Monday 7 May 2018

Day of Freedom

When Mohammed Hijab and Ali Dawah decided to attend the Day of Freedom march organised by Tommy Robinson and his associates, they could have been forgiven for expecting a smooth reception. Given the history of rivalries between the two sides one wonders if it was such a good idea for these two to actually attend the gathering.

Initially my thoughts were that we have seen these kinds of marches before. Going back to the early days of the EDL, and the Britain First, PEGIDA, Football Lads, etc etc. There is the set menu of usual rhetoric and inflammatory speeches with angry people shouting abuse. I didn't think anuthing positive could have been gained from such a situation.

The incidents are Speakers Corner also demonstrated that large crowds are not the best place to have reasoned discussions and polite conversation. Someone usually gets irate and physical altercations are an inevitable results.

But on second thoughts I do think that both Mohammad and Ali did something worthwhile. Although I would not recommend Muslim in general to attend such gathering, I think Ali and Mohammad carried themselves tactfully and responsibly. And here is why.

By asking to be listed as official speakers at the event they have demonstrated that Muslims are not resistant to the idea of 'freedom of speech'. When we reflect on this idea of 'freedom of speech' being the action of speaking out against wrongs in society: Muslims are instructed to be at the forefront of such activities. Where we differ in approach is that for the right-wingers their only concept of freedom of speech seems to be saying inflammatory things. And only about Islam and Muslims. And yes, they might say its only FACTS they speak, but their facts are the same league as the facts Donald Trump alluded to in his speech about the war-zone hospital in the centre of London. For the Muslim the freedom of speech is in challenging the damaging ideas and activities prevalent in society, and holding the leadership to account for their failures.

They also went prepared to the event. Knowing from previous incidents that physical attacks would be a near certainty. In this regard, they should be commended for their bravery for putting themselves at risk in order to carryout essential dawah work. They went dressed smartly with cameras filming for safety and security purposes. They also cooperated with police and followed their instructions in regards to staying safe.

They fact that they were prevented from speaking adds further weight to the argument that this event was not actually about the freedom of speech, but the latest in the long chain of anti-islamic propaganda events. You've only got to look at the people involved in the organizing of the day and research their background to get an idea of the agenda. Their hypocrisy is ever more exposed and I hope that as a result people who followed them, stop and think about the wider picture here. And if Mohammad Hijab and Ali Dawah's actions on the day help to change one persons point of view, then they have indeed succeeded.