Race trumps everything else in this country

Dear Editor,

Shabnam Alli and Ray Chickrie’s letter titled ‘Muslims are marginalized in Guyana’ (SN, July 28) bears debate. Ms Alli and Mr Chickrie certainly have a point that non-Muslims view East Indians as a single homogeneous entity. But that depends on the context.

In terms of religion, that homogeneous argument is flawed. Most non-Indian Guyanese are knowledgeable enough and exposed enough to distinguish between Indians based on their religion. It is difficult to argue unawareness of the Muslim group post-911. I, like many Guyanese, interacted with Muslims growing up and knew from an early age of the religious distinction between Hindus and Muslims. The political context is different. In terms of politics, the majority of non-Indians, inclusive of Africans, Amerindians and Mixed Races, do generally view Indians as a homogeneous entity. This is derived not from speculation but from actual political behaviour, notably unyielding support for an Indian-dominated PPP political party and support for ethnic politics in the past 50 years. The same view from non-Africans exists with respect to Africans and their support for the PNC.

The argument that Hindu religious symbolism dominates the tableau of East Indian religion in Guyana is correct but contextually speaking, the mere fact that Hindus outnumbered Muslims four to one in the 2002 census may explain this phenomenon. Even with this numerical dominance, I do not believe that Hindu places of worship outnumber the Muslim places of worship four to one. In fact, the prosperity of Muslims could be attributed to the high number of places of worship they have built relative to their small population. Muslim wealth is common knowledge. They represent the most economically advanced religious group and command a bigger share of the wealth of this country compared to any other religious group. Muslims in Guyana generally tend to be wealthier and more educated than the general populace. So, the marginalization Chickrie and Alli touts is difficult to locate on the economic front.

Political representation may be underwhelming considering the prominent economic position of Muslims in what has been an oligarchic and plutocratic Guyana since Mr Jagdeo ascended to office. Maybe Mr Chickrie and Ms Alli feel that Muslims by virtue of their economic strength should have profited from far greater political reach in the 22 years of PPP power. While that is a fair argument in an oligarchic state, it is fundamentally wrong on equality grounds. That said, if Muslims feel there is Hindu religious symbolism domination over Muslim religious symbolism, why continue to back the entity that encourages this symbolism or fails to address it? The religious differences between Islam and Hinduism are far starker than the differences between Islam and Christianity but Muslims overwhelmingly vote for a party that Mr Chickrie and Ms Alli feel does nothing to address Muslim marginalization. This is the problem with racial politics in this country. Muslims are voting against their own interest as a group. How can we advance as a nation when the very religious morality taught by the religion many believe in, whether Christian, Muslim or Hindu, is conveniently tossed aside for the sake of political expediency? Muslims cannot realistically claim marginalization when they condone or are silent about their own marginalization for ethnic political reasons or when, against the tenets of their religion, they fail to condemn the marginalization of other ethnic groups.

This is yet another case of race trumping everything else in this country with terrible consequences. It is the same tragedy that afflicts Hindus and Christians. Many place ethnic alignment before religious beliefs and religious morality. This is nothing but one subset of a larger immorality that has rotted this country since its creation. Europe has advanced to voting in self-interest and shunning divide-and-rule political machinations, but the plantations they ruled two hundred years ago continue to thrive on the same primitive immorality they implanted. Wealth and education has made no difference to these former colonies. The economic prominence and educated excellence of the Muslims in Guyana resoundingly confirms this fact.

Yours faithfully,

M Maxwell