STRAIGHT TALK by Hafeez Khan
It was a beautiful summer day last Sunday in London, Ontario. Syed Salman Afzaal, his Mom Talaat Kidwai, wife Madiha, their 15 year old daughter Yumna and 9 year old son Faaiz had finished dinner and prepared for a walk in the park across the street from their home, as they often did. They were totally unaware that they were being watched by a human hyena that was lying in wait to pounce on them.
The family waited for the traffic light to turn green and Salman was right behind exchanging greetings with a friend driving past. Suddenly a pickup truck appeared out of nowhere and drove straight into the Syed family leaving them crushed, leading to a painful death for four of them. Three generations were extinguished in a blink, leaving young Faaiz alive with a shattered femur, bleeding and gasping for breath.
The killer disappeared in the darkness and re-appeared 7 kilometers away in a deserted parking lot. A taxi driver was taking a short break close by. The killer disembarked laughing loudly and proudly claimed to have killed a bunch of Muslims. The shocked taxi driver gathered his wits and called 911. Soon the police arrived and apprehended the culprit. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest which was removed by Police exposing his t-shirt which had swastika signs used by Hitler’s Nazis. He was taken away shouting anti-Muslim slogans.
All this happened in Canada, an envy for many where presumably love is in the air and honey is in abundance. A huge jolt especially when it involves near and dear ones. The grandma, Mrs. Talat Afzaal belonged to a respectable and educated Kidwai family of Lahore. Her father was Chairman Railways in Ayub Khan’s era. She is a Punjab University Alumnus from the Fine Arts Department. An accomplished artist, who continued to paint till she was so cruelly snatched away. Her son Salman Afzaal, a successful Physiotherapist, always smiling, was immensely popular and active in the community.
He is a first cousin of Yasmin Hasan Khan a childhood friend of my wife Rakhshanda. Syed Aftab Ali, Yasmin’s father (Salman’s Chacha) was DIG Police when West Pakistan was one unit. We have closely shared the grief as news of this huge tragedy unfolded. Salman’s wife Madiha was a talented community activist completing her PHD studies. She wrote extensively for the Palestinian and other Muslim causes. Young Yumna’s mural on London Mosque’s wall is turning into a hallmark of affection for all communities and faiths. Surviving young Faaiz’s trauma will continue to haunt us all for a long time.
I write these details to personalize the lost ones. They are not another statistic or a number but were amongst us living a normal and happy life. They were taken away due to prejudice, hate, evil and blind bigotry. I regularly walk in our wooded neighborhood trails mostly accompanied by my beautiful daughters. We come across neighbors from all ethnic backgrounds and exchange smiles and greetings including strangers. It is such a fulfilling experience. Should I start looking over my shoulder now or withdraw into a shell out of fear of an insane terrorist attacking us?
There is need to understand the dynamics of this city because this phenomenon is happening in the developed world. London, Ontario became a part of the rust belt when North America suffered a severe decline in its heavy industry. Till two decades ago it was a rundown city, largely rural. I remember discussing the City’s potential with my friend Tariq Khan, who settled there more than a decade ago. Now he is a prominent politician and elected Chairman of London Transit Authority. Home prices were low and GTA “desis” discovered it and started moving there. Now it is a vibrant City where the demographics have swung from a largely white town to an ethnic majority, greater than Toronto.
A perfect breeding place for Islamophobia. It is creeping throughout the developed world like termites, egged on by fear, hatred, and prejudice against Islam. It is fast becoming a rising force of terrorism. Since 9/11 it has raised its ugly head across Europe, UK, USA and Canada. It is being promoted on social media and absorbed by racists and disgruntled youth. Visualize the attendees of Trump rallies or the crowds that attacked US Capitol buildings on January 6th.
The acts of Muslim extremists in these regions on many occasions are condemnable and have been soundly rejected, denounced and castigated by Muslims like Salman Afzaal and I. The West has called them terrorists and rightly so. Then why is the present incident being limited to a “hate crime”? It is definitely not a crime of passion, it was pre-meditated murder. The Neo-Nazi bought a brand new Dodge Ram truck a few days ago, and fitted it with a grill to inflict maximum damage. He adorned battle dress complete with a helmet and a bullet proof vest.
Let the leader and us commoners not brush this event under the carpet. Let us confront the challenge and call a spade a spade. It is terrorism born out of Islamophobia. Let Canada take a lead like it did in legislating multi-culturalism. Let us declare attacks against any faith or belief a criminal act of terrorism to nip this evil while we can. The words of all Party leaders were great on the day of vigil. Let us convert it into action by calling a summit at the national level to tackle this brewing storm.
