They mocked the images of him shouting without ever telling his story!
This is Shakeel Ahmad Bhat, whose images have been used by some anti-Islam figures as objects of ridicule. They portrayed him as a symbol of Islamic anger and extremism, and his image was printed on clothing, mugs, and other products bearing insulting slogans.
But behind this face is a human being, a family, and a story that deserves to be known.
Shakeel is a Kashmiri activist who advocates for the rights of Muslims in Kashmir, who have faced severe forms of persecution, including the closure of mosques, killings, and arrests, since 1947.
In media interviews, he described how he was tortured and subjected to electric shocks while in detention. He also said that an injury to his arm left him unable to carry things, forcing him to depend on his brothers for financial support.
His sister was brutally treated during a security raid on the family home. According to writer Patrick French, she was thrown from a window, breaking her spine. She died years later while still a young woman.
His father was beaten so severely that his leg was broken, leaving him bedridden for the rest of his life.
Then, in June 2020, his brother Hilal died while Shakeel was imprisoned and separated from his family.
So what was he actually shouting about in the two widely circulated photographs?
In the upper photograph, taken on 19 June 2007, he was participating in a funeral procession and chanting slogans in support of Kashmiri independence.
In the lower photograph, taken on 22 June 2007, Shakeel was taking part in a demonstration protesting the British Queen’s decision to confer a knighthood on Salman Rushdie in recognition of his literary “achievements,” which included writing a book regarded by the protesters as an attack on our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
Each photograph, therefore, belongs to a particular occasion and reflects a particular stance. They are not simply images of an angry face devoid of context.
The persecution suffered by Shakeel and his family takes place with the complicity of the international system, whose media apparatus then uses Shakeel’s image as a means of mockery, ridicule, and alienation.
Imagine how vile it would be for thugs to storm your home and subject you to terrible abuse, then photograph you as you cry out in anguish and pain, only to circulate that image afterward in order to turn people against you and make you an object of ridicule.
There is a lesson in this for us: to love our brothers in faith, to feel their pain, and to understand that the dust beneath their feet is better than those who mock them—people whose outward appearances may seem polished and attractive, while concealing malice, spite, and an absence of morality.
— Dr Eyad al-Qunaibi
عبر منشور على صفحته بـ"فيسبوك" حسين الشرع والد الرئيس السوري يتوعد الاحتلال الإسرائيلي: لا تمتحنوا صبرنا، فشعبنا قادر على تشكيل قوات كبيرة خلال أيام، والسوريون محاربون أشداء، وإن تأخرت الدولة بالرد، فإن لها شعبا لن يسكت، والجولان عائد لنا طال الزمن أو قصر.
BREAKING 🇨🇺 Despite a maximum pressure campaign by Marco Rubio, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly votes to carry out its debate on the "necessity of putting an end to the economic, commercial, and financial Blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba."
New footage obtained by B’Tselem uncovers the moments when the Abu Haikal family was shot. Seven-month-old Sam Abu Haikal was killed in the shooting, and both his parents were injured. The footage clearly shows that the Israeli soldier fired at the car as it was slowing to a stop. The car was far from the soldiers and posed no danger to them whatsoever.
Moments later, in another video obtained by B’Tselem, seven-month-old Sam’s father, Fahed, is seen just after his son was shot. Fahed is holding baby Sam in his arms, trying to stop the bleeding from his head with his hands, while Sam’s mother, Daniyah, who was also injured by the gunfire while holding her son, is seen sitting on the ground, next to the car.
Last Friday, 5 June, an Israeli soldier fired at a Palestinian family driving home from a family visit, as they sat in their car in the Tel Rumeidah neighborhood in Hebron. The family was shot as the car was slowing to a stop at the soldier’s command. Sam, a seven‑month‑old baby who was in his mother’s arms in the back seat, was struck in the head and pronounced dead shortly afterward. Sam’s parents were also injured by the gunfire; his mother is still in the hospital. After the shooting, the soldier who fired and another soldier who was with him left the scene without checking the car or offering any assistance to the critically wounded baby or to his mother.
In the past two and a half years, Israel has killed tens of thousands of children in Gaza and the West Bank. The immunity it gets from the international community has led to a reality where, under Israeli rule, Palestinian lives are entirely disposable – even a seven‑month‑old baby.
صالح قوجيل رئيس مجلس الأمة السابق ...
منطق الجزائر 🇩🇿 لو يتم تطبيقه الآن في الحرب بين إيران 🇮🇷 و الكيان الأمريكي 🇺🇸🕎🇺🇸 لرجحت كفة إيران ...
و الجزائر 🇩🇿 يصدق فيها قول رسول اللهﷺ: لا يلدغ المؤمن من جحرٍ مرتين.
🇱🇧🇩🇿⚠️ Le chef du Hezbollah, Naïm Qassem : « Citez-moi une seule occupation, où que ce soit, qui ait résisté durablement à une lutte de libération.
Souvent, cela a exigé des sacrifices immenses des centaines de milliers, voire des millions de vies, comme en Algérie.
Mais, au bout du compte, aucune occupation ne perdure. Nous redresserons fièrement la tête du Liban. »
Israeli troops, both active-duty and reservists, have been looting homes and businesses in southern Lebanon, taking items like motorcycles, TVs, and furniture.
The practice is described as widespread and routine, with both junior and senior commanders reportedly aware but not taking disciplinary action to stop it.
Source: Haaretz
المقررة الأممية لحقوق الإنسان في فلسطين للجزيرة مباشر: لن أستقيل من منصبي ولن أتلقى دروسا من دول تنتهك القانون الدولي وتتقاعس عن إدانة الإبادة الجماعية
#المسائية