Imran Khan Fans Are Like Donald Trump Supporters
By
Junaid Jahangir, New Age Islam
26 June
2021
The
Analogy Between The PM Fans And Trump Supporters Runs Deeper Than The “Naya
Pakistan” And “Make America Great Again” Slogans
Main
Points:
1. PM Imran
Khan is a far cry from Donald Trump.
2. Imran Khan
fans are much like Trump supporters.
3. The fans
hailed the PM for “Absolutely NOT” giving military bases to the U.S. for
operations.
4. being vocal
on Gazans and Kashmiris but casually ignoring the Uyghurs is self-serving and
hypocritical.
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US President Donald Trump meets with
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House Monday. (Source:
Twitter/Government of Pakistan)
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PM Imran
Khan is a far cry from Donald Trump. That honour belongs to PM Modi who was
seen arm in arms with Trump. However, the equivalence of Modi and the
Hindutvavadis with Trump and his minions is best left to the indigenous Indians
concerned about the direction of their country. Returning to PM Imran Khan, the
analogy fails. This is because he has focused on raising taxes instead of tax
cuts, effectively curtailed COVID through smart lock downs instead of
mismanagement that led to unnecessary deaths and has generally focused his
rhetoric on uplifting the poor masses instead of pandering to the elite.
However, the same cannot be said for his fans who are much like Trump
supporters.
This was
observed by Jonathan Swan, the journalist who recently interviewed PM Imran
Khan, when he tweeted that the PM “has an online supporter base that rivals Trump's for
intensity.”
Swan is a young man who grew up watching the famed cricketer turned PM. He even
had a picture with another famed cricketer,
Shoaib Akhtar, on his twitter account. The fact that Pakistani fans of the PM
railed against Swan, lends credence to his tweet.
The PM fans, often University educated youth
caricatured as “Youthias”, roared that the PM articulated their concerns
against the West. These concerns include the rising tide of Islamophobia and
the presence of U.S. bases in the region. The fans hailed the PM for
“Absolutely NOT” giving military bases to the U.S. for operations. Although,
the PM is noted for his many U turns, as hilariously captured by MNA Khurshed Shah, and so time will tell whether he takes a U
turn here.
Additionally,
the geopolitical situation is quite different. This is not the U.S. immediately
after 9/11 where even President Musharraf with all the might of the military
establishment did not have the luxury of theatrics. The geopolitical situation
is quite different and to blow hot air at a young journalist, who probably grew
up admiring Khan, is much ado about nothing. Moreover, even the late extremist
cleric Khadim Rizvi was noted to have spewed aggressive comments against the
U.S. It’s more about political mileage than anything.
Regardless, the PM came under fire for victim blaming on rape and for the complicit silence on Uyghur Muslims in China. Additionally, another clip of the Pakistani Foreign Minister being dodgy on the PM’s comment on OBL being a martyr is making rounds.
The
concerns on the PM’s comments on victim blaming, Uyghur Muslims and OBL being a
martyr, facilitate questioning whether the PM fans are concerned about Islamic
teachings or are simply consumed by the jingoism of “Naya Pakistan”.
Islamic
teachings against victim blaming are very clear based on the incident when the
Prophet turned the man’s gaze away instead of asking the woman to cover up. On
people like OBL, Islam views them as perpetrators of Fasad Fil Ardh (anarchy)
that are given the capital punishment. Finally, Islamic teachings are quite
harrowing against Zulm (oppression) and Munafiqat (hypocrisy).
This means being vocal on Gazans and Kashmiris but casually ignoring the
Uyghurs is self-serving and hypocritical.
But it does
not appear that the PM fans are concerned about Islamic teachings for then they
would have turned inwards to perfect their character. If anything, like Trump
supporters, they posture aggressively and go on angry tirades. This parallel
with Trump supporters holds as they too mindlessly supported their erstwhile
leader with the slogan “Make America Great Again”.
However,
the analogy between the PM fans and Trump supporters runs deeper than the “Naya
Pakistan” and “Make America Great Again” slogans. Taking on American
conservatism, Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman writes that “conspiracy theorizing
has been part of American politics,” and that blaming “sinister Jewish
financiers” has been a tool to “delegitimize opposition”. Though to be fair,
emphasis on conspiracy theories and blaming Jews describes conservative
Pakistanis across a broad political spectrum.
Trump
supporters vented their frustrations against the “woke” crowd and by justifying
every inane statement of their President, including those demeaning women.
Analogously, the PM fans exhibit their intolerance of “liberals” and confirm
the crude trope of their kaptaan (leader) that men are sexual beasts who rape
women without the purdah (veil). Moreover, Trump supporters dilute the concerns
of black Americans through the “All Lives Matter” slogan. In a similar vein, PM
fans are complicit in the oppression of Ahmadis in Pakistan and are willing to
ignore and even deny the oppression of the Uyghurs because it’s politically and
economically convenient.
In essence,
for the PM fans it’s not really about Islam for they barely understand the
hallowed ethos of Islam. What drives them is much more earthly and mundane,
which comprises of mindless jingoism, misplaced identity thumping, and a heavy
dose of toxic masculinity. In other words, they are like Trump’s mindless
minions. However, where the analogy fails is that many Trump supporters are
economically disadvantaged and less educated. The same cannot be said of the
privileged university educated men that constitute the PM fan base.
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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/islamic-society/imran-donald-trump-supporters/d/125018