Sohail Ansari, Ph.D’s Post

In order to inflict and enact violence, the State relies on a robust narrative infrastructure that is built and rooted in the otherizing and demonization of marginalized communities. With Israel's US backed genocide of Palestinians unabated and the US' ongoing War on Terror that has brutalized Muslims, it is critical to understand the discursive structures that these states deploy in service of their violence and how our communities collectively can build narrative power to create alternative realities that center our dignity and humanity. Join MCL tomorrow in Washington, DC for our workshop titled "Resisting the State: A Workshop to Build Narrative Power." There are only a few spots left, so register now: bit.ly/ResistingTheState

Setting their actual arguments aside, I commend both former Prime Ministers Morrison and Keating for putting their heads above the trench line here and advancing these discussions. We need our former national leaders to remain in the public debate with these types of "bigger' ideas. The last 20 years has been disappointing in this regard nationally. Previous leaders have either shrunk from view or spent their time continuing to dabble and plot in the revolving door that became The Lodge. We have been managed rather than lead in the last two decades. Morrison's argument, right or wrong, is about the type of society we want to be and how we deliver human flourishing. Keating's argument, right or wrong, is about our national ambition, resilience and competitiveness. Of course these are discussions we should be having as a society and a nation rather than getting glued to the continuous 24 hour new cycle of pseudo outrage and empty ideas. Both men are right to try and move the discussion away from that into something bigger. I hope we take their lead rather than snipe at them personally. As Eleanor Roosevelt was reported to have rightly observed "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."

Our great liberation war was fought with some goals in mind. One of his goals was to bring equality in society. To create a society where there is justice and people get their rights. But today we have moved away from them. This country has gone to a stage, which we can safely call a dictatorship. The right to live with minimal dignity as a human being was lost. A government has made its own laws and used them to oppress the people. Used the security forces. On the contrary, there was no structure whereby the people could somehow be saved or protected. In one word it can be compared with the English word rule of the jungle. We may have been citizens of the state on paper, but in reality we were treated as slaves. The authorities or the bearers of the state treated us as slaves. And we have seen the end of all these things, a new horizon has begun now. The students together put an end to that misrule. What many call a mass coup? I think we are going to go ahead and create a second republic. That should be our goal. The true spirit of our liberation war has been compromised for petty political gains. The governmental structure should work for the people's benefit by freeing the country from dictatorship and making it more attractive to the public.

The framing of resistance as potentially problematic or dangerous can align with narratives propagated by imperial powers seeking to maintain control. By emphasizing the risks associated with resistance, these narratives can serve to discourage movements for self-determination and justify ongoing oppression. This perspective can undermine the agency of oppressed peoples and their right to fight for their freedom.

Hi I say this as a mixed race person who tries to be wary of where and when it’s my time to talk… especially someone indigenous who presents as white as I do. Shining a light on the issue of “pretendians” is super important. Taking up space meant for someone else is a form of erasure. Erasing indigenous people from where they need to be is damaging. What happens when indigenous people are erased from government committees, boards, negotiations, and things like treaty commissions that need to to bring in their voice? What happens when spaces that need transformation are instead reinforced by pretenders? Then the appropriate indigenous advocates aren’t there as a fetter on colonization. Without the appropriate checks colonial systems can enable genocide, as we have seen in the past and see continuing around the world today. Indigenous people being in the appropriate conversations is one of the ways people are trying to create checks on institutional violence. With the wrong people in a space meant for negating abuses of power, the protective mechanism fails, and the machine can churn with impunity causing vulnerable people to suffer. Pretending to be an indigenous person and taking up space therefore is potentially a genocidal act.

You have no more years left to change your predicament as a government and nation. You cannot stave off your consequences. Woe to you who wage war on goodness and exchange it for evil. Woe to you who exchange the truth for a lie. Woe to you who pervert and corruption your nation’s children. Woe to you who fill the streets and cities with corruption, lawlessness and violence. Woe to you who enable evil and call it your right. Woe to you who promote evils and call it good. Woe to you who make merchandise out of the people and profit upon them. Woe to you who commit injustices calling it justice. Woe to you who mock heaven and corrupt the earth. For your destruction will come quickly and your punishment swiftly. As for people so too for the nation and nations. Othniel Max Daves

1. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Hazrat Imam Hussain 2. "Stand firm in the face of oppression, for the greatest tragedy is to accept it." - Hazrat Imam Hussain 3. "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear." - Hazrat Imam Hussain 4. "Live with dignity, even if it means sacrificing everything." - Hazrat Imam Hussain 5. "The path to righteousness is paved with sacrifice and unwavering faith." - Hazrat Imam Hussain

With a powerful narrative that explores themes of faith, redemption and the resilience of the human spirit, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗱 tells the story of drug dealers who found Christ in prison. Watch the movie here: https://lnkd.in/ea_NMeE2

Don’t mention peace unless you’ve included these three words in the same breath: JUSTICE LIBERATION REPARATION It's easy for oppressors or people with no skin in the game to say, we want peace. Peace in the imperialist Western sense means: don't cause trouble, shut up and accept your fate. This is shallow, harmful and gaslighting. People get angry, resist or fight back because there is injustice. Even telling them - go through the process - doesn't help when the process (eg the justice system) is created by those in power to protect those in power. The answer then is to address the injustice. And this means a lot of listening, and acknowledging the harm. In legal circles, we talk about Restorative Justice - which has a deeper philosophy based on helping people restore what they had before the harm. So when we say we want Peace - we really need to drill down and ask - what does that mean, what work does it take to get there? And if we have no skin in the game, who are we to dictate what peace, or the process for getting there looks like? It's time that previous colonisers sit back down and make way for communities and nations that understand oppression, exploitation and having their lands stolen to determine the process to peace. As sahibzada mayed (صاحبزادہ مائد) said this morning, "there will never be peace on stolen land".