SHAFAQNA – Beyond all manners of politicking and political agenda it is absolutely crucial we, as a pluralist and multi-cultural society, realise that any attack on any particular, or all minorities is an attack against our most basic human rights: the right to be.
As members of the Shia community – itself a minority within the global Muslim community, we are looking upon recent developments in the United States of America with great concerns, especially if we consider that none of the countries listed in the ban committed acts of terror.
More troubling still has been Mr Trump’s willingness to single-out Shia Muslims majority countries such as Iran and Iraq and to some extent Yemen.
Historically the Shia community has never been linked to violent acts of terrorism; the same cannot be said of Wahhabism.
President Donald Trump’s so-called Muslim ban is therefore redundant. If his intention was in fact to protect America from the actions of Wahhabi-inspired radicals then logic would command he would have banned such countries as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or even Turkey.
Instead, the White House chose to target those countries that have suffered from the onslaught of Wahhabism, denying visa holders and refugees their rights, on the basis of their ethnicity and faith.
Such displays of hate are consistent with fascism.
The systematic dehumanization process of all minorities on account of faith or origin is much too grave for any of us to ignore. Silence can never be an option when millions stand to be persecuted and side-lined from society – such an attitude would equate to rationalising Tyranny in its most heinous form.