Standing in support of Dangal girl, Zaira Wasim hasn’t been easy for Muhammad Bin Qasim aka MBQ, the son of hardliner separatist leader Syeda Asiya Andrabi as the young man had to delete all his posts related to Zaira, including his plea in Wasim’s aid.
As of now, Muhammad Bin Qasim’s Facebook account has no signs of the Zaira episode. Qasim, who is studying abroad, had vented out his anger on January 20, after Zaira’s posters were burnt outside Jama Masjid in a fresh spell of bullying against the Kashmiri girl who played Aamir Khan’s daughter in the blockbuster.
Qasim’s only “fault” was his succor to support Zaira Wasim who “set an example by speaking what she truly believes in”. Calling out his bullies as Jahil Qaum” he said, “We should invite this 16 year old girl towards righteousness and guide her. Not burn her pictures. We are only pushing her away, #Zaira is an intelligent, bright and awesome kid who needs us!”
His post went instantly viral, drawing sharp criticism, with most of the people taking his comments as an “abuse to the entire Kashmiri nation.”
Within hours, he posted an apology to clarify that by Jahil Qaum he only meant trollers. A day later he deleted his post in Zaira’s support and also his subsequent clarification on Jahil Qaum.
Later, he posted a fresh clarification as to why he deleted his previous two posts. And after a few hours, he deleted this fresh clarification as well leaving no footprints of Zaira story on his wall.
The bigger question is shouldn’t we expect the son of a separatist leader to speak up his mind in apocalyptic times? Is truth subject to politics and politicizing of issues?
MBQ had neither posted anything un-Islamic nor appreciated Zaira’s entry into the glamour world. His only word of advice to her trollers was that the girl should be invited towards righteousness and be guided. In Islamic parlance, inviting someone towards righteousness and guidance falls under prophetic traditions of dawat and tableegh, something which is believed to be obligatory for every Muslim.
But then, Kashmir has been subjected to so much of politicising that even dawat and tableegh have no scope when it comes to proving each other wrong.
Leave apart the laymen, even the political parties joined in to condemn MBQ. National Conference spokesman Junaid Mattoo, who was otherwise asking people to “leave Zaira alone” by not commenting much on the issue, couldn’t practice what he preached. He too joined the bandwagon against MBQ, “So, Asiya Andrabi Ji’s son calls Kashmiris Jaahil Qoum, wonder how people would have reacted had a mainstream politician’s son done so?” Junaid posted on social media.
From din over Dangal to mainstream leaders crying over militant commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani’s killing, politics sells the best in Kashmir, but often at the cost of truth. RIP MBQ’s posts on Zaira!
