The rebirth of a phrase
Words belong to everybody. The power to form them, describe reality with them, and frame the un-imagined by them is the birthright of humankind. Every once in while, though, they seem to become so indelibly associated with a particular cause or character that it is hard to move them on. Last week I watched the video below. It is one of many moves by British Muslims to clarify the distinction between Islam as a religion and IS as an entity.
As I watched it I was drawn in by the simplicity, honesty and passion of the speakers in it. Their concern, and indeed their anger, is obvious for all to see. As I watched, though, there was a nagging question at the back of my mind about the phrase “not in my name” and its origins. Where was it that I had first heard it? In fact, the phrase had entered our shared vocabulary during the co-ordinated global protests against the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Given the causal links between that conflict and the current situation in the Middle East, there is an irony to the ‘hashtagging’ of the phrase, don’t you think? I am not at all sure that it robs it of its power, though. Arguably the re-use of the phrase, complete with all its recent historical implications, might make it even more powerful in the video. It depends whether you feel the phrase its indelibly marked by its prior use or invested with redoubled meaning by its re-use.
What do you think?
Image: platypus1917.org
