Daily Times

Promoting tolerance and human dignity is one of mankind’s unfinished challenges. The massive tendency of globalization where the entire world is a convert to multi-ethnic and heterogeneity with different religion, origins, and cultures living together, tolerance stands the mainstay of a society; acquiescing to diversity. Acceptance is must especially where each individual has the right to believe what they want. Nonetheless, is the world currently an empathetic abode to breath in?

According to “The Legatum Prosperity Index” the top most tolerant country is Norway. Again, the map seems to be modified due to the recent religiously intolerant incident during a rally organized by far-right organization “Stop Islamization of Norway” in the southern city of Kristiansand. Similarly, in Norway, where the angry anti-Islamist tried burning the copy of Quran, a Muslim man observing all this confronted the man burning the book of Holy Quran and received a global praise for his bravery.

Pakistan, an Islamic country, an incident traced back here in 2013 signifies the most horrific intolerant tragedies ever. 22 years old Mashal Khan was a Pashtun and a Muslim student at Abdul Wali Khan University at Mardan, who was brutally lynched on the roads by an angry Pakistani mob on accusation of performing blasphemy. Later after his death, all indictments were proven wrong. Flaking the light on the political talk shows that we see nowadays, the team considers it as a plus point for the ratings whenever the guests representing different political ideologies get involved in an intense argument. Inviting the guest, offending them, making them entailed in bickering just for the sake of ratings; does that not manipulate the peace and patience of the onlookers?

Likewise, the state governments in India are religiously insufferable about cow slaughtering attempted by Muslim on the basis of illegitimacy under Hindu belief. India even exemplifies a higher level of hostile social behavior against Kashmiris which is legislated by both the individuals and the government. The mainstream individual stance on Indian government enacting Kashmiri Muslims special status and killing thousands of Kashmiris embodies their prejudice. And, in this existing status quo where Modi is responsible for the bedlam in Kashmir, he gets the honor of the Highest Civilian Award by UAE Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Shouldn’t it be contradictory? Instead, it’s sponsoring his sinful performance.

Back in 2019, More than three million Uighur Muslims miserable tales at China detention camps were the most horrific current scenarios to witness. They were tortured pitilessly and brainwashed to disclaim their religion. The heinous act on Muslims is government sponsored who publicly defend the allegation on reason that the camps are preordained for re-education on subject to get rid of supposed terrorism where they ones captured have no link to violence. However, the Chinese attention is distracted from the torture due to an epidemic virus clinked to the region.

The media has to move beyond the rule – bad news is good news, and good news is no news

Now, the media organisations are influential enough to shape the mind sets of societies. The media has to move beyond the rule – bad news is good news, and good news is no news. The mournful circumstances that much of the concurrent media is tangled in, the media falls short of integrity. It is accurate to an extent that if the media does not display the injustice with the underprivileged ones, their voices will persist under the depth of grave yards, but at times the practice of revealing every immorality gets injurious for the sensitive citizens of society. Today, the rise in digital media epoch has increased the urge of every man jack to be the first one to diffuse the news and somewhere in that rush, online media slaughters the authenticity. For example, as reported previously by the writer, Endy M Bayuni, a tragedy in Tolikara involving Christians and Muslims clash, the journalist hurriedly relied on the information provided by the spectators that witnessed the conflict and ended up lacking trueness in the story presented to the world.

The intolerance that we agonize today is not somewhat new. It has its origins from ancient times but the brainy nation jumps out of it. For instance, in 1939, the Church Peace Union vigorously condemned the surge of intolerance in the United States called antisemitism, an insidious propaganda in prejudice and hatred for the Jew which ultimately threatens the basic ideals of all religion. Moreover, in Western culture, an era of prejudice was practiced against the blacks as putting them in the inferior graph where they were considered untouchables and, once, never allowed to enter restaurants and other public places in the US. Nevertheless, these nations held the realization that the temporary hatred-based policies will drag them beneath the ground permanently. Now, look at them. Obama, a black, has practiced the 44th presidency of the United States of America. Some part of the world is also on its way to follow the same footprints.

On March 15, 2019, after the infamous mosque attack, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern displayed compassionate gestures where she wore a headscarf visiting the crime scene just to convey that Muslims are welcomed to New Zealand; at a time when US and European governments are blatantly xenophobic about Muslims or silent about the matters of immigration and Islam, shewas brave enough to do that. Recently, Prime Minister, Imran Khan has taken steps to eradicate fanatic gestures by opening a corridor of Kartarpur for Sikhs to visit Baba Guru Nanak Dev Gurdwara from India.

To advance human rights, education is the most powerful way to thwart discrimination. Tolerant and cohesive workplace across public and private education institutions should be promoted since the prejudices and the differing are taught and learned at an early age. The governments have authority to make discrimination laws comprising wholly which can alter perspective by of unbending mindsets and a Hawkeye should be reserved on followers of laws because if you sow more seeds of peace today; the more you will get in future to handle their shocks.

The writer is a freelance researcher with focus on regional politics and international business