Sikander Hashmi – Our Responsibilities Towards Indigenous Peoples KMA Friday Message
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AI: Transcript ©
Respected elders, dear brothers and sisters, my young
friends,
Imagine for a moment that you come home
one day
only to find
that your neighborhood has been taken over by
a group of strangers.
And
not only have they taken it over, but
they are actively working
to eradicate
you, your family,
your properties, your culture, and your traditions.
Or think imagine that a company contacts you,
making lots of promises as part of a
business deal that seems to be very lucrative
or even very fair for both parties,
but they deceive you
and they don't fulfill their end of the
bargain even though you have fulfilled yours.
Or a group of people come to you
and they forcibly take your children
away and try to brainwash them against your
culture and your traditional teachings.
And when we think of each of these
scenarios, I think
we can all agree that they are wrong
and they are all cases of oppression.
These scenarios can actually be quite relatable
to many of us in different ways.
Many of us come from lands that were
colonized
by Western powers
who came in,
looted the treasures
and took over natural resources
and made great efforts to change or wipe
out
culture and traditions
to suit their agendas. And this continues to
happen in some cases, even today.
We see
the colonization
of Palestine
and the continued attempts
to wipe out its people
and to take their land.
We see the public school system here today,
efforts by some to change
the values and beliefs of our children
as they relate to gender and sexuality.
Again, I think we can agree
that all of these are wrong.
But here's the challenge.
When it comes to this land, this country,
Canada, which has offered
most of us, if not all of us,
prosperity through the blessing of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala and peace and security,
this land and country that we are in,
we as residents, as citizens
are benefiting from the system
that has done these very things that I
have described earlier,
and much worse
to the indigenous peoples
of this land.
They were a people who were
living here on their land
by themselves
with their own languages
and their own cultures,
their own way of life,
and they were living off the land. They
were stewards of the land, and they really
valued and respected and continue to do so
today. The land that they live on to
ensure that it continues
to be livable for them and their future
generations.
Then some explorers and newcomers came along,
very nice, seeking friendship,
seeking trade,
and in some cases,
seeking assistance and seeking help.
But their true intentions were hidden.
So the indigenous peoples,
the population welcomed them
in good faith
as it didn't seem like that they had
come to fight. It didn't seem like they
had come with
any negativity.
But over time, the newcomers started
expanding and establishing themselves
in ways that the hosts
actually never agreed to.
Then the settlers made promises,
even signed agreements
that they did not adhere to, that they
did not live up to.
It's like someone who comes as a guest
into your house
and you welcome them being a good host
and being a good person,
and then they overstay their welcome,
and eventually they force you into the basement
or even out of your home, and they
take over your home and they start running
it their way.
The indigenous populations
never gave permission,
never ceded their land, never signed up for
this, right? But they have been driven out
unoppressed
and controlled.
Their culture
and way of life destroyed,
children forcefully taken,
abused,
many cases even killed.
Right? More than a 150,000
children
of theirs were taken away from their parents
and enrolled in what they were called then
Indian Residential Schools
between the late 18001996,
even until 1996, which is not that long
here
in Canada. There were 1 140
residential schools.
These schools are operated
by the Canadian government
and church organizations,
and were part of this country's official policy.
So this was not like a group of
people who were just like doing something on
their own, but this was actually the official
policy of this country
that was aimed at eliminating indigenous peoples' languages
and cultures,
and through genocide and assimilation,
causing them to cease to exist
as a distinct
people.
Students at these schools were subjected
to physical sexual abuse.
They died of diseases because of poor
sanitary conditions,
and lack of health
care and health screening. And it's estimated that
between 4,006,000
children
died
at these Indian residential schools.
As you probably know, since 2021,
June of 2021,
100 of unmarked graves have been discovered
at or around the sites of these former
residential schools.
As part of the investigation into these crimes,
which were covered up for decades
by government agencies and by churches across Canada
and continue to in some cases today as
well.
Many indigenous people and their communities
have been left shattered
with numerous challenges and struggles.
Among the major root causes are injustices
such as residential schools. And this shows you
shows us that when an injustice
is done to a people,
the consequences,
the effects are long lasting, sometimes even intergenerational.
Right? And this is something that is not
foreign to us because we have seen this
happen
in our countries, our lands
as well. So September 30th is tomorrow. In
Canada, it is called the National Day of
Truth and Reconciliation,
which is an opportunity to discuss
these things, the effects of residential schools, their
legacy that has destroyed the lives and spirits
of thousands of indigenous children
children and their families. So a lot of
the issues and struggles that we find within
their communities today
can be traced back
to this this oppression and these injustices.
Right? They were not
people who were always struggling with these things.
Right? They were living fine on their land,
right? And it is these settlers, these colonizers,
these foreigners who came in
and did all these things, and then really
left them at the state, which they often
find themselves today.
Now my brothers and sisters, I know that
none of us probably have had a direct
role
in doing such terrible things here.
So
spiritually, we are not sinful for the actual
wrongs that were committed. Right? Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala tells us very clearly in the Quran,
No soul shall be burdened with sins
or will will will
No soul is burdened with sin,
or no soul rather that is burdened with
sin will bear the burden of another.
Right? So each person, each individual
is responsible for their own burden, and others
who are not
have not played a role in it will
not be
carrying the burden of the sin. Allah
says, And if a sin burdened soul
cries for help with its burden,
none of it will be carried even by
a close relative.
Right? So simply because
someone, you know, is even close to someone
else by relation as an example,
someone who is burdened by sin,
they will not have to carry
that person's burden. So each person
is accountable and responsible
for their own actions.
That being said, we still have some important
responsibilities,
right?
And the first one is really to acknowledge
our
situation and our privilege
in this situation
because
many of us
or our parents were immigrant settlers,
and we need to recognize
our privilege in being able to live in
a free and prosperous
and,
democratic society.
However,
the price of these blessings is an immense
price. The cost
which has been paid
by these indigenous peoples of this land
whose properties, whose land were stolen from them,
whose, you know, treaties that they signed were
broken, their culture was erased, children were uprooted
from their families, and health and economic being
was ignored by the colonial powers.
When we acknowledge this and we recognize this,
even though it may be uncomfortable,
this is the beginning of addressing this and
dismantling
this privilege and understanding our place in the
colonial structure. So while, you know, we and
our ancestors were wronged and continue to be
wronged by colonial powers, by colonialism,
we actually end up also being those who
benefit
from colonialism
as well with others
being the victims unfortunately.
Secondly my brothers and sisters,
we have a responsibility
as stewards
as Khalifa, as Allah
tells us that in the Quran that
And Allah
you know,
told the angels as well,
Right? So Allah
has given us this title, this responsibility to
us as human beings to be stewards,
which means that we have a few responsibilities.
So to be stewards of this earth, to
recognize that it does not belong to us.
Right? Even if there is a land or
something that we own, it is actually
temporarily
been given to us by Allah
Right? At the end of the day, we
are not gonna take it with us to
our graves.
This belongs this earth and everything in here
that is inside of it belongs to Allah
and we are stewards. We are responsible for
its care for a short period of time.
And as such, we are also caretakers
of the environment
and the ecosystem. Right? This is all an
Amanah from Allah
Our generation,
we, our time, the people of our time
have it for some time, and then those
who come after us will be responsible for
us just as we inherited it from our
ancestors and the previous generations.
As part of being stewards on Khalifa, we
are also tasked with being defenders
of peace and justice
as well and to be advocates
of the poor and the marginalized. So to
point is that our presence here in this
on this earth is not simply about
self interest
and about self preservation.
Of course, preserving ourselves and our well-being is
important, right? Because if you can't survive, then
how are you gonna take care of others?
But it is not the only purpose or
the only role that we have upon this
earth. We do have a responsibility
to be conscious about our surroundings,
about the other creation of Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala,
about the nature and the environment that Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us, Right? The
blessings that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has provided
us with. Right? And about the state of
others around us.
The indigenous peoples have been taking care of
this land for centuries
as a sacred duty. They were very very
careful about maintaining it and ensuring that it
doesn't get spoiled and doesn't get destroyed.
So we need to be working towards this
as well, ideally with them as well.
Thirdly, my brothers and sisters, we have a
responsibility
to follow
the prophetic mission,
which was to establish.
Allah says,
and the balance.
But the ultimate
objective of all of this,
so that
people may uphold
justice, may uphold.
Right? So this is a and, of course,
justice not in just in a few ways
that, you know, we can imagine in terms
of, you know,
being fair and being just, but overall,
when it comes to the entire
universe indeed,
right, to establish
justice,
meaning balance the way that Allah
has intended it to be.
So this was a mission which was common
to all the prophets of Allah
Right? Because this is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
is talking about plural. Right?
Right? So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is talking
about not just one prophet but the prophets
of Allah
So it is also our religious responsibility
to stand up for justice, to stand up
for causes
you know, that are suffering from injustice,
for truth, and for reconciliation.
This is part of our responsibility.
We also have a responsibility to repel darkness.
The prophet tells us
right? Beware
of of
oppression.
Right? For will be
will be darkness
on the day of resurrection. So, of course,
1st and foremost, for ourselves to be conscious
of
committing oppression, being careful that we are not
oppressing anyone
in any way or
going against
the responsibilities
and the boundaries that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
has set for us.
So we respect the boundaries of Allah
and for ourselves, and at the same time,
we are looking out for oppression.
And granted there can be now many cases
of oppression around the world, so we can't,
you know, give our a 100% to everything,
but that at least we feel the oppression.
We feel that the wrong has been committed,
and we try whatever we are able to
do to contribute towards betterment and towards removing
the removal of that oppression.
The other thing I also wanna mention here
is that, you know, when we learn as
discussed a few moments ago
that
no soul shall be made to carry the
burden of another, right? This is
a a a very,
you know, Allah has shown us a very
balanced and moderate path in all matters.
You see, sometimes people hear these things
and because they're so upset,
right, because they feel so strongly about the
oppression that has been committed, they actually end
up committing oppression or wronging others themselves
by assigning responsibility
to people who have actually not done anything
wrong. Right? I'll give you an example. So
for example, when you think of colonialism, when
you think of,
you know, Western imperialism, a lot of it
has been done
by people of a particular faith,
by a people
of particular ethnicity,
of a particular skin color. Right? So that
to then say
or or or believe that, for example, all
white people are responsible even today
for actions that their ancestors did, that is
unjust.
Right? That is wrong. We cannot assign
group responsibility
simply based on these factors to someone who
actually hasn't done anything.
Right? So if someone's grandparents,
you know, someone's grandfather or whatever, ancestors were
involved
in committing wrong,
right, it's not that person's fault today. Right?
It's not the grandchild's fault. So we cannot
hold people accountable.
Right? And this unfortunately, this is what we
find today is that there's, you know, 2
extremes. There's a lot of polarization in in
all types of issues, in all types of
arenas we're having today. Right? Even here in
Canada. Right? So it's either this or that.
Two extremes.
So either, yes, you are against
oppression and against colonialism,
and all for indigenous people and at this
and therefore, you must, you know,
speak out against and make, you know, like,
people who happen to be white,
make them feel as if they are responsible
for all of this. You know, like those
who are alive today who had no role
in this. Right? Or the other extreme is
that, no, all of this is is nonsense,
and, no, it's all about, you know,
you know, protecting and and like this legacy
and defending it and and acting like nothing
wrong happened. Right? And Islam
always teaches us moderation and to be fair
and to be just. Even if it is
against ourselves.
Even if it goes against our own interest.
Right? So maybe it is not in our
interest to acknowledge
a truth,
but we have to, right? So we have
to be very careful that we don't fall
for this polarization, we always maintain the middle
path.
We don't unjustly hold people accountable for something
that they haven't done,
right? We don't make them feel like they
are responsible for that, right? That's why I
actually personally don't like using terms like white
privilege, even though it's a concept and I
understand what it means, and, you know, I
had to use it in my article, but
I prefer not to use these types of
labels.
Right? Because they can be misunderstood, they can
be misperceived,
and they can make people feel like they
are responsible for things that, you know, their
people did in the past.
But, yes, they too should be standing up
for what is right, so they shouldn't defend
any wrong that was done. But we have
to be fair. That is the point. We
have to be fair, and we have to
be just. Right? Even if it goes against
ourselves or if it goes against our interests.
So what can we do to show solidarity,
especially when it comes to this issue? So
first of all, learning education is very important.
Right? To unlearn and reject,
you know, all the stereotypes and misconceptions that
are used, for example, to describe indigenous people,
that when we think of indigenous people, what
are we thinking and what comes to
mind, right? Which is often portrayals which are
negative, which are racist, right? We don't like
people doing that about us,
right? We don't like it when people think
of all Muslims as terrorists or all Muslims
as
abusing
women or whatever the case may be, beating
their wives, whatever the stereotype may be. Right?
We don't like it, so we have to
be careful. Also that we don't stereotype others
as well.
Right? We can also recognize that there are
many similarities between
Muslim values,
Islamic values, and indigenous values as well. There's
a lot of traditional, you know, cultural values,
including respect for elders and caring for the
earth,
and generosity amongst others.
So that's the education part. When it comes
to sharing,
it's very you know, it's something that,
we can also do, share with others our
responsibility
to recognize the situation that we are in
with regards to this issue, especially as newcomers,
as immigrants, as settlers,
and our role in enabling discrimination and unjust
policies that are impacting indigenous peoples even today.
Thirdly and finally, my brothers and sisters, is
to
show support,
right, to support their calls for justice
in fair
and equitable access to clean water. We talked
about this previously, how many indigenous communities, First
Nation communities still don't have clean water in
Canada, something that we take for granted. You
know, housing and mental health services and schooling
and childcare, there's so many areas where they
still continue to suffer. So express support. You
know, you think, okay. Well, what is my
voice gonna do? But expressing support even in
small ways, whether it's at work or at
school, in public, in the community can make
a difference. Right? And it it creates momentum.
Right? And if everyone starts doing it, then
it becomes something which becomes noticed and, and
starts gaining a traction traction. And also, of
course, pressuring the government to right the wrongs
that have been committed. I wanna mention one
last thing, my brothers and sisters. You know,
when it comes to our rights,
we feel very strongly about standing up for
our rights, whether it is our rights here
in Canada, our religious rights,
you know, our rights as parents, you know,
rights of our children,
when it comes to international injustices,
you know, many times in Muslim countries, you
know, we feel very strongly about coming out
to show support for that and speaking up.
Right?
If we want to be taken seriously
on those issues,
we also have to show up for issues
that don't affect us directly.
Right? This is,
you can say an unwritten
sort of social contract or expectation.
If we show up for others and stand
up against injustice and oppression, what happens to
others?
That signals that we care and we are
fair, right, as we should be.
And as a result,
it makes it,
easier
for our concerns
to be heard as well. If we act
like it's a one way street, where we
want everyone else to care about us, but
we don't care about anyone else, we don't
show up, we don't do anything, we don't
say anything,
Then
naturally people start thinking, well,
why should we?
Why should we offer support? Why should we
speak up
when these people just care about themselves?
Ask Allah
to ease the pain of those who have
been wronged. Ask Allah
to grant them peace and justice.
Ask Allah
to protect us from committing
any type of injustice.
Allah protect us from all forms of treachery,
falsehood,
oppression, and pain.
Took a quick