Some Thoughts on Equality, Truth, and the Car Bombs in Britain

Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois devoted his entire life to establishing one notion: the notion of Truth. Only once the Truth is laid bare for all to see, can there be equality and any hope of freedom. The ignorant may still try and tarnish the truth through their continuing believing in old and dated lies, but the truth will still be set free.

Here follows some truth. Persons arrested regarding the two unexploded bombs in London, found this time last week (June 29, 2007), and the flaming jeep sat in the doors of Glasgow's terminal 1 building the day after, were of Asian origin. [Former] friends gave details of their lives to news agencies, and it became clear they were Muslims. This is all Truth.

But this is all Truth as well: these people were extremist believers in the Muslim faith.Their beliefs are not typical of every Muslim. The Muslim Council of Great Britain knows this, rational thinking people of all faiths and creeds realise this, and yet there is animosity towards Muslims in British communities.

In 1897, Dr. Du Bois established that, in Philadelphia, the African-American community around Philadelphia's Seventh Ward, was, indeed, in no way monolithic. He determined that, within the black community, there was racialised stratification. Why is it that, now, in 2007, many Caucasian people are unable to realise that the same is certainly true of the modern Muslim community in Britain. What will it take for such a Truth to be realised? How long before such a Truth is universally accepted in what would a momentous forward step? For too long, decent respectable Muslims have been tarred with the same brush as those who plot to blow up trains and cause mass panic.


Yours, wherever you may be,
Daniel C. Wright

Senegal Is A Sign Of Progress. It Should Be Portrayed As So

This weekend, democratic elections take place in Senegal. The incumbent, Mr. Abdoulaye Wade, is expected to win a second term in office. Not an unusual thing in Africa, owing to the fact that most nations are dictatorships.

But that is one of two factors which set Senegal apart from the rest of the continent. This is democracy. And a strong one. In 2000, elections passed off peacefully, and Mr. Wade won fairly after a good campaign. The second factor concerns religion. To many under the gaze of the Western media, 'Muslim' translates as 'undemocratic'. Many newspapers here in Britain (mentioning no names, Daily Mail) would like to have us believe that no nation where a large majority of the population was Muslim could possibly be a dictatorship. But in this respect also, Senegal is doing wonders. It is a nation that is proving Islam is compatible with democracy. (With respect to physically voting, Senegal is ahead of us here in Great Britain, as they trial a new electronic voting method this weekend.)

I'm a bit annoyed that there is not much coverage of these elections in the West. Granted, Senegal is not a major country when it comes to global politics, but it would be good to see the same newspapers that constantly report all the bad things in Iran, reporting some fair democratic elections in the heart of Africa. This election could be as exiting as the next election in the United States. As I stated earlier, the incumbent and octogenarian Abdoulaye Wade is expected to win a fresh term, but he is running against 14 other candidates in the first round of voting. With so many candidates, anything could happen.

Media coverage of the incumbents campaign has focused predominantly on rising unemployment, which has resulted in thousands of young men fleeing to Europe in search of well-paid work. Furthermore, Wade's campaign has made a lot of his attempts to improve the nation's transport infrastructure. He has promised a new airport and better sea links for the country, as well as commencing with building new highways for Senegal.

But, like most countries, Senegal has its fair share of terrorism.

The region of Casamance has seen more and more violence in recent months, as the Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) has stepped up attacks on innocent civilians. As he came to power in 2000, President Wade promised to end the insurgency in hist first 100 days. Seven years later, the violence continues. The MFDC is one of Africa's oldest rebel groups, and was unlikely to be split in just 100 days. After so many years under the rule of Wade, nothing had changed. Abdoulaye Wade has made little mention of the insurgency in his campaign for a second term.

But Senegalese politics aside, it important to look at the broader perspective. Democracy is a mainstay of Senegal. Other Muslim nations should look to it as an example of forward-thinking. Though it is not a financially rich country, it has placed its faith in democracy and has been rewarded with good ties to the United States, the United Kingdom, France &c. and continues to develop.

Yours, wherever you may be,
Daniel C. Wright.

Friday, October 20 2006. The Day I Lost Faith In Society, So I Injected Some Of My Own

The moral corruption of society hit a new low in Liverpool today.

First, I had it clarified that he wasn't a man of his word.
I'd seen it first hand, but it's different when it involves you personally.
He promised me that favour, and I was foolish enough to believe him.
I respect men of their word who come through for you because there aren't many left.
Anyway, that was just the beginning. It resulted in me getting the bus into university, and then things got serious.

I got on at the usual stop and the bus driver (the company was Stagecoach, not Arriva) was very lacking of job satisfaction, I think it has to be aid (that is, of course, putting it politely).
And when that is the case, I suppose the Mind dictates that you have to look for alternative methods of satisfaction.
I saw him gain his satisfaction.
It was sickening.
As we drew to the end of Smithdown, at the junction with the road (I don't know the name of it) that goes to Toxteth, one lady got off the bus.
There must have been about three empty seats at that point, which is a lot at 08:50 in the morning on a Liverpool bus!
At the second she got off, we all saw a young Muslim girl wearing a black headscalfe (not veil, not that that makes any bloody difference) running along side the bus in a vein attempt to catch it.
Just as she reached the doors, the driver closed them.
He pulled off as she banged on the door, pleading with the bastard to open them.
Ignoring her, he carefully pulled out and negotiated the roadworks in front.

No one can tell me the fact she was Muslim didn't have a bearing on his decision.
What he did was mean, Islamaphobic and downright wrong.
He is a disgrace to the City of Liverpool and to Christianity (assuming he is a Christian) as a whole.
As my journey continued, I imagined him down the pub complaining about such things as extremism within the Islamic community, and yet here he was, angering a young Muslim lady and making her hate him.
Aah, the paradox.

Later on, I couldn't stop thinking about what that bus driver did.
I was thinking about it on the train, whilst reading "Uncle Tom's Cabin", when I suddenly realised the entire carriage had gone very quiet.
I didn't look up.
Then I heard one lady say very assertively to someone else that they couldn't sit in a certain seat due to it being reserved.
I looked up.
She was speaking to two Muslim women.
Eventually, unable to find two seats together, they came to the end of the train to where I was.
One sat next to myself, while the other sat on one of the folddown chairs around the corner near the door.
Remembering the incident on the bus, I felt the need to do a good deed to rectify the balance.
I asked the girl who had sat next to me where they were going.
Leeds, was the polite reply.
I explained that I was only going to Warrington (the first stop, 23 minutes away) and swapped seats with the girl near the doors, so they could sit together and have a proper conversation without having to strain to see each other.
My gesture of goodwill didn't go unnoticed by fellow passengers.
I expect some of them thought I did what I did because I didn't want to be seated next to a follower of Islam.
That is not the case.
For the record I have been seated next to a Muslim before on the train, and with a group of Chinese people as well, not that that makes any difference, of course.
(Incidentally, the journey with the group of Chinese persons was great just because I got to listen to their amazing language. To stimulate their conversation, I put my iPod nano on the table we were sat round: it turns out 'nano' and 'iPod' are the same in Chinese as in English!)

The day left me wondering about the good in society.
There doesn't seem to be much left.
It would, of course, be naive to assume that bastard bus driver was representative of every bus driver in Liverpool.
I just wonder what was going through the mind of one old Muslim women who was already on the bus when the incident happened!
One can only speculate...

Aah, the culture of Liverpool.
What a year 2008 will be...

Yours, wherever you may be,
Daniel C. Wright.