Why every time terror strikes us, Muslims have to explain themselves?
Bengaluru, March 25: In the Bollywood movie, My Name is Khan, actor Shah Rukh Khan's famous dialogue, "My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist", succinctly defines the predicament of being a Muslim in a terror-ravaged world.
The moment a terror attack strikes anywhere in the world, Muslim population comes under the scanner.
The
blame
game
starts
and
the
stigmatization
of
Muslims
begins
with
a
renewed
vigour.
Right
from
social
media
to
political
leaders,
everyone
blames
anyone
who
is
a
Muslim.
As
if
all
Muslims
are
some
kind
of
explosive
devices
ready
to
blow
up
the
whole
world.
In these critical times, when suspicious eyes gaze through the law abiding Muslim men and women, they have no other alternative, but to explain themselves and Islam, which like all religions preach love, peace and harmony.
Social media fuels hatred?
After
multi-terror
attacks
were
reported
from
Brussels
on
Tuesday
(March
22),
Muslims
across
the
world
were
questioned.
As
social
media
users
started
venting
their
shock
and
anger
over
the
dastardly
attacks,
it
was
the
Muslims
who
faced
the
wrath.
On
Twitter
#StopIslam
was
trending,
where
Muslims
and
their
religion
were
blamed
for
violence
across
the
world.
However,
there
were
many
sane
tweets
too
which
came
in
defence
of
Muslims.
A
similar
debate
was
rife
on
Twitter
in
the
wake
of
multiple-terror
attacks
in
Paris
in
November
2015,
which
left
more
than
130
people
dead.
Hashtags
like
#TerrorismHasNoReligion
and
#NotInMyName
trended
during
that
time.
The
tweets
under
these
hashtags
were
mostly
posted
by
peace-loving
Muslims,
who
condemned
the
violence
perpetrated
in
the
name
of
Islam.
However,
many
criticized
such
social
media
trends
and
argued
such
messages
were
reductive
or
unnecessary,
and
could
further
propagate
stereotypes.
In
both
the
Brussels
and
Paris
terror
attacks,
ISIS
has
claimed
responsibility
for
the
coordinated
attacks.
Stop propagating stereotypes
"It is time for us to end stereotyping Muslims as terrorists. Terrorist groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda don't represent the world Muslim population. They are using religion to defend their crimes. So, why question the intention of a common Muslim man or woman?" asks Sajid M, a research scholar in Bengaluru.
Good Muslim versus Bad Muslim
Similarly, when a controversy like chanting of Bharat Mata ki Jai is ignited by political parties in India, it is the Muslims who come under fire.
"Many
Hindus
also
have
reservations
about
mandatory
chanting
of
Bharat
Mata
ki
Jai.
Nobody
questions
their
patriotism,
but
if
a
Muslim
expresses
his/her
opposition,
they
are
called
as
anti-national,"
says
Pinky
T,
an
IT
professional
in
the
city.
When
Mohammad
Ajmal
Amir
Kasab,
the
lone
surviving
terrorist
of
26/11
terror
attacks
in
Mumbai,
was
executed
at
Yerwada
Jail
in
Pune
in
2012,
TV
footages
mostly
focused
on
Muslims
celebrating
his
death.
"We
can't
only
blame
the
media
for
such
portrayal.
Even
Muslims
also
want
to
show
that
they
are
'good' Muslims.
Now,
we
have
a
tendency
to
identify
Muslims
as
good
or
bad
in
India.
This
is
again
dangerous,
and
gives
rise
to
division,"
says
media
professional
Meghana
Upadhaya.
As
the
debate
continues,
certainly
it
is
not
easy
for
Muslims
to
defend
themselves
every
day
for
crimes
committed
by
blood
thirsty
terrorists
faraway
from
civilian
territories.
OneIndia News