Daily Times

As Donald Trump rises in popularity among the American right, more and more Muslims are worried that he may actually take the mantle as the Republican frontrunner. This, of course, comes hand in hand with controversy of all sorts, in particular, his recent statements regarding identification cards for all Muslims in the US and the creation of a database with all their information. As expected, these baffling policy ideas have caused quite the uproar in the US and around the world, including Pakistan.

As Pakistanis flock to social media to condemn and ridicule every action and statement the ‘Trumpster’ makes, one has to wonder why the weight of injustice against Muslims around the world lies on the shoulders of the uncles, aunties and the neighbourhood cricket team. I stress that Pakistanis need to stop worrying about Donald Trump, especially when we have this sort of bigotry in our own backyard.

A lot of people have been discussing the anti-Ahmedi signs displayed outside a shop in Lahore, which called Ahmedis ‘dogs’ and barred them from entering the vicinity. Though swiftly taken down by the authorities and the shopkeepers arrested, this shows exactly the sort of sentiment and intolerance that exists in our society today.

The local traders’ association is actually staging a protest against the arrests, stating that the police should “refrain from intervening in matters related to our beliefs”, an extremely worrying sign where you have violence against Ahmedis and minorities in general, largely ignored by the people, who would rather focus on directing their energies on far pressing matters, such as what Trump said earlier in the day.

However, this is not an isolated incident; streams of attacks against Ahmedis, Shias, Christians and other minorities have plagued our history. Just a few days ago, 23 people were killed in a largely Shia dominated area by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). Recently, a factory with predominantly Ahmedi workers was set on fire by a mob, an Ahmedi place of worship was also torched and numerous blasphemy cases are still pending against Christians. One can find unsurprising parallels between these incidents and the ones Pakistanis are condemning around the world.

The LeJ’s statement, was: “We warn Shia parents that if they do not stop their children from participating in the war of Bashar al Assad [in Syria], they will face more attacks like this.” This was said after their attack in Parachinar. This increase in sectarian violence and hate crimes, justified by these horrible and ridiculous notions, are becoming a very real worry that cannot be further ignored. The mob that torched the factory, with Ahmedi workers inside, chanted “We will beat them, we will lynch them.” One needs to ask why these incidents keep happening and what fuels these people.

These incidents keep occurring because there is a frightening lack of uproar against them; the silence gives these mobs impunity for their actions and the popular narrative is their means of justification. Pakistanis need to worry about tackling these horrific issues, which are closer to home. Maybe the focus should be on teaching our children about coexistence with our minorities, treating them as equals and not second-class citizens, just as we advocate to the world on how to treat Muslims.

Why cast your stones against a man thousands of kilometres away when you have injustice, bigotry and blind hate existing within the very fabric of your own society? If a large group of shopkeepers can stage a protest against the arrest of two bigots, on account of freedom of speech, one cannot do much but laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of that parallel. After all, is it not exactly what Pakistanis are condemning about Trump in the US?

Therefore, when Trump says that the US “needs a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the country”, maybe the outcry should be towards the lack of support for our fellow Pakistanis, since this view is not dissimilar to how we treat our minorities, and then we might no longer be a group of charlatans.

The writer is the assistant research coordinator for the South Asia Study Group at the University of Sydney. He tweets at @ajzeb