Let's talk about terrorism

Below is an article I wrote on the 26/04/2019 for my blog. Five years later... it sadly still holds true. I never had the courage to publish it then. I absolutely do now:

Right. I think it's time you and I had a chat about terrorism.

I have wanted to publish this for so long and I realised that this is my space and if I want to share my feelings then why shouldn't I, starting with a personal statement that has driven me to this point:

I am a British?citizen and I am getting sick and tired of the bias use of the word 'terrorism'.

Why bias? over the last decade influential people from presidents and prime ministers to the media have decided to use it to mainly describe attacks from Muslim organisations.

Don't roll your eyes and please don't switch off or make an assumption... I want to take you through exactly how I see?this unfolding, so you just need to bear with me. I assure you I am after no sympathy here, for me or other Muslims, that is not what this is about.

But have you ever thought about what the word 'terrorism' actually means?

What is it? Why does it hold such a prominent place in our media?

Oxford English Dictionary defines it as:

the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

'Terrorists' are usually classed as extremists, people holding extreme political or religious views; fanaticism basically.

(I'd also like to point out the word 'Muslim' isn't a compulsory part of the definition)

I am very aware, as I'm sure you are too, that these words became household names after the September 11 attacks over a decade ago, but I'd like to introduce you to a form of terrorism that affected me a lot?earlier in life. And it's much closer to home.

As I mentioned?in my opening statement,?I am 100% British. England is my home. But there is an iconic English symbol that actually fills me with terror, perhaps not extremely - but enough to intimidate me at times, even in my own town.

And here it is.

The St. Georges flag.

The ENGLISH flag. My country's flag.

Over the last year, I've visited many countries and always been envious of the patriotism people feel towards their countries emblem, and it really saddens me that seeing an image of ours, it genuinely fills me with dread.

Any campaigns or events I've seen involving far right organisations in the UK, well they have unfortunately hijacked the flag as a symbol of their agenda. They claim the flag as theirs and no one else's, taking this symbol of my country and using it against anyone who happens to resemble a different race.

Over the last decade I have seen people be intimidated, threatened even, by members of organisations such as the English Defence League, National Action, British National Party and more recently the infamous UK Independence Party.

By definition of the word. These people are terrorists. Aren't they?

Perhaps they aren't because thankfully no one has been violently affected at the hands of their form of 'terrorism.'

First of all, let's remember the word terrorism doesn't necessarily mean death has to be involved, it refers not just to violence but to intimidation.?Islamophobia is a huge issue in the UK and all over the world, yet it is quite often neatly brushed under the carpet. As Muslims we are expected to just deal with it. Two of the most important women in my life, my mother and my mother in law both wear head scarves and I hate the thought of either of them having to be careful, to watch where they go, who they meet, what they say in case they find themselves in a situation where they could be intimidated.

Secondly... has their really been no violence? Has no one lost their lives from the far right movement?

Assaults, rape, property damage, the Finsbury Park mosque attack and our country sadly?lost an MP because of an 'extremist' supporter of National Action. Jo Cox, a humanitarian and well loved member of the community, was killed in broad daylight by Thomas Mair, in fact I believe Jo's murder was the only death from terrorism recorded that year in the UK.

And in the rest of the world, well the threat has steadily been rising for a long time. Now we're faced with one of the most horrific terrorist attacks and it seems even this hasn't changed anything.

How many have shared an update to #prayforchristchurch? #prayforNewZealand? Where are the profile pictures showing your support? Where are the world leaders standing beside Jacinda Ardern, holding her hand and offering their REAL support to the community and showing their solidarity.

I'm sick of our world leaders, senior politicians, all of these people of influence and their warm wishes. Their empty words. Their absolute hypocrisy in pretending to stand for everyone, for all of us, no matter who we are.

When the terrible attack took place in Manchester by a man with a homemade IED he was instantly labelled a terrorist, and rightly so! Yet the moment an attack is carried out by a white male or even group of, they are described as an act of a troubled man, a lone wolf.

Only a Muslim attacker can be a terrorist, only they can be the type of person who wants to bring down a country, to cause terror, even if they haven't found any proof of it, that is what we are instantly led to assume. And here on Friday when this twisted racist published a full on manifesto explaining exactly WHY he is a terrorist, even then the media still found a way to excuse him.

Jacinda Ardern spoke up straight away with a powerful message of love, sadness and instantly labelled the attack a terrorist incident. She has shown herself to be a truly inspirational leader. Yet I read news story after news story... changing the slant, opting for 'mosque shooting' or 'lone gunman' or 'shooting in New Zealand.'

Now don't shake your head and say... but it's just words, it's just different ways of telling a story, it's journalism. No. No, no, NO. It's avoiding an issue. A serious issue at that, where these headlines, these words are influencing how people look and perceive the world.

Many people speaking up on social media about the media bias towards the Christchurch terrorist are being labelled as 'britaphobic' as 'racist against white people' such ridiculous accusations. I mourned for Manchester. For Brussels. For Paris. Never did the race, religion or heritage of a victim affect the sympathy and emotional connection I have towards a situation.

Fridays attack was planned. It was live streamed, there is absolutely no question that this is a serious terrorist incident and for me, and I'm sure it was the same for other Muslims all over the world, it was impossible not to break down thinking about the safety of all my loved ones who religiously go to mosque every Friday, the holiest day of the week, to bow down in prayer and to have to sit and wait to hear that everything was ok. ?That those who you are closest to in your life are safe.?

I should point out there are plenty of truly amazing people in this world who have shown their support, who have reached out and I actively look for those stories to remind me that there are many, many wonderful human beings amongst us. But that doesn't stop the sadness, the anger and the utter frustration when the mainstream rhetoric of people who are not fair skinned or western are being cast aside, villainised, demonised in some instance.

One of the fifty lives lost in the Christchurch terrorist attack was a man named Khaled Mustafa, a Syrian refugee. How many people, how many leaders have spent the last few years trying to push people, kind gentle peaceful people ?like Khaled out of their countries, banning them from entering, wanting to build walls to keep them out. And are still doing it?? Yet they think uttering a few words of sympathy makes it acceptable. Khaled's oldest son Hamza Mustafa also died on Friday.

Why is it acceptable for people to look at others, at Syrians, Palestinians, Nigerians, Afghanis, Egyptians, Libyans, Polish, Yemenis, Romanians, etc. etc. why is it acceptable to look at these people and assume they are all the same. Assume they are just here to feed off our countries. Why is it acceptable to cast them aside like they are different to us?

Yes at times I look at the St Georges flag and it fills me with dread, but I don't stop caring about it. I don't treat every white person I meet who carries one, wears one or may look like they are affiliated with far right organisations any differently. I still walk, drive, hell I live in an area where the St Georges flag flies proudly from homes. Don't get me wrong I know for some it is a statement to people who look like me that pass by that this land we are on is 'theirs'. They, as white inhabitants are the only ones worthy of what England has to offer. But if I met that person on the street would I not smile? Of course I would, mainly because I am that creepy person who likes to make eye contact and smile at EVERYONE.

I have worked and probably still do, with people who believe a number of values of the far right - who look at people like me and think I'm 'foreign' and that in order to get our country back to the best it can be we need to get back to being 'British,' whatever that means anymore.

It doesn't mean I treat them any different. I have listened to some pretty racist conversations since the normalisation of UKIP, since Brexit heck even our very own politicians have had a rant. Boris Johnson wrote an extremely offensive piece about veiled Muslim women, a racist piece of journalism that was published in the mainstream and he never apologised for it. People like him are free to give their opinions and expressions that are downright disrespectful, selfish and self gratifying. I have always voiced my opinions and called people like him out but I've never physically or abusively attacked them.

Why? Because I know deep down all these issues are simply down to ignorance, either by choice, or by circumstance.

Ignorance of not understanding other cultures, not wanting to embrace them or to have not had the opportunity to educate themselves as to why certain people are the way they are. There's a fear of change, a fear of losing what's important to them (usually money related) a fear that life is comfortable and easy and why would we want some foreigner coming in and jeopardising that.

But you know what enough is enough. In this day and age. There is no time for this school of thought. There is no time for us to be concentrating on our differences. There is no place for hate and apartheid.

I remember working in Bolton many years ago when an English Defence League march had gathered momentum in the town. I remember being asked by police to lock myself in an office so as not to provoke the EDL members, as they had already assaulted a number of Asian Muslim females. I remember refusing to do so, not wanting to let these people think I was intimidated and then being guilted into hiding as I was jeopardising the safety of others. I remember feeling so angry inside, imprisoned in this box room as if I was the problem, when all I wanted to do was march outside, look them in the eye and ask... "seriously mate, what the hell is your problem??"

I used to proud to be British. I was born here, in Yorkshire across the Pennines from where I now live in the Northern Powerhouse that is Manchester. We're not perfect, no one and nowhere is. I'm also Muslim and of Gujrati Indian descent. My religion is sacred to me, but again I know not every Muslim is perfect either. Just like any other individual of any other race or religion, there is always the chance of a bad egg. A bad individual who goes against the rules.

A terrorist is not specific to a certain type of human.

You fancy yourself a bit of a bully at school or at work? Well then yes, you too are a terrorist.

If someone has to live their life in fear of you or an action that you partake in then you are some form of terrorist.

So anyway, as you can probably tell, I've been stewing on all this for a while. It drives me crazy that the Western World is absolutely mesmerised by this word 'terrorist', using it as fuel to try and divide us. I stress Western world as I'm really not talking globally here. Why? Because most other countries have far bigger issues to deal with!

Our world is full of major disasters. Everywhere. Man-made and natural disasters that affect fellow men, women, children and of course the environment.

No we can't tackle them all, physically impossible. But we can start changing the way we empathise and start caring about everyone equally.

I read an article some time ago by Sam Kiley about how us millennials don't know the meaning of hardship.

Damn, this guy couldn't have been more right. We really don't. We live in a bubble, totally spoilt, myself very much so included. We have no idea what it's like to struggle, and I genuinely pray that we never have to, I don't wish that on anyone.

But how have we managed to stop empathising with those that do?

Because we have been convinced that we are in fact living in terror.

We are being told here in the UK, in Europe, in the US of A, our countries are on high alert. WE in the West are the victims. WE?are the ones that are in danger and are living in the struggle.?Sam said at the end of his piece he wishes he could slap us a wake up call.

Well I do too. Get a grip people.

If you are reading and sharing those 'you are fortunate' memes, the motivational Monday quotes, it's time to start believing it, REALISING it.

Terrorism is an awful, awful thing... but we need to start understanding it, need to start treating everything and everyone around us fairly.

I urge you to think about what you're saying, every time you want to close a border, turn away a refugee in need, think about why you would choose to do such a thing. When a person that has fled real life atrocities you have only ever watched on tv has to listen to you telling them to get out and go home, who is the terrorist in this scenario? (ps if you didn't figure it out, it's actually you)

I have been to many protests in my time, and with the way the world is at the moment I sense I have many more to come in the future unfortunately. I have never screamed or shouted at anyone directly whilst being out on the streets, every one I have been to has always remained peaceful. So if you too decide to vocalise your opinions again make sure you are not directly intimidating anyone by doing so. That does no one any good.

Immigration played a big part in the Brexit campaign, In the final run it felt like it all came down to 'Brits' against foreigners, with people like me left in purgatory.

People like me facing our own kind of home grown terrorism.

A kind worse than any other. A kind of terrorism thats became acceptable.

Last year I wrote about how modest fashion has come under attack legally, the burkini ban came into force in the South of France and a lady was forcibly asked to strip down on a public beach - but no one came forward to save her from her extremist attacker. Instead they jeered, mocked, insulted and downright terrorised her.

Terrorism comes in all forms.

When it happens, call it out.

Terrorists are not defined by religion.

By the colour of their skin.

By where they are from.

Don't be fooled by just the one type of terrorism.

Condemn them all.

Think about your actions. The articles you share. The words you say.

Think about the human being that is affected as a consequence.

Don't encourage and support those that are trying to divide us.

And for Goodness sake, don't be the fool that becomes the terrorist.

If you haven't already seen this, I urge you to watch this reaction from Australian journalist Waleed Aly. After writing this post I thought, maybe I've taken this too personally and started to go back and find all the articles and re-read them hoping to prove myself wrong. This popped up on my search and it is the perfect video to leave you with:

“You’ll have to forgive me, these won’t be my best words...”

#HumanityFirst

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. My love and thoughts are with my brothers and sisters in the world who are facing hardship, who have lost loved ones and of course to the victims and families of the New Zealand terror attacks.

Please take the time to read the names and stories of each and every victim. Find them. Read them. Remember them.