Remember Tamarrod and Shahbag, Rabaa and Motijheel
I think protesting at Israel and the British who put them there is important. However as a Musalman, I think folks are wrong and dopey to background the complicity of despicable Egypt and the morons who supported the Tamarod enabled coup there last year that set back progress in so many ways. So many stupid, Tehrir-drunk Egyptians.... who were scared and unable to rise to the civilisational moment and duped. This Gaza genocide is possible because of Tamarod, make no mistake, the demons pulling apart Muslim societies are assisted by our own civilisational suicidal tendancies.
The sheer extent of enfoolment surrounding last year's coup, and rabaa massacres from otherwise decent London people was appalling. My heritage substantially includes a place now known as Bangladesh, and there was a fascistic movement there too called Shahbag. Like Tamarod it had a clear anti-Islamist vibration and represents seculib rage, frustration and subhumanity. These disfiguring developments speak to us of societal work that needs to be done, to banish the false and immobilising dichotomy between Islamist and anti Islamist futures, and to be Creative and critical, creatical about nonsecular, decolonial alternatives.. No body but ourselves can do this.
So many people warned Ikhwan in the build up to their demise, but they wouldn't listen, and could not adapt in time. For this suffered great injustice. However, the world hasn't heard about the Bangladesh tragedy last year, of the governments midnight massacre of unarmed protesters as they slept and prayed. There was no Patrick Galey in Dhaka's Motijheel district transcribing the horror, there were reams of social media video dismissed by evil men like Bengali World Service Editor Sabir Mustafa at the BBC.
Bangladesh's own seculib ragers, not to mention its establishment, succeeded in silencing the cries of the dying, the pain of the wounded and the sad loss of the families. Channel 4's John Snow is reporting bravely from Gaza's hospitals these days, however REMEMBER that Anglo Liberal gaze of the news team wouldn't touch Bangladesh's worst massacre with a barge pole. We didn't and couldn't mobilise ourselves effectively either.
Tomorrows 26th July 2014 Demonstration: A sincere request
Last week 80-100 thousand men women and children marched through London, most of whom were not Palestinian, or Arab. Our grandfathers felt for the Palestinians and its injustice is very clear. There is a false expectation however, amongst many non Arab Muslims that resolution of the Israel problem, would mean something for struggles for justice in Asia and Africa. Some Arab brothers make out like Palestine is an issue of Aqidah, despite the Prophet's non opening of the region. This confuses people who drink learning from sources that delink from their geoancestral roots.
I am yet to see Arabs and Palestinians in the UK, or outside, acting with such gusto in solidarity with the oppressed in Bangladesh, or Kashmir, or Myanmar. During last night's qunoot at regents park mosque, marking the completion of the Qur'anic recitiation in Ramadhan, the oppressed of Palestine featured thrice, but nobody else.
Far from being against demonstrations, I think we can learn and develop capabilities from each political intervention we make, as a family or as a group of friends. And in this spirit, I would like to make the case for tomorrows protesters to make a detour to the Egyptian Consulate
The Egyptian state recently turned back a Tunisian plane full of medical aid for Gaza, and its state media is applauding Netanyahu. So as you walk from the Israeli embassy to UK parliament, and protest white supremacist imperial policy ( or however you frame it), realise that a special Jamarat awaits your symbolic visitation off the beaten track, like the Makkah clocktower
