After seeing some of the usual communal hate-mongering going on, surprisingly even in these times of calamity, I have some observations and a few questions for you.
Call Out The Violation, But Don’t Be Religion-Specific
You should and must criticize those who are violating the lockdown and not following social distancing, either as individuals or in groups. The problem begins when you actively start seeking the religion of that individual or the group. Then, under the guise of being upset over the spreading of the corona, you are only furthering your islamophobia.
Don’t Stigmatise The Entire Community For The Wrongs Of Few
The problem begins when you start using phrases like, “inki toh qaum hi aisi hai” (the community is like this), “ inko toh gharon main yahi sikhaya jaata hai” (this is what they are taught at home), “in sab ko toh goli maar do, wahi solution hai” (shooting them all is the only solution) to describe groups and generalize and stigmatize the entire community. Your hate has become so ingrained that the first reaction towards a pandemic was also racism.
Don’t Source Inherent Biases From WhatsApp Forwards
Muslim men cremate Hindu man amid lockdown.
The problem is that your entire references to malign the entire 20 crore population are maybe 5 TikTok videos and some WhatsApp forwards, with little to no authenticity and are spread with the only intention to further reinforce your inherent biases.
Don’t Assume We Support The Wrong
The problem is also when you not just expect but also actively question the Muslims to publicly denounce these acts of spitting and stone-pelting, as if you have already assumed that I support these acts and somehow hold the value of lives of medical personnel any less than you do, or I or my kin are not involved in relief and rehabilitation work?
More importantly, will my public condemnation of these acts as deplorable and illegal be enough to satisfy you and you won’t turn up again at my footsteps asking for more condemnation any time such incidents happen anywhere in the world? When, if ever, will you be sufficiently appeased?
Have You Ever Denounced The Wrongs Of Your Religion? Or Is That A Privilege?
While you ask me to denounce these acts, I have never, even once, seen that you felt humiliated, felt apologetic and asked your entire community to take ownership when there were random acts ( I say random because like incidents by “other groups”, these are also random) like stone-pelting by villagers on police trying to stop Ram yatra during a lockdown or Rama Navmi celebrations going on even on 2nd April? Where does this privilege come from?
Let Me Just Say It: We Don’t Have The Antidote For Corona!
Also, if you have been told in WhatsApp groups that Muslims have some special antidote for Corona, thus the reason for “them roaming about freely” and it just doesn’t affect us as it might affect you, let me say it clearly – we simply don’t have the antidote! And we are as worried and taking as many precautions as the next person. Most Muslim countries are already in lockdown, with congregational prayers and religious gatherings been suspended as part of efforts to stem the spread of the virus. In India, similar statements have been posted repeatedly and Islamic cleric has even issued a fatwa (religious edict) asking Muslims to get tested for coronavirus if they show symptoms of the disease. But of course, this just doesn’t make for a scintillating session of Prime Time News and will never reach your Facebook feeds.
We Are All In This Together, Remember That
Lastly, if I haven’t been clear until now, let me iterate once more. India is still lucky (comparatively) with the number of cases and casualties due to COVID-19. But if things go worse, which there is a high likelihood of as we evident from other countries, only a few days from now hardly anyone will remember it as Hindu carrier or a Muslim carrier virus. Please do remember, we are all in this together.
As a friend of mine said, “We were all born similar, but Corona made us equal.” So presently, I urge to focus only on COVID 19, no matter how bored you might be getting during this lockdown. If we survive this, then there might be time, years even to continue these communal games.
– An Indian Muslim