Immediately after the London terrorist bombings there were plenty of comments left on numerous SM posts that all seemed to express a particular opinion that was VERY distasteful to me, and to some other readers. To paraphrase, the opinion went like this: “We need to educate the public better so that when a racist or bigoted backlash occurs following a terrorist attack, they will be wise enough to target Muslims instead of people that only look like Muslims.” I thought that such an opinion would find no support at all but I learned that I was wrong. Dave at DNSI points to an article in the Guardian that shows just how wrong I was. Some Sikhs and Hindus facing the prospect of a backlash are taking unusual approaches:
The explanation as to why Sikhs and Hindus are targeted…is quite simple: “your average hate-crime perpetrator isn’t going to stop and ask what religion you are before attacking you – or even care, for that matter, about such distinctions.”
If you travel on London’s public-transport system you may have spotted them: stickers and T-shirts with “Don’t freak, I’m a Sikh” written across them. On the tube, they tend to be greeted with wry smiles, but they have sparked heated debate on Sikh online message boards. “Don’t wear these T-shirts, they’re anti-Muslim,” writes one contributor. “We should wear the T-shirts,” says another. “We need to think of ourselves first – let the Muslims take care of themselves.”
In the weeks following July 7 it was widely reported that hate crimes against Asians had increased dramatically. They were not just attacks on Muslim Asians, of course: they were attacks on Asians of all faiths. The fact is that your average hate-crime perpetrator isn’t going to stop and ask what religion you are before attacking you – or even care, for that matter, about such distinctions. But this point seems to have been lost on the media. There’s been a huge focus on the impact on Britain’s Muslim community, but the plight of Britain’s 560,000 Hindus and 340,000 Sikhs has been largely ignored.
Sure, it’s easy for me to judge. I sit here safe and don’t have to endure suspicious eyes checking me out on the Underground every day. Still, this rubs the very heart of me. I think these t-shirts should all be burned. Prior to WWII, Hitler forced the Jews to wear the Star of David on their clothes so as to single them out with ease. Here it seems some citizens are volunteering for that sort of indignity in order to make their lives a bit easier, at the price of a higher ideal. We shouldn’t be declaring that we are different from Muslims. If anything we should be educating people on how similar they are to us. I fully support declaring that you are Sikh, loud and proud. To do so in order to differentiate yourself from a Muslim, specifically to avoid a potential hate crime, is just loud without the proud.
This doesn’t mean that Hindus have had an easy time of it. “There are issues of security for Hindu temples, Hindu students at university and Hindus walking on the streets who risk being assaulted,” says Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain, which speaks for 240 Hindu organisations.Ishvar Guruswamy is a Hindu who has lived in Kent for 32 years. He had never experienced racism until shortly after the attempted bombings in London, when a group of teenagers spat at him while shouting, “Bomb, bomb, bomb.” A few days later, a family at his local supermarket shouted the same thing at him. When he told his sister what had happened, her advice was simple – to shave off his beard and wear a large crucifix so no one would mistake him for a Muslim.
So what’s the alternative? Dave suggests an approach:
This debate is identical to the one that took place within the Sikh community after 9/11. After the terrorist attacks, some of Sikhs in the United States, myself included, began to discuss how we should respond to the backlash and protect the Sikh community. Combating ignorance through education was, of course, of utmost importance. While we wished to inform others as to who Sikhs were and that the turban was a symbol of the Sikh faith, we ultimately did not want to send the message that, ‘now that you know we are Sikhs, leave us alone, but going after Muslims is acceptable.’ Thus, we settled on a two-pronged approach: the first more of an isolationist one, namely to educate and inform others about Sikhs and Sikhism; the second was to submit a broad appeal for tolerance, emcompassing not only Sikhs, but Muslims, Arabs, South Asians, and anyone else who may be perceived as a “terrorist.” This is not to say that this position is morally superior to the one that attempts to draw a thicker line between Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims, as one can understand the more pragmatic approach of protecting one’s own community that one is a member of.
Also, Sunny has more on this topic here.
Yargh. I had my first “experience” yesterday. I got called a terrorist that blows up trains on the B train going uptown. It was shocking, hurtful and confusing. I won’t go into the details of it, except that I had really no idea how to react. I thought about a previous post on SM about the rally with the t-shirts and the backpacks.
The t-Shirt is already following the first of two-pronged approach. I guess they should print on back “We all Are same”.
Good points, Abhi. This reminds of the racist email by some indians that was sent out right after 9/11 urging them to stay away from Pakistanis.
A new shirt: A pic of Gandhi with the words, “Give peace a chance” on it. 🙂 I have spent most of my life living in a country where I was ostracized for my skin color, oh yeah it was legal, I donÂ’t think many people know how that feels, but now my country is free and when I moved to the US I thought I could continue to enjoy that freedom. Unfortunately shortly after moving here we had the September 11th disaster and once again I was in an unwelcome but familiar situation, it has improved over the years but since the London bombing we have gone a few steps back. My grandmother has lived in London for almost 60 years and been through a lot of racism, her favorite retort: You lived in my country and drank all our tea, now I am in your country and drinking all your tea!” Unfortunately she hardly ever leaves the house lately cos people curse at her and call her a terrorist and she hasnÂ’t though of a comeback as yet:) IÂ’d like to get her a t shirtÂ…..
If it were 1940 and you were a Hindu living in London, would you draw a swastika rangoli on your doorstep and add a sign stating ‘Hindu Holy symbol’? or would that be seen as being anti-German?
I guess the T-shirt says, “I’m Sikh. The turban is part of my heritage. I’m no AQ fundoo.”
I don’t see it as being anti-Muslim at all.
But that would be really hard for me to convince myself.How can I “educate” others?
Envihsay,
I’m so sorry you had a bad experience yesterday: how awful. That’s very depressing that this is happening at all – and it is happening much more than it is reported.
Argh! It’s Sikh. Freak does not rhyme with Sikh. It’s not pronouned “seekh.” I really don’t understand why people have to change the pronunciation of the word to accomodate non-brown people. If white people can see “seekh” they can manage to say “sikh.” -End rant-
I don’t see it as being anti-Muslim at all.
In other words it is just saying – you can freak if I wasn’t sikh. You are basically telling people that it is okay to judge people based on the color of their skin or the attire. It is anti everyone-who-doesn’t-ware-that-tshirt.
I agree with Dave of DNSI about the need for a two pronged approach.
However, in the British context, it is not Sikhs and Hindus that have been drawing lines amongst Asians – for the last 16 years, since the Satanic Verses affair, the Pakistani community has been increasingly distancing itself from Indians – or to put it more accurately – Muslim leaders have been aggresively pushing a communal agenda and they ditched Sikhs and Hindus years ago. In many respects the whole terrorism thing has come out of a highly communalised and sectarian narrative that sought to, and succeeded in, marginalising Hindus and Sikhs from identity politics and priveliging religious identity, ie: Islam, over everything else. No longer Asians united – but religion above all else.
It is in this atmosphere that self directed and self perpetuating Ummah politics in Britain has flourished, the politics whose logic says that Muslim lads from Leeds can ‘fight’ the enemy on trains in London – all of this has flowed from Islamic communalism and this is all reactive to that rejection. You cannot detatch the reality of non Muslim Asians lives in Britain from this context – it is something Americans, for one, need to understand before commenting.
It was a Catch 22 situation for Hindus and Sikhs before all this – mention or criticise the rise of Islamic politics and you were shouted down for dividing the Asian community – even though you were protesting against the division of the community along communal lines. This politcal correctness and refusal to accept that there was a problem of communalism has lead to situations like this – crude and simplistic responses to dire situations. My own fear is that this cannot be reversed – the genie has been out of the bottle for a long time. Its a matter of swimming against the tide now.
One other thing – the Nazi Germany analogy is overwrought.
Isn’t there something better than a couplet where freak and Sikh are the rhyming pair?
Aahh yes, the infamous ‘Don’t freak I’m Sikh’ t-shirts.
Pure coawardice I say… I’ve published a piece about this article and story here: http://www.pickledpolitics.com/archives/16
this is a brilliant idea…unless ofcourse…a TERRORIST actually wears one of these. i can feel a sardar joke in the making.
Yeah I bet it will be hilarious my sides are splitting already.
agree with Punjabi Boy
Doh! I just realised Abhi already linked me… sorry!
First of all, I agree completely with everything Punjabi Boy has said. Perhaps the general attitude amongst the South Asian population in the US is different to that here in the UK — from what I can tell, I suspect it’s like it was here before the Satanic Verses controversy — but bear in mind that in some ways, British Indians are living in a slighly different social environment than desis over in the States. So please bear that in mind before any well-meaning but misguided condemnations of the efforts of Sikhs (and indeed Hindus) to handle the present ongoing crisis.
For one thing, South Asians are the biggest non-white ethnic group in the country, so the dynamic is different here in that sense, plus we have a MUCH higher visibility than desis in the US. Following on from this, given the rise of Islamist fundamentalism in the UK and indeed worldwide, and the fact that large sections of the British media and indeed many of the local population keep using the words “Asian” (which means South Asian here) and “Muslim” interchangeably, there is a much greater intensity of feeling, attention, and urgency with regards to how the majority population views us and, simultaneously, how we all react to this focused analysis and suspicion.
With all due respect, I think some of the commentators on SM are displaying a rather too black-and-white perspective on multiple levels (a common and major flaw in Indian society worldwide, may I add). Number One, if people are producing and wearing t-shirts saying “Don’t Freak, I’m a Sikh”, it most definitely does not imply an unspoken suffix of “…so go and kill the Muslims instead”. The phrase on the t-shirt is defensive, not deflective. Please understand the difference here. There is no exhortation of laying off Sikhs and attacking Muslims instead, and if you think that is indeed what’s being implied, I’m afraid you’re making assumptions, jumping to conclusions and indeed reading too much into it. Don’t extrapolate it too far.
Number Two, bear in mind that many, many Sikhs — even those that are fairly liberal in their practice of the faith — already wear at least one of the 5Ks. These symbols, as instituted by Guru Gobind Singh during the establishment of the Khalsa 300 years ago, already deliberately and visibly differentiate Sikhs from everyone else, and they are there in order to declare what the wearer stands for and what they most definitely do not stand for. The t-shirt with the aforementioned message is to take this one step further and emphasise the religious affiliation of the wearer, just to eliminate any confusion in the mind of any paranoid third-party observers.
Number Three, to extrapolate some points Punjabi Boy made on this subject, the aim of the t-shirt isn’t to differentiate the wearer from all Muslims per se, it’s to differentiate him/her from those Muslims who have decided to view ALL non-Muslims (irrespective of the fact that he and you may both be South Asian) as infidels and enemies in a state of global war. Do not underestimate this. Recent surveys in the UK revealed that 6% of the British Muslim population — that’s 100,000 people — tacitly or explicitly understand the motivations of the recent London bombers. Furthermore, 1% of the British Muslim population is estimated to be either actively involved in Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist activities or would be willing to get involved at a suitable point — that’s at least 16,000 actual or potential terrorists currently loose in the UK.
Number Four — and for once I’m going to step back and take off my politically-correct “hat” — I think some people may be confusing “culture” and “religion”, especially as it’s being suggested that the wider population “should be educated on how similar they [Muslims] are to us [presumably Sikhs and Hindus]. Yes, most (by no means all) Muslims in the UK are from the Indian subcontinent and, in many ways, therefore have a great deal in common with the rest of us, in terms of experiences, culture-clash issues, cultural aspects and upbringing originating from the part of the world our parents come from, and so on. So in a “cultural” sense, yes they are simular to Indians (most of whom in the UK are Sikhs and Hindus).
However, if we’re talking about religion, then there are definitely absolutely huge differences in both ideology and practice, certainly between Islam and Sikhism and also between Islam and Hinduism. In that sense, we are not the same. And since religion seems to be the key driver here, I think it is important to stress that one does not have any affiliation whatsoever to the religion currently being abused (some would actually say “being correctly interpreted”, but that’s a whole other controversy) to such destructive effect. Again, I think some people are making a too-extreme black-and-white decision when they say “Someone wanting to attack Muslims isn’t going to care that you’re actually a Sikh/Hindu” — perhaps you’re thinking too much from an Americocentric point of view; as I said before, South Asians in the UK have a significantly higher profile than they do in the US, the wider population does have an under-control-but-increasing level of antagonism towards Pakistanis and Muslims, they do not have the same antagonism towards Indians and Sikhs/Hindus (except for the ignorant who are not even aware that not all South Asians are Muslim), and the point is to prevent any incidents of mistaken identity — not just to prevent violent assault but a) to protect the wearer from any nasty behaviour and b) to put other people’s minds at ease.
In conclusion, may I re-emphasise the sheer numbers of Islamist fanatics currently loose in the UK who do not give a damn about “South Asian solidarity”, not to mention the fact that there are an increasing number of extremists in the UK who are not only pulling the strings but are not of South Asian origin at all; they’re either from the Middle East or Africa, or are converts (especially from the black population). And they don’t give a damn about “South Asian solidarity”, “We are all the same”, “We should all stick together” etc either. It’s from that kind of people that Sikhs wish to differentiate themselves from — not the moderate Muslims who hate what is currently happening to their religion and their Ummah too.
Even if it is 1-to-1, the same case. However, we all could learn from this (opposite of the T-shirt concept):
http://auschwitz.dk/Denmark.htm
The legend says that when the Germans ordered Jews in occupied Denmark to identify themselves by wearing armbands with yellow stars, King Christian X of Denmark and non-Jewish Danes thwarted the order by donning the armbands themselves. A popular version of the legend has King Christian sporting an armband as he makes his daily morning horseback ride through the streets of Copenhagen, explaining to citizens that he wears the Star of David as a demonstration of the principal that all Danes are equal. And non-Jewish Danes respond to their king’s example by wearing the armband as well, thus preventing the Germans from identifying Jewish citizens and rendering the order ineffective.
Correction: Even if it is not 1-to-1 analogy. However, we all could learn from this (opposite of the T-shirt concept):
Jai you say:
and the fact that large sections of the British media and indeed many of the local population keep using the words “Asian” (which means South Asian here) and “Muslim” interchangeably,
I beg to differ. The British media is no longer that ignorant and I’d ask you to point out a recent example. Most now even differentiate between arranged and forced marriages – which alone shows how far they have moved on.
1) The phrase on the t-shirt is defensive, not deflective.
That is pedantics. The implication is similar to Sikhs saying ‘We are not Muslims’ after 9/11 (and I berated my brother for doing that), or the VHP telling Sunrise they should drop the word Asian from broadcast.
Number Two, bear in mind that many, many Sikhs — even those that are fairly liberal in their practice of the faith
Except most white people are NOT going to know about the 5 Ks. Hell even most Muslims or Hindus don’t. So with that level of ignorance – saying that a Sikh will be differentiated by one of the 5ks isn’t a strong enough argument.
Recent surveys in the UK revealed that 6% of the British Muslim population — that’s 100,000 people — tacitly or explicitly understand the motivations of the recent London bombers. Furthermore, 1% of the British Muslim population is estimated to be either actively involved in Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist activities or would be willing to get involved at a suitable point — that’s at least 16,000 actual or potential terrorists currently loose in the UK.
See! I hate it when people do silly extrapolations to. I understand the motivations of those bombers! That’s because I’m not thick. Does that make me a potential suicide bomber?
And where exactly did that 1% figure come from? Who ‘estimated’ it using what analysis exactly?
I went to a lecture at LSE today where a senior American lecturer said that actually, the attacks from Al-Qaeda were a lot less than expected. Al-Qaeda and the British govt and the media love exaggerating – it works in their interests to exaggerate. It’s annoying when people swallow whatever rubbish chucked their way.
However, if we’re talking about religion, then there are definitely absolutely huge differences in both ideology and practice, certainly between Islam and Sikhism and also between Islam and Hinduism. In that sense, we are not the same.
Yeah so? But the way this so-called education is going on, and the fact that it doesn’t teach anything suggests this is more than simply wearing your religion as a badge of pride (or stupidity).
finally… may I re-emphasise the sheer numbers of Islamist fanatics currently loose in the UK who do not give a damn about “South Asian solidarity”,
Just because they exist doesn’t mean we all should take our cue for them and also chuck solidarity in the bin. This is a silly argument always trotted out by the extremists.
Sunny
Yes, lets all make like the Panth Khalsa Sikhs and start wearing turbans and keeping beards.
How many of you would be willing to do that ? No ? You Nazi…
” How many of you would be willing to do that ? No ?”
I am totally up for it.
Sadly, it is not the Sikhs that are under seige right now. But even then, I do not mind.
Sure, the motive is self-preservation/ education and benign – it definitely fractures the society.
Jai Singh, I fail to understand your logic. The message on the T shirt is to the ones who are committing hate crimes, it has nothing to do with ‘how bad the british muslims have been’. Or are you teaching them a lesson by having these Tshirts out. This is like a canadian wearing a Tshirt that says ‘Don’t freak, I am a canadian’ in the arab street. Crazy and further divisive and more over sends the message that it is okay to target non-sikhs.
Good to know, Kush, I admire your integrity. The rest of you are still Nazis…
I fail to see how desis in the west are ‘under seige’. But I am an equal oppertunity Nazi guilt mongerer.
So for non-muslim South Asian women here, how many of you would consider donning a Burkah or even a Hijab a few days every a week to show support to your muslim South Asian sisters ? Or is a scarf too much to ask ? You Nazis…
Isn’t it amazing that everybody thinks they are under “seige”.
I was at a hindu temple (in pittsburg) recently and saw a notice about a speech by someone.Guess what it says “Hinduism under seige” .
To me different religions are like corporations marketing their product.
If religion is between “you” and “God” ,nobody can do anything.
On the same note of supposed South Asian solidarity, I wonder how many of you sepia men out there would wear a t-shirt stating “I am a Muslim”?
I agree that donning the “Don’t freak, I’m a Sikh” tshirt is fragmenting to society and doesn’t convey a clear message.
At the same time, I don’t see that this debate proves that Sikhs are advocating for hate crimes against Muslims. I don’t see large portions or even small portions of Sikh men changing their image of turbans and long beards just because the media has OBL and other “terrorist looking” turbanned bearded brown men on the evening news. These tshirts mean more than “I am not Muslim”…more precisely they are hinting to the general white ignorant public that “I am not Osama”.
Back to my original point…before bashing on other brown men for their t-shirts differentiating themselves rather than hoisting up the flag of solidarity, I’d challenge some of you more comfortably-placed sepia posters to publicly don your own solidarity statements. It is always easier to point fingers…
My statement:
“I am a Muslim”
“I am a Christian”
“I am a Hindu”
“I am a Jew”
“I am a Agnostic”
“I am a Atheist”
“I am a Dude”
“I am a Badass”
………..the last one is the most important and true.
Oh but we do…
Most Canadians already sew maple leaf flags on our backbacks, wear little maple leaf buttons on our lapels etc, when travelling or living abroad, specifically to show that we are peacekeepers not warmakers.
I personally believe that we should all sew giant American flags on our backpacks while traveling through Iraq (for example), to show solidarity with our neighbours. Because while Canada never supported the war; most American cilvilians don’t either, and by wearing the maple leaf we are encouraging the terrorists to attack American.
This is clear evidance that the Canadians are the true Nazis.
In all seriousness though, I do see how people can infer that the shirt is bashing muslims but I don’t think that is the intended message.
I think the Nazi comparisons are uncalled for, and the post is somewhat offensive to 5K following Sikhs and implies that they lack pride / courage for wearing a shirt declaring that they are Sikhs.
I am an atheist but I can’t help but admire those who choose on their own accord to wear religious symbols that so often result in overt discrimination and prejudice (these days that includes muslim women and sikh men). It takes a lot of pride, guts and determination to do so, not something desis who complain about getting occasional stares and the not so random backpack searches on the subway would fully understand.
Ahh, yes. Every American backpacker that’s worth a dime knows this trick and purchases a Canadian patch. Thank God for Canada. 🙂
Just to clarify I don’t anyone thinks these shirts are “bashing Muslims.” They are just providing a possibly cowardly solution to a larger problem.
“Ahh, yes. Every American backpacker that’s worth a dime knows this trick and purchases a Canadian patch. Thank God for Canada. :)”
I was having a discussion with a beautiful Canadian women about the same topic a week ago(I have talked to other Canadians too about this). It more about Canadian pride and to tell the world that everyone from North America is not from US of A. It has been forever.
Sure, everyone is entitled to have symbolism showing pride in themselves. I just carry the white russian all the time.
Mr. Miyagi
I think there is also a difference between wearing subtle symbols (like Maple Leaf) of one’s identity and saying ‘don’t freak, i am so and so..’. If that is how you want to avoid the extremists, that is truely pathetic. I also don’t think that it is muslim bashing, but the comments that supported this turned out to be something against british muslims and that make me wonder what the original intent was.
please don’t assume what desis who complain about profiling on the subway would or would not “fully understand”. overexposed though i may be, you don’t know me. 🙂
Well, that’s a personal choice, while my brownness is not 😉
I think the issue of “desis who complain about profiling on the subway or would not “fully understand”” is an important topic to travel amongst the sepia posters. Many of us on this site are very privileged in many ways. For some of us it is what we might “own” and for others of us it can also be how we are able to comfortably portray ourselves and “blend” in. As a brown woman, while I can understand being given a double look at an airport security checkpoint, even though I know the stories of my turbanned father and brothers like the back of my hand, there is still no way that I can fathom the visceral fear of bodily harm that a Sikh man donned in turban and beard or a Muslim woman donned in hijab or burqa might feel at getting some unprovoked attention from some “bad seeds”. There is a complexity to this entire discussion of profiling that we should acknowledge.
The Nazi analogy is hysterical and facile.
Right, I made the point earlier that a lot of posturing has gone on in response to this outside (and inside) the context of British society. When I first heard of this it made me laugh – I thought it was funny. It arose as a spontaneous reaction a few days after the bombs – I suppose it was one of those ice breaking jokes that break the tension in a certain situation. Like all desi things someone saw how to make money and printed out some t-shirts that has got people into a flap – and it seems to have taken on some sorry implications.
I repeat – all those people complaining about how this is communalist are in denial – they are in denial because for the last sixteen years it has not been Sikhs or Hindus who have been distancing themselves from Muslims, it has been the other way round. Any Indian in the UK (except those politically correct or in denial) for the last ten years will have been able to tell you that he saw signs of this in the UK – posters for Jihad in shops – extremist groups on University campuses – the constant ignoring or even bothering with a Desi identity by Muslim leaders and increasing focus on cultivating Ummah politics – the slow marginalisation of Sikhs and Hindus from nationasl discourse.
If you ever mentioned this you would invariably be shot down for being communalist – ie: people would scream and say dont pick on the Muslims, dont be communalist etc etc – even though you were just pointing out the rise of communalism on the back of Islamist politics in the UK – this is a Catch 22 and an Orwellian Double Speak – and it is something they did nothing about and stuck their heads in the sand over.
Well, these people are still in denial it would seem – they actually believe that Al-Qaeda are not realy a threat and it is all a media hype – with this level of understanding you are arguing against illogic as well as denial – what can you do?
This is the failure of those people to confront communalism in the UK Asian populace at its most virulent source – the post Satanic Affairs growth of Ummah-Maududi-Hizb ut Tahrir Muslim extremism that is not quite mainstream discourse in the UK Muslim community – but not quite on the fringes either – a discourse that they have acceded to because of their own failure to confront it for a complex brew of reasons.
Dont Freak I’m a Sikh is the symptom of a reaction to 16 years of communal politics in the UK that has basically said – “You are not a Muslim so I dont care about you – I reject you.”
This is a slogan that has come up in the atmosphere of that message of rejectionism and sectarianism – if Muslim leaders had cultivated genuine feelings of cross desi fraternity this would not have happened – full stop. If Desi intellectuals and journaists had articulated a discourse opposed to this rather than treat those who mentioned it as silly this feeling might have dissipated. But the thrust of this politics has been to REPLACE desi identity based on common bonds of ETHNICITY with one based on RELIGION – from the very start it was to dissasociate themselves from non Muslim Asians – to get as far away from them as possible.
Needless to say, those who have paroxyms over a t-shirt were in denial and refused to countenance criticism of that communalist politics for a variety of reasons – I believe that this was a form of intellectual cowardice.
So this is a response to the Ummahists and all those who refused to confront Islamist politics when they were rising for the last 16 years and essentially it says – You dont want to be associated with me? OK – see you later.
Reactions of the kind that compare a t-shirt slogan with Nazi Germany are a symptom of the mindset that refuses to get to grips with this issue – coming from people based in America it is forgivable – when it comes from someone who is from England (and who believes Islamism is just media hype) – you really know that their heads are still stuck in the sand.
Apologies to all those offended – but I dont care anymore about offending for telling the plain truth! Everything changed after 7/7 and some people totally lost their credibility as far as I am concerened (if they even had it before)
(And yes – the Sikh and Hindu fundoos are emboldened by this new mood – I hate them too – they are also the reaction to the type of communal identity politics we have been seeing in the last ten years that has been allowed to grow unchallenged and without criticism – that is our failure for allowing that – I accept my responsibility – but some are more culpable than others)
I have yet to read a real blood and guts dissection of the politics that has lead us to where we are now from within the Desi media in the UK or America – real honest criticism of the path that British Muslim leaders have taken and the atmosphere of hysterical extremism they helped to create in Britain that has lead to suicide bombing not only in London but in Israel and Kashmir by British born Pakistani Muslims – but hey – its OK – somebody printed up a T-Shirt – what a bunch of Nazis – how awful – an easy thing to bitch about without actually thinking (and if Al Qaeda are just BBC and Rupert Murdoch hype anyway, whats the problem?)
This is pure Ostrich thinking.
I’ll rather wear my hope not hate t-shirt with all profits going to the anti-racist group SearchLight.
PB
To read your post is to feel hope about the awareness of second generation Indians regarding communal realities.
With Jai also making thoughtful points, it is encouraging that there are voices who think rather than sweep everything under the carpet. of secularism.
Yes, that is denial.
Obviously, like others I am also struggling to understand these realities of the potpourrie of societies, religions, civilizations and how all of them find expression in a modern framework.Our history is evidence to the fact, that people from different faiths have found (for the most part part, barring very sad exceptions) a happy existence in living side by side. How can that attitude find expression today, where force seems to be the only response to all this, rather than prevention of such extremist tendencies.
One big requisite of good discussion is non provocative language. The posts here are a good beginning
Sumita
I was going to respond in detail to those individuals who kindly took the time out to read & reply to my earlier post, but since Punjabi Boy has just said exactly what was going through my own mind, I won’t repeat his own eloquently articulated stance. Anyone wishing to understand my own logic and reasoning can read his post instead, because we’re obviously thinking along the same lines here.
I will, however, briefly say the following:
1) Again, I caution everyone to refrain from typical desi-style black-&-white thinking. It prevents you from understanding the nuancies and complexities of situations in life and also what someone may be trying to explain to you (eg. my own post, PB’s messages, and Dave’s thoughts in the original article at the top of this page). Stop, pause, step back, and try to really listen to what the other party is attempting to say to you — at least attempt to consider the possibility that your own viewpoint may be wrong or based on inaccurate information, or lacking in objectivity, or perhaps coloured by our own possibly-well-meaning intentions. We all have different life-experiences and what you may have gone through could well be very different indeed to the experiences of large numbers of other people. Don’t jump in and automatically look for loopholes so that you can shoot down what you perceive as the opposing argument, without even considering the possibility that they may be right, or at least that there may be some truth in both your stances. Sometimes it’s the only way we can get a truly objective understanding of the situation.
2) Politically-correct denial is admirable — it’s based on good intentions and often genuine empathy and compassion — but it can sometimes be very misguided and, if unchecked, also destructive. It’s that same kind of thinking that has resulted in many talking heads in the UK scratching their heads post-7/7 and saying “How could this have happened ?” — even though the signs have been here for a long time.
3) The Nazi analogy is irrelevant, inappropriate, and going way too far. In any case, one of the most senior police officers here in the UK did recently suggest the promotion of people wearing green ribbons to emphasise/proclaim solidarity with the local Muslim community. Anyone who really wants to make a public declaration of solidarity with British Muslims (large numbers of whom are not South Asian, by the way) can buy one of those ribbons if they wish. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Jai
Yes, it is easy to forget this very quickly
Sumita
Right on PB.
These days it’s hard to keep track of what is politically correct 😉
In an episode of “The Office” Gareth says something similar to that. I don’t remember the episode though.
because of a very slow internet link its taking me 10 attempts to post so here a quick and badly spelled version. wil post properly from home.
1) The Muslim Council of Britian (MCB) the recongised as the official rep of Muslims of Britian (its head has a Knighthood) boycotted the holocaust rememberence ceremony because it refused to include Kashmir, the Palestianiesm, has links with fudementalist parties in Pakistan and singlely intolerant of liberal Muslims views while given tacit support to hardliners. (check out mcb watch). Largly to do with of a massive influx of Saudi money promoting Wahhbism wiping out alternative forms of islam (sufi etc)
2) HINDU FUNDIMENTALISM = While I endorse broad thrust of Jai & PB argument, the radicalism of some Muslims has been accompanied by a much more subtle growth of a Hindutva ideology among British Hindus. Various British offshoots of the Hardline Hindu Family have operated to fund, recruit and influence government policy especially in UK and America. see details at South Asia Watch And the Sikh ? Simply too fracitous and disorganised to jump on board the bandwagon
SONIA
Take at look at British Asians Straddle two cultures The South Asian reporter for the BBC who is A BRITISH PUNJABI talks about BRITISH MUSLIMS in PAKISTAN,
3) Asians was always a useless concept ask my Chinese, South-East Asian mates good riddance.
While I recognise valid points in Jai and PB arguments, But my gut feeling is that I wouldn’t wear the T-shirt.
I will return…..
rkay
Dont get me wrong – I dont mind political correctness when it is sensible because it is a call for decency and dignity – which is a noble aspiration. And there is a correlation between some bigots who want to spout their prejudice under the cover of fighting against the ‘politically correct thought police’ [their rallying cry is the phrase ‘It’s Politcal Correctness Gone Mad!]
But like some things it can blind rather than illuminate – when it is used to deny honest discussion and criticism about real problems then it actually becomes part of the problem.
uncleji on the fence
I woudnt wear the t-shirt either – its like funny once and then its lame. You wear your dastaar or your kara and thats all you need.
Sikh fundoos are on the rise too I wouldnt be so sure that they are that fractious at the moment.
I totally understand PB.
It’s just that those two words reminded me of that episode.that’s all.
I wouldn’t wear the t-shirt either, but it is an amusing idea and an understandable response to events post-7/7.
What about the transparent rucksacks that have now gone on sale specifically in response to the paranoia against South Asians ? Personally I think a better option would be to just carry your work items (laptop etc) in a briefcase — but you can imagine what’s going to happen when the university/college year starts in a few weeks, and there are suddenly tens of thousands of South Asian students travelling on the underground everday with their rucksacks and (when it becomes colder) in baggy jackets too.
Anyway, here’s a recent interview with Salman Rushdie where he talks a little about the Muslim situation in the UK:
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/interviews/article311189.ece
Jai Singh
From that interview with Rushdie you link to:
Amen!
This t-shirt is pretty stupid. I know it sounds contradictory, but hate-mongers are pretty indiscriminate when it comes to mashing people. If you don’t know who Vincent Chin is, you should.
Rah
Thanks for the Chin story. It was very informative. (and educational)
Sumita.
Take at look at British Asians Straddle two cultures The South Asian reporter for the BBC who is A BRITISH PUNJABI talks about BRITISH MUSLIMS in PAKISTAN,
Uncleji – I’m assuming she’s talking about the British Muslims who were found in Pakistani Madrassahs. I don’t get your point.
Regarding the other points. I’m still not convinced.
The Rushdie affair got Muslims organised but not necessarily segregated. The real segregation has come from young British Asians – much easily manipulated and much more likely to adopt their religion as the main form of their identity.
In that sense the grown of Sikh / Hindu and Muslim fanaticism has been parallel. Its just that the Muslims have had more ‘issues’ that drive a wedge in between others.
The 2001 riots, 9/11 and forced-marriages media hype.
I wrote an article on how the British press has been biased against Muslims for a long time here: http://www.asiansinmedia.org/news/article.php/publishing/1034
This bias has allowed fanatic groups like Hizb ut Tahrir and Al Muhajiroun to spread the impression that everyone is against Muslims. That is regrettable, but not exclusive to them.
The Awaaz report on RSS/VHP funding from the UK, and Channel 4 report on Sewa International and the 2001 Gujarat riots made the Hindus accuse British media of bias (which they since maintain) and made them organise the Hindu Council of Britain.
The Sikhs did the same after Behzti, and I pointed out at the occasion on how Sikh ‘leaders’ manipulated the event to suit their own agendas: http://www.asiansinmedia.org/news/article.php/theatre/763
Anyway, what I want to say is that we’re doing the Asian thing of finger-pointing. Each group is the same and, given the conditions, behave exactly the same. Sunny