens. But what we need even more is proactive action. Proactive action by all of us. We need to stand up and speak out. We need to get out of our safe little nests and speak out against those who seek to use hatred to divide us so that they can benefit. We must speak out against all hatred, no matter who it is directed against. Antisemitism is as wrong as Islamophobia or any other form of hatred. Not less or more. But equal. This means it must be condemned equally. Those who seek to promote it must be rejected, lambasted and castigated. Whoever they may be. Without exception.
We must send the snakes of hatred, racism, fascism back into their holes. We must recognize the obscenity of hate speech and be ashamed of it. It is time to speak up. We must show our support for justice, compassion, mutual respect and human dignity at the ballot boxes. We must hold the media accountable for fanning the flames of hatred and for giving hate speakers and xenophobia mongers, public platforms from which to propagate their venomous ideologies. The easiest and most powerful way to bring media to heel is to switch off your TV, cancel your advertisement or subscription for the press. You have the right to choose. Nobody can force you to choose against your will. So, choose. Choose life, dignity, peace, prosperity and economic development. Remember that not one of those will come from killing people, spreading hatred, or supporting fascist agendas of self-serving leaders.
For how long the denial? We are going back towards fascism. It’s the Muslims today but really it is all of us. If we don’t fight it, it will consume us and then we’ll have only ourselves to blame. Islamophobia is Xenophobia, is fascism, is racism; the blatant hijacking of society by a few because the majority are too lazy to speak up and stand for what they know to be right. I don’t want to be among them. I will speak and I will stand up. Even if I am alone. Especially if I am alone.
If you don’t want to burn, help to put out the fire. It is as simple as that.
The one who controls the language, controls the debate. Today Indian Muslims are in a peculiar situation where they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. and interestingly it is all a product of language. ‘Secularism’, which was the refuge, not only of Muslims but all those who believe in our Constitution and in the freedom and dignity of all Indians, is a term that has now lost all credibility. It has come to mean “Muslim lover = Paki lover = Anti-national.” Muslims have been so effectively ‘othered’ that anyone who even attempts to stand by them, automatically commits political suicide. Being Muslim is a crime, it is treason, it is the reason to be suspected, demonized and hated. Consequently, secular parties and candidates are saying explicitly or implicitly, “Even if you vote for us, please do it quietly and clandestinely and don’t talk about it. This is for your own good. Your company is the ‘kiss of death’.”
Leaders from Muslim intelligentsia also believe this and have been advising whoever listens to them to do the same. They have been advising politicians who propose schemes for the economic or educational upliftment of Muslims to implement these schemes without talking about them too loudly. That this is anathema to all politicians who get their breath of life from talking about whatever they do, is countered by the warning that if they talk in this case, they will be sealing their own fate. That Muslims are an integral part of the population of India and citizens of our country and not beholden to anyone for this, is simply ignored in the face of present day reality where Muslims are not only being murdered but their murderers are being protected, applauded and rewarded publicly and shamelessly. This behavior not only doesn’t result in unpopularity for the politicians engaging in it, but results in political gains. Polarization seems to be the order of the day for every politician.
The traditional flag bearer of secularism used to be the Congress party at one time; at least according to their own trumpeting. But what was always the case and which has become blatantly clear today is that it is really only a shade less saffron than BJP/RSS. Rahul Gandhi’s latest drama in Parliament where after tabling the no confidence motion, he hugged PM Modi and then said that he was demonstrating that he is a ‘good Hindu’, goes to show that as far as the public discourse is concerned, it is centered around religion and that anyone who wants to be taken seriously must first prove that he is a ‘good Hindu’. That this is far removed from the idea of India, is irrelevant today.
To illustrate with an example, apartheid and racial segregation ended in South Africa in 1995 when they gained independence and Nelson Mandela became the first President. However, read any South African newspaper, website or blog, listen to any TV discussion or debate, speak to anyone in the street and all you will ever hear is the language of race. People talk about Blacks and Whites and Indians and Coloureds. This is reflected in South African politics and is becoming more and more clear, aggressive and potentially destructive. When an White South African looks at a Black South African, he sees a Black, not a South African and vice versa. And this happens while the Constitution of South Africa says clearly that no race has superiority over any other race and that all South Africans are equal citizens entitled to the same privileges, protections and dignity. That is on paper. But it appears that the change has not happened in the hearts of people.
This is what has happened in India over the past 70 years since our independence. The formation of Pakistan based on religion landed us with a legacy of divisiveness which Indian Muslims have borne the brunt of, for no fault of theirs. Vote bank politics became the norm and is openly practiced. ‘Appeasement of minorities’ is the slogan used for what is essentially vote bank politics which every party has always used. Today it has reached the stage where you are told to vote for this or that party because they are of your religion, not because of their performance in government or outside it. All this is not the creation of the NDA or BJP but the legacy which they inherited and continue to use. Their fault is not in its creation but in its continued use. Compromise is the name of the game and frankly I think this is a characteristic of being Indian; that we compromise on everything. That is why we live with atrocious things which in any other country would have resulted in a revolution but in India life continues because we compromise.
I think the time has come to take a stand. This is my stand.
Secularism is the other side of the coin from Hindutva or any other religious extremist ideology for that matter. This is how the language is being controlled by calling it ‘Sikularism’ for example and all its other permutations. In this way the discussion is kept in the ambit of religion instead of taking it into the ambit of governance. A government is elected to govern. That is the only basis on which it should be judged. Its religious ideology is immaterial. Its performance as a government is not. We have a nation with a robust constitution and legal system. But we have huge problems of poverty, unemployment, safety & security, total breakdown of law enforcement, legalized corruption and blatant oppression. We have reached a breaking point where if these issues are not addressed we will implode and disintegrate as a nation. None of these things have to do with Muslims. Just ask three simple questions.
What is the religion of the farmers who have been committing suicide; till date, over 400,000?
What is the religion of the perhaps more than 300 million youth who are not only unemployed but are unemployable thanks to our failed education system?
How will killing or disenfranchising or whatever else is planned for Muslims, help those who are committing suicide or who are unemployable?
My proposal is that our language must change. We must abandon the terms ‘secular & secularism’. Focus instead on issues that really matter and hold the government accountable for their performance on those issues. Promises not met as well as gross failures in four main areas: Safety & Security of life and property, Breakdown of law and order, Economic collapse of the small scale and unorganized sector and the failure of the Education system creating unemployability. I don’t care which government is in power. If it addresses these issues; if it can guarantee safety and security of all citizens, enforce the law, create entrepreneurship to uplift the poor and create jobs, and focus on health care, I will vote for that party. So should you. As I have said earlier, a government is elected to govern. And it must be held accountable for governance. Nothing else matters.
I propose that we change the language of the debate. Let so-called “Secularists’ call themselves “Principalists” and speak only and only about Principles of Governance. That is all that matters. Religion is immaterial. It is personal and must remain that way. What matters is governance. Let all those who are interested in the welfare of our nation ask what has happened to governance today. Let us stand together and demand accountability. If anyone brings religion into the debate, discard them outright. Talk about governance, rule of law and upliftment of our people. It is only then that everyone will be able to stand together on the same platform without fear or shame. It is only then that we will have One India.
The one who controls the language, controls the debate. Today Indian Muslims are in a peculiar situation where they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. and interestingly it is all a product of language. ‘Secularism’, which was the refuge, not only of Muslims but all those who believe in our Constitution and in the freedom and dignity of all Indians, is a term that has now lost all credibility. It has come to mean “Muslim lover = Paki lover = Anti-national.” Muslims have been so effectively ‘othered’ that anyone who even attempts to stand by them, automatically commits political suicide. Being Muslim is a crime, it is treason, it is the reason to be suspected, demonized and hated. Consequently, secular parties and candidates are saying explicitly or implicitly, “Even if you vote for us, please do it quietly and clandestinely and don’t talk about it. This is for your own good. Your company is the ‘kiss of death’.”
Leaders from Muslim intelligentsia also believe this and have been advising whoever listens to them to do the same. They have been advising politicians who propose schemes for the economic or educational upliftment of Muslims to implement these schemes without talking about them too loudly. That this is anathema to all politicians who get their breath of life from talking about whatever they do, is countered by the warning that if they talk in this case, they will be sealing their own fate. That Muslims are an integral part of the population of India and citizens of our country and not beholden to anyone for this, is simply ignored in the face of present day reality where Muslims are not only being murdered but their murderers are being protected, applauded and rewarded publicly and shamelessly. This behavior not only doesn’t result in unpopularity for the politicians engaging in it, but results in political gains. Polarization seems to be the order of the day for every politician.
The traditional flag bearer of secularism used to be the Congress party at one time; at least according to their own trumpeting. But what was always the case and which has become blatantly clear today is that it is really only a shade less saffron than BJP/RSS. Rahul Gandhi’s latest drama in Parliament where after tabling the no confidence motion, he hugged PM Modi and then said that he was demonstrating that he is a ‘good Hindu’, goes to show that as far as the public discourse is concerned, it is centered around religion and that anyone who wants to be taken seriously must first prove that he is a ‘good Hindu’. That this is far removed from the idea of India, is irrelevant today.
To illustrate with an example, apartheid and racial segregation ended in South Africa in 1995 when they gained independence and Nelson Mandela became the first President. However, read any South African newspaper, website or blog, listen to any TV discussion or debate, speak to anyone in the street and all you will ever hear is the language of race. People talk about Blacks and Whites and Indians and Coloureds. This is reflected in South African politics and is becoming more and more clear, aggressive and potentially destructive. When a White South African looks at a Black South African, he sees a Black, not a South African and vice versa. And this happens while the Constitution of South Africa says clearly that no race has superiority over any other race and that all South Africans are equal citizens entitled to the same privileges, protections and dignity. That is on paper. But it appears that the change has not happened in the hearts of people.
This is what has happened in India over the past 70 years since our independence. The formation of Pakistan based on religion landed us with a legacy of divisiveness which Indian Muslims have borne the brunt of, for no fault of theirs. Vote bank politics became the norm and is openly practiced. ‘Appeasement of minorities’ is the slogan used for what is essentially vote bank politics which every party has always used. Today it has reached the stage where you are told to vote for this or that party because they are of your religion, not because of their performance in government or outside it. All this is not the creation of the NDA or BJP but the legacy which they inherited and continue to use. Their fault is not in its creation but in its continued use. Compromise is the name of the game and frankly I think this is a characteristic of being Indian; that we compromise on everything. That is why we live with atrocious things which in any other country would have resulted in a revolution but in India life continues because we compromise.
I think the time has come to take a stand. This is my stand.
Secularism is the other side of the coin from Hindutva or any other religious extremist ideology for that matter. This is how the language is being controlled by calling it ‘Sikularism’ for example and all its other permutations. In this way the discussion is kept in the ambit of religion instead of taking it into the ambit of governance. A government is elected to govern. That is the only basis on which it should be judged. Its religious ideology is immaterial. Its performance as a government is not. We have a nation with a robust constitution and legal system. But we have huge problems of poverty, unemployment, safety & security, total breakdown of law enforcement, legalized corruption and blatant oppression. We have reached a breaking point where if these issues are not addressed we will implode and disintegrate as a nation. None of these things have to do with Muslims. Just ask three simple questions.
What is the religion of the farmers who have been committing suicide; till date, over 400,000?
What is the religion of the perhaps more than 300 million youth who are not only unemployed but are unemployable thanks to our failed education system?
How will killing or disenfranchising or whatever else is planned for Muslims, help those who are committing suicide or who are unemployable?
My proposal is that our language must change. We must abandon the terms ‘secular & secularism’. Focus instead on issues that really matter and hold the government accountable for their performance on those issues. Promises not met as well as gross failures in four main areas: Safety & Security of life and property, Breakdown of law and order, Economic collapse of the small scale and unorganized sector and the failure of the Education system creating unemployability. I don’t care which government is in power. If it addresses these issues; if it can guarantee safety and security of all citizens, enforce the law, create entrepreneurship to uplift the poor and create jobs, and focus on health care, I will vote for that party. So should you. As I have said earlier, a government is elected to govern. And it must be held accountable for governance. Nothing else matters.
I propose that we change the language of the debate. Let so-called “Secularists’ call themselves “Principalists” and speak only and only about Principles of Governance. That is all that matters. Religion is immaterial. It is personal and must remain that way. What matters is governance. Let all those who are interested in the welfare of our nation ask what has happened to governance today. Let us stand together and demand accountability. If anyone brings religion into the debate, discard them outright. Talk about governance, rule of law and upliftment of our people. It is only then that everyone will be able to stand together on the same platform without fear or shame. It is only then that we will have One India. That is what I want. What do you want?
The one who controls the language, controls the debate. Today Indian Muslims are in a peculiar situation where they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. and interestingly it is all a product of language. ‘Secularism’, which was the refuge, not only of Muslims but all those who believe in our Constitution and in the freedom and dignity of all Indians, is a term that has now lost all credibility. It has come to mean “Muslim lover = Paki lover = Anti-national.” Muslims have been so effectively ‘othered’ that anyone who even attempts to stand by them, automatically commits political suicide. Being Muslim is a crime, it is treason, it is the reason to be suspected, demonized and hated. Consequently, secular parties and candidates are saying explicitly or implicitly, “Even if you vote for us, please do it quietly and clandestinely and don’t talk about it. This is for your own good. Your company is the ‘kiss of death’.”