The solution to the problem lies in the hands of those who are in charge of policy making
KARACHI: April 3rd had been announced by many in the UK as the ‘Punish a Muslim a Day’, with organisers of such bigotry sending flyers across different cities through post or social media to mobilise people for this campaign. The fact that such a campaign has been initiated in a country that boasts about its being a progressive country is a cause for concern not only for the Muslim community living there but also for the democratic setup of the country that is, intentionally or unintentionally, breeding extremists on their soil.
The extent of this extremism is clear on the leaflet that has been circulated, awarding reward points to people who actively participate in such a malicious campaign. From 10 points to verbally abusing a Muslim to 50 points for throwing acid on them to 2,500 points for similar hate-filled poison. Though reading the leaflet is enough to spread fear among Muslims in the UK, who really is to blame for this?
It is no secret that a specific narrative to blame all evils on Muslims has been fed over many years to the working classes of the West, through different media platforms to form such a myopic understanding. This is not to say that Muslims have not been involved in terrorist attacks in the West that have primarily aimed to disrupt the normalcy in the country and spread an extremist view of Islam. But to limit one’s understanding of a religion and its people to such an extent does no one favour. Instead it only further widens the gap between communities — and a gap that has been in the interest of people in the power corridors.
So the solution to the problem lies in the hands of those who are in charge of policy making.
Laiba Rehan
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2018.
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