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[Paul Lismore] SHAKEEL MOHAMED:THE EXPERT IN ETHNIC POLITICS OFTEN TO THE DETRIMENT OF HIS OWN NATIONAL PARTY


Rédigé par Paul Lismore le Jeudi 7 Mai 2020



He has done it again. Once is apparently never enough for him when it comes to ethnic politics. At one time, during a situation that had the potential of turning quite dangerous and which had nothing to do with ethnicity ( the Metro thing), he felt it was ok to shout something like " Taler mo fer Plaine Verte desann ici", as if Plaine Verte belongs to him and the inhabitants are all zombies who will dance to his tune.

What is wrong with him? I watched with horror his campaigning style in the 2019 general elections, which did a lot to damage the chances of the PTr.

It does not take a genius to understand that the PTr has traditionally obtained most of its votes from the Hindus, with a substantial number of Muslims voting for the PTr up until the 70s when they transferred en masse to the MMM.

They returned to the PTr fold in 2005, flirted with the MSM in 2014, and went back to the PTr in 2019. The PTr also increased its Creole vote, mainly because of Xavier Duval and his PMSD colleagues. Therefore, any responsible member of the PTr would have done everything in order not to antagonise the Hindus, who remain the mainstay of both the PTr and the MSM. 

What did Wonder Boy do? Almost all his meetings were a serenade of anti Modi slogans, anti Modi nonsense, with many vying to see who can write "Maudit" more often,etc., as if this was a sign of great intelligence.

This of course was interpreted by many Hindus as an attack on them, their community, and the country they show a great deal of affinity to, India. As incidentally do a lot of Muslims who remember that their grandparents all came from India and none from any of the so called "Muslim/Arab" countries that seem weirdly to have lately attracted the affection of many, despite their extremely poor governance and repressive societies....

Shakeel Mohamed achieved his aim of coming first in Circonscription 3 and winning 8,297 votes.

Excellent. However, I am afraid he lost many more Hindu votes around the island with this type of insane, clannish campaigning which turned many Hindus against the PTr. This may be an unpalatable fact, but it is the truth. Of course, many other unsavoury things happened during that electoral campaign, but the fact remains that Shakeel Mohamed's fanatical zeal to portray himself as some sort of Muslim Messiah killed off any chances of the PTr winning those elections.

When will he understand a basic fact of political life in a multicultural, multi ethnic nation: That you cannot win with the votes of any ONE community only, but that you have to have the support of as many people as you can muster from ALL communities? Navin Ramgoolam, for all his mistakes and weaknesses, understood that basic fact, and did what he can to be the rassenbleur he wanted to be.

Can Shakeel Mohamed say the same thing? I am afraid the answer is an emphatic NO. He is seen as a leader of ONE community only and that destroys any image he may have of himself as a national politician.

And now, when we are faced with a lethal virus that has decimated the economy of the whole world and killed hundreds of thousands, what national policy has Shakeel Mohamed espoused?

Obviously, not national, but as usual an ethnic one. When our Christian people obeyed without any fuss the understandably harsh order of the government of no religious gatherings during one of their most precious festivals, Easter, when Tamils are celebrating Cavadee without any fuss in the seclusion of their homes, when every other ethnic group, including our Muslim people have refused to attend mosque prayers on health and safety grounds, what has Wonder Boy decided?

That he and 3 other rather misguided Muslim MLAs will ask the PM for special dispensation so that people can attend the important prayers leading to Eid in our mosques.

The cause is of course a laudable one, but so is a sense of proportion and a duty of care to not only the rest of us but to the Muslims who might want to gather in groups in their mosques, and thereby putting not only their health at risk but also those they come into contact with in public.

Yes, the confinement has not been very well handled and it is horrifying to see the huge numbers of people still swanning around on our pavements in many areas....or the number of cars on our roads in these days of emergency. But does one wrong justify another? 

Shakeel Mohamed is a politician and before he opens his mouth the next time to show his ethnic credentials, perhaps he ought to consider a/ the damage to his own party b/ the potential risk and damage of having large groups of people congregating in closed spaces with a virus that does not look it is going to go away soon c/ the feelings of other ethnic groups when they interpret this as 'special treatment' for one group only.

Now, the idiots who will see this as "Islamophobic" sipaki can go fuck themselves and remove the gun pointed at their heads that apparently compels them to read my posts. As you know, I have never taken notice of any idiot, and I do not need them on my page.

On the other hand, people who can use that thing in their heads to think rationally will understand that what Shakeel Mohamed and his 3 colleagues are requesting is untimely, potentially risky, and not good for ethnic harmony. 

I can already hear the howls of protest from other communities if that request is approved by the Prime Minister. It will be seen as preferential treatment, and not many would argue with that.

Finally, God botherers always tell me that God is everywhere, sees everything that we do, and remembers all the good and bad things that we do. If this is true, then please explain to me why God will not see or hear your prayers in the safety of your own homes? Why do you have to go to a specially designated building for Him to hear you? Where is the logic in that? (cue for someone to quote from a Holy Book now....).

If God sees everything, He can surely see the dangers that the coronavirus presents to all of us. It does not pick and choose which ethnic group you belong to. But if someone from ethnic group X is irresponsible enough to catch the virus from a large assembly of people and then passes it on to someone from ethnic group Y or Z despite all the safety measures he/she has followed rigorously, that is ok?

Politicians must always remember that their primary role in a multi ethnic society is to do everything possible to unite all the disparate groups together. Only a crap, selfish, and self obsessed politician will think of his community only.

You all know my views about politicians of ALL parties. But this not the time for more cynicism. All that I can hope for and pray today (within the safety of my home, of course) is for Pravind Jugnauth to refuse this request from Shakeel Mohamed and his 3 men.

God hears you when you pray at home. He does not put on special speakers when you do it in a large group of people...even when that poses health risks to them and to others.

Shakeel Mohamed, stop behaving as if you are a member of the Comite D'Action Musulman, the party of your father and Grand Father. You are a member of the PTR, a national party, the party of Rozemont, SSR, Anquetil, etc...and someone called Yousouf Mohamed, remember him? So, please start behaving like a member of a national party and not the member of an ethnic group in Plaine Verte!

Jeudi 7 Mai 2020


1.Posté par Z le 10/05/2020 18:15 (depuis mobile)
Excellent article as always ! Straight to the point, no bullshit whatsoever, Paul Lismore continues to deliver the truth we need.
"Your Lord says: ''Call on me, I will answer [your prayer]" (Quran 40:60).

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