We, The People, Must Stand Unequivocally With Ukraine
By
Junaid Jahangir, New Age Islam
2 March
2022
It Is
Time to Look Within and Ask Why Did India and the UAE Abstain On the Vote against
Russia
Main
Points:
1. In essence,
it is time to unequivocally stand with Ukraine.
2. Focus should
not be removed from Ukraine with whataboutisms.
3. It is time
for solidarity with a nation that has been attacked unprovoked by the 2nd most
powerful military in the world.
-----
Ukrainians
attend a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine.
-----
Al Jazeera
recently published an
article on the
double standards and racism associated with the outpouring sympathy for Ukraine
that is missing for other places like Iraq, Afghanistan, or Yemen. However, now
is the time to stand unequivocally with Ukraine.
In 2018,
the Humboldt tragedy occurred in Canada. Many of the deceased and injured in
the bus crash were young boys from a junior ice hockey team from Humboldt,
Saskatchewan, Canada. The tragedy was felt viscerally by Canadians who
responded overwhelmingly.
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Also
Read: Russian Invasion of Ukraine Has Lessons for Muslim
Countries
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Immediately,
an argument was made that such Canadian outpouring of donations was due to the
"maleness, whiteness, and able-bodiedness" of those who perished.
This biting analysis was offered, as parents were grieving the loss of their
young boys. I was not comfortable with this approach based on the ethic that
you don't kick someone when they are already down.
NBC
News
Ukrainian
forces fight to hold capital as Russia vetoes UN Security Council resolution
-----
A similar
argument is being made in the case of Ukraine. But this is an abrasive
approach. It seeks to split people apart rather than bring them together. Now
is not the time for smart cheeky analyses. It is time for solidarity with a
nation that has been attacked unprovoked by the 2nd most powerful military in
the world.
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Related Article: ‘Double
Standards’: Western Coverage Of Ukraine War Criticised
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It is
important to note that people respond overwhelmingly when they see themselves
mirrored in the tragedy. For instance, Pakistani PM Imran Khan has
rejected that there
is any Uyghur oppression at all. For quite some time the Rohingyas were ignored
because Muslims were preoccupied with Palestine. Moreover, Muslims have
generally not been concerned about the plight of Muslims in the Central African Republic in 2014. Many would not even know about the
situation there.
As for the
racism of the West, its true there is racism. But this is also universal. You
just have to live in other parts of the world to learn this on your own. When
after 40 years of service you are left without pension, when your caste is an
issue in climbing up the corporate ladder, when your religious denomination
bars you from promotion, when the jealousy of others drags you down from
success, in all such places you often don't have the luxury to make arguments
against racism. I guess the point is effectively captured by the Urdu phrase
"Is Hammam Main Sab Nangay Hain" (everybody is equally naked
in this bath house).
Berlin
police estimate more than 100,000 people attended an anti-war demonstration in
the German capital on Sunday
------
Only those
who have experienced such issues can understand better than someone who was
born in privilege. For often, people who make caustic arguments come from
affluent places. Those at the bottom of the food chain don't have time to
complain. They just have to get by.
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Also
Read: What Russia Wants: Threat of a Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Is a Western Invention
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Returning
to Ukraine, again, now is not the time to come up with smart cheeky analyses.
The focus should not be removed from Ukraine with whataboutisms. We should not
make it about our pet issues but expand our compassion to stand by others. The
ethic is simple: stand by the oppressed without ifs and buts.
If
anything, it is time to look within and ask why did India and the UAE abstain
on the vote against Russia, or why did the Pakistani PM shake hands with Putin, as he was wreaking havoc on a
nation much smaller and militarily weaker than his own. In essence, it is time
to unequivocally stand with Ukraine. Slava Ukraini! Heroiam Slava!
(Glory to Ukraine, Glory to the Heroes).
------
Junaid
Jahangir is an Assistant Professor of Economics at MacEwan University. He is
the co-author of Islamic Law and Muslim Same-Sex Unions. With Dr. Hussein
Abdullatif, a paediatric endocrinologist in Alabama, he has co-authored several
academic papers on the issue of same-sex unions in Islam. He contributed this
article to NewAgeIslam.com.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/ukraine-russia-governments-equivocate/d/126486
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