I’ve always believed that we’re all born brothers, regardless of colour, ethnicity, religion, or any other considerations. And that God Almighty created us all as human beings in various forms and personalities to enrich the diversity of nature and to give our lives on planet earth a chance for us to get to know each other and work together to rebuild it.
Unfortunately, some people still feel that they are better than others and that their colour, race, or religion makes them superior to others. Worse, it empowers them to desecrate others’ beliefs, threaten them, and even kill them, either because they believe they are on the right side or to fulfil a political or economic agenda.
This was evident during Russia’s recent war in Ukraine. Where right-wing extremists in Europe have given up their efforts to stop the influx of refugees because this time the refugees are white Europeans with coloured eyes, not Arabs, Afghans, or Muslims. I wrote about this in a previous article, I discussed how it became clear that international human rights norms are more concerned with the Western person in exchange for their indifference to the Palestinian person, for example.
This war also embarrassed several right-wing politicians who had previously praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a courageous and faithful leader. But now most of them, at least in public, wouldn’t defend him.
Indeed, Russians and Ukrainians are practically one race, descended from the same bloodline, and many Ukrainians marry Russian women, and vice versa. However, the rise of the far-right in Ukraine, or so-called ‘Neo-Nazis’, in exchange for Putin’s ambitions for sovereignty and restoring the glory of the Soviet Union, resulted in a clash that has resulted in the war, destruction, and mass graves that we are witnessing now.
Meanwhile, Israeli radicals are committing atrocities against a helpless Palestinian population as well. Ironically, the Jews’ motive for establishing their state was due to their persecution by German Nazis during World War II! So how can they accept this paradox? How can the West stay silent in the face of these crimes?
However, Islam or what is known as ‘Islamophobia’ remains the main target of these parties. This is embodied in the current situation in several Swedish cities following the burning of copies of the Holy Quran by an anti-immigration extremist group.
Targeting religious sanctities is not freedom of speech, it is a barbaric apostasy that disregards human values and drags human behaviour back to the dark ages. It also fuels feelings of violence and hatred and undermines the security and stability of societies. International legislation must be enacted to prevent abuse of religious sanctities and to ensure the necessary guarantees to protect the rights of all to practice their religious rites in their communities.
The extreme right’s popularity in Europe may have arisen because of the influx of thousands of refugees, prompting many citizens of those nations to vote for parties that reject and oppose refugees. They are far-right parties that use racial ideology to safeguard an identity that they believe is being endangered by immigrants and refugees. The rise in popularity of far-right leaders and groups appears to be a consequence of European governments’ inability to find solutions to the chronic problems that plague their countries, particularly economic challenges.
These radical parties include the French National Front, led by Marine Le Pen, which was the first party to use Islamophobia in its political propaganda and electoral campaign, to intimidate Muslims. There are also the Austrian right-wing populist party, the Danish right-wing populist party, and the German Alternative for Germany. Most of these parties share their anti-immigrant vision, especially against Muslims. They consider that the Islamic identity is not suitable for Europe and that most of the immigrant Muslim communities cannot adapt to those societies.
The world, particularly radicals and extremists of all countries and religions, should learn from the Corona virus’s lesson. This virus, for example, didn’t differentiate between white and black people, Muslims and Christians. Isn’t the Corona virus a reminder of the need to band together as human beings in the face of danger? And that we are all in the same boat and don’t need any more sectarians, right-wingers, or extremists?
akram@fp7.com
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