I've been meaning to talk about the general decay in the discourse on this platform & possible ways to counter it in a way that helps us achieve our goals.

I'd appreciate if you take the time to read this & let me know what you think.

Many Muslims are still reeling from the "betrayal" of top leaders, whilst others are gleefully saying, "We told you so".

There are yet others who are lamenting our "lack of unity", cursing our misfortune & blaming our previous generations etc.

What annoys me is that back when I first joined Twitter in 2015, I don't remember it being the abyss of self pity & self blame it is today (which I'm guilty of too)

Back then the discourse was so much more rich & I learned some valuable things.

Like the basics of how institutionalised marginalisation works, the criminal biases of govt institutions, how negative Muslim stereotypes have been propagated for decades etc.

I also learned to identify the privileges that my education & financial status give me.

Back then the discourse helped me evolve my thinking, it changed my outlook & most important of all **encouraged me to learn more**.

But these days all I hear is this constant "tasbih" of:

"There are no allies"
"We have no unity"
"We don't have political representation"
"All parties are the same"

Etc.

Are these statements true? Of course

Is incessantly repeating them of any benefit? Absolutely not

Why? Because once we understand & accept them, then what?

We expect things to change just because they're wrong? Coz that's what our constant whining & recounting of misfortunes implies.

We hardly ever talk about working on realistic goals that would be stepping stones to improving our situations 2-3 decades down the line.

"All parties are the same" bolke baat khatam?

What do we do? Nothing?

There's hardly any discussion on effective voting strategies for Muslims.

The only one I found was by @SamKhan999. He also wrote a detailed analysis of AIMIMs performance in Mumbai. I'd humbly request him to write more strategies for future elections https://twitter.com/SamKhan999/status/1078085351925702656?s=19

People rarely recommend books or encourage each other to read. It's almost as if everything can be learned right here on Twitter.

Which inevitably leads ppl to think that tweeting "pass it on" or "Tera Mera rishta" or running a hashtag is activism.

So do I think Twitter is useless?
Most definitely not.

It can be *invaluable*, as we saw during the protests; securing legal aid, documenting & sharing evidence of police brutality with the world.

Also after the Delhi pogrom when hundreds of ppl came together to donate & help in rebuilding the lives of the victims & their families. And even during the pandemic.

If you think about it, this whole thing is frankly incredible.

But this platform has even greater potential than just being a fundraiser.

It can teach us how to learn & help us grow if we are willing to make some changes.

We focus on the solutions rather than the problem

Our discussions shouldn't linger on lamenting our problems rather it should focus on the solutions

Example
Problem: Poor political representation
Discuss: Short term & long term voting strategies, constituency wise.

We recommend a new book atleast *once in 2 weeks*.

The book must educate the reader on important issues or broaden horizons. Nothing can compare to having firm understanding of an issue or reading a different perspective which is why reading cannot be neglected at any cost.

We must avoid religious/fiqhi/mazhabi debates

There's a place for such discussions & it's not on the Twitter timeline.

They create needless divide where often, neither side has the knowledge nor nuance required to approach the subject.

These discussions are not the priority

We must learn to pick our battles

We'll come across many opinions we disagree with. But we must understand that every single disagreement with fellow Muslims doesn't merit a public response.

In keeping such disagreements off the TL we allow space for more important things.

I sincerely believe that by following these tips, even if it's only in our own personal capacity we can make Twitter an extremely beneficial tool & prevent it from consuming us.

If you've read this far I sincerely thank you

This is a long struggle that won't bear fruit unless we discipline ourselves.

I leave you with something @Vakeel_Sb said yesterday,

"50 Saal abhi sirf mehnat Karni hai"

Are we willing?