Dr. Nadeem Zafar Jilani
I am speechless hearing the news of the attack on Sikh worshippers in a Gurudwara in Kabul. At a time of global pandemic, it is the Sikh community
Who is one of the firsts to come out to start Langar delivery services for the isolated, old, and unfortunate (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/in-oz-canada-uk-us-sikhs-start-langar-delivery-for-vulnerable/articleshow/74720916.cms).
Just weeks back in the aftermath of the Delhi riots, we saw our Sikh brethren feeding and sheltering the Muslim and Hindu victims (https://qz.com/india/1809634/delhi-riots-have-brought-hindus-muslims-sikhs-together/). Not long ago, it was these Sikh farmers and elderly who came forward and stood with Muslims and effectively thwarted a threat of rightwing attack at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh. In a unique act of kindness, one of them, D S Bindra, even sold his flats to continue a Langar for protestors. It is no more surprising that Sikhs are the first community to deliver food and amenities to war hit areas and conflict zones all around the world. One Google search and we can approximate the big-heartedness of this warm and friendly community, Sikhs, who are at the forefront of any humanitarian work across the globe.
But what led ISIS to attack the Kabul Gurudwara at a time of a global outbreak of a deadly virus? Is it just another twisted ideology of the IS feeding a revenge motive or is it the multi-million dollar Islamophobia industry at work? No one can deny rightwing media having a field day blaming Islam and Muslims even during a crisis which is bringing communities together. One cannot forget how even the widely read The Hindu, English daily published an Islamophobic cartoon in its March 26 edition, for it later apologized (https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/cartoon/cartoonscape-march-26-2020/article31167023.ece). At such a time, one needs to ask the right questions instead of feeding in to the hysteria.
An important question, in my opinion would be – Why does ISIS want to drive a wedge between Muslims and Sikhs at a time when both the communities are showing gratitude for each other in the wake of the deadliest violence in the national Capital of India? Who is going to benefit (sorry for using this word which may sound insensitive) from the mindless bloodshed in Kabul? Certainly not, Muslims. If they claim to be soldiers of Islam, it will only tarnish the image of the faith and help further escalation of Islamophobia. Is this the real motive (https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/scooping-low-world-media-uses-the-coronavirus-to-fuel-islamophobic-tropes-34884)?
Reminiscent of the Chittisinghpura massacre of Sikhs in Kashmir some 20 years ago, the killings in Kabul will only benefit the cause of those who do not want communities to come together. Those who have to show the world that Sikhs are being persecuted in SE Asia in the lands that are predominantly Muslims. So who is paying ISIS mercenaries to play these dirty games is the real question. While the guesses can be many and the answer to these questions cannot come except from long term analysis of world economics, one must be able to not let hate take over.
Almost a year ago ISIS targeted churches in Sri Lanka killing Christian worshippers on the Easter Sunday. Today it is a Gurudwara. Incidentally, the Easter attack on churches in Sri Lanka came only weeks after New Zealand mosque shooting which had shown a great outpouring of sympathy for Muslims and brought Muslim and Christian world closer. It is evident that someone somewhere doesn’t want Muslims and other communities to come together.
And as a Muslim I know that is it is ISIS, then they are enemies of both Muslims and the whole of humanity.
As an Indian Muslim, I am shocked at the atrocity unleashed on our Sikh brothers and sisters in Kabul. The attacks in the New Zealand mosque left the Muslim world scarred, and the recent vandalizing of mosques in Delhi riots just revived the wound. I know what it feels like, to be attacked for a dress code, for a piece of cloth on the head, for a facial feature, for your very identity. And at a such a time of distress, I want my Sikh brothers and sisters to know that the Indian Muslim community is with you at this hour of grief. We understand your pain because Delhi violence is fresh in our minds. While the targeted carnage continued for three days in broad daylight, we also found many Hindu families saving our lives. And that tells me, it is not just us. We are also victims of bigger players who are ruling in the name of faith.
We want to reiterate that cold-blooded killers do not represent any faith. Whether in Kabul or in Delhi, or elsewhere in the world, they are a group of mercenaries who are acting at the behest of someone else to bring a bad name to, particularly, Muslims. Please stay strong and hold each other in this hour of agony inflicted on you by inhuman monsters.
I hope one day their sponsors get exposed and pay for their sins and pray to Almighty that these foot soldiers, these evil incarnates, rot in hell forever.
(Author: Dr. Nadeem Zafar Jilani is a UK based Paediatrician currently working in Qatar who writes on contemporary issues affecting Muslims)