With US President Donald Trump’s address to the UN general assembly on September 24, the issue of nationalism versus globalism has once again come to the fore. President Trump, in his typical muted monotone, exploited the international body platform to dish out his nationalist manifesto, denouncing globalism and illegal immigration.
The billion-dollar question is: If your nationalism mantra is solution to all your woes, why do you share the stage of an international forum like the UN General Assembly? In that case, you should make efforts to disband all international fora, snap all foreign relations, and rescind all foreign moves, endeavours and projects taken so far for any purpose; and be content to breathe in your cocoon, leaving the rest of the world to fend for itself.
President Trump also took occasion to promote patriotism as a cure for the world’s ills. He perhaps forgot that some countries like the United States, Australia and Canada are termed as ‘immigration countries’, for they are defined by the mix of race and culture that they have brought together as one. The question is: Aren’t these people, who left their native lands for good and settled down in these countries, patriot in the real sense of the term? They are. And some of them are contributing to the progress and development, research and advancement, politics and governance of these nations. Are they lesser patriot than those having roots therein?
As for patriotism, the peace-loving know for certain that it goes hand in hand with globalism. When we cast a glance at the various ideologies, social systems and sciences, we come to know, and these advocates of nationalism should also care to realise, that it is Islam which gave the world the concept of universal brotherhood. The Qur’an says: “O Mankind, We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other….” (49:13) When we agree that God is the Creator, we must realise that He knows the best for us and whatever He has taught us through His Book and His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) is for our good.
Once a man visited the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. There he saw a group of people discussing their faith together. Among them were Salman (from Persia), Suhayb who grew up in the Eastern Roman empire and was regarded as a Greek, and Bilal (an African). The man then said: “If the (Madinan) tribes of Aws and Khazraj support Muhammad, they are his people (that is, Arabs like him). But what are these people doing here?” When this was reported to him, the Prophet became very angry and said: “O people, know that the Lord and Sustainer is One. Your ancestor is one, your faith is one….”
It is high time we propagated this concept of universal brotherhood. Only then we can save the world from the curse of hatemongering which ultimately gives way to fascism.