Gurpreet Singh 

The recent arrest of a suspect for hijacking a small plane from Victoria to Vancouver has sparked unnecessary verbal attacks on social media.

Shaheer Cassim allegedly committed this act for ideological reasons. Some media reports suggest that he was probably “driven by climate emergency” and did this as a “messiah of Allah”. Cassim has been charged and is going to face trial, but some folks on X have already started asking for his deportation and slamming his religious identity. This is nothing but blatant racism, even though we aren’t yet sure about his citizenship status.

Let’s not jump the gun. His action reminds us all of the crisis the world is going through because of global warming. We should direct our anger at politicians who lack the will to address this problem urgently, instead of going after this individual based on his ethnicity.

Also, let’s keep in mind that the reasons being attributed for his action aren’t ethnocentric, but humanist, since the issue at hand affects everyone alike, including the sons of Allah. The politicians, particularly those who love to call men like him “eco-terrorists,” should know that if they do not wake up and accept the reality, more people will be inclined to follow him, trying to keep this struggle alive and make our governments accountable.