Daily Times

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plans to appoint a special representative to combat Islamophobia come as a heartening development to those still reeling from the shock of last year’s merciless killing of the Afzaal family.

Though a very timely punch (considering the fifth anniversary of the horrific Quebec City Mosque attack), he should be appreciated for willingly stepping in front of a fast-darting propaganda truck. If the seemingly endless eddies of outrage on social media (more dangerously, even in town hall meetings) were savage before, there is no telling what lines they’ll cross now.

Kudos to Little Potato for treading such a difficult tightrope and showing countries all around how to set a precedent that can actually matter. For, it is extremely easy to throw some hollow words of remorse whenever some violent tragedy makes an example out of ordinary lives to advance a nefarious agenda. Since the countless instances of casual racism and anti-Muslim sentiments are all part and parcel of the move to the West, it is only when rounds go off, blood is splattered, and lives end on an abrupt note that the proverbial genie is taken notice of.

However, Islamophobia, as a construct, spreads its tentacles much, much deeper. From eggs thrown by random strangers amid heated “terrorist” yellings and a dash of “Bin Laden” all the way to a very senior British lawmaker throwing her hands in the air when her “Muslimness” paved the path for her ouster, the menace runs right through every society that claims to be champions of basic human rights. Why are the rights of these victims, who just happen to be Muslims, not protected, one may wonder?

Have they not earned the prestigious perk of the citizenry of the first world or do they need to work out opportunity costs to cherry-pick their identity are questions that no one is yet ready to answer.

But while the likes of Big Brother and Big Ben are busy throwing those who get affected under the bus (might fan some bigotry flames with negative coverage while they rubberstamp the side they’re standing on), countries like Canada and Russia have clearly stolen the spotlight. Their preference for sanity in times of inflammatory buzzwords is proof enough that the tide has begun to change whether the white supremacists thriving here, there and everywhere give the green light or not. *