HASBULLA AND THE TIN DRUM

In our 21st century bizarro world it could be argued that Hasbulla Magomedov is a circus mirror equivalent of the protagonist Oskar Matzerath from Gunter Grass's 1959 acclaimed novel The Tin Drum.

Except in Oskar's case, he vows on his third birthday to never grow out of his child body as a protest against a world he sees riddled with injustice and hypocrisy.

With a piercing shriek that shatters glass and injures people who come within his radius, Oskar also has a tin drum that he beats incessantly as way of protest at the all-consuming chaos in Nazi Germany where he refuses to grow, a metaphor for the mestastised evil that has taken hold in the society he and his family live in.

For 19 year old Habsulla, however, he has no choice but to remain in a stunted child's body as he suffers from a genetic disorder which has left him with the appearance of a 5 year old and a high pitched baby voice.

A Tik Tok phenonema, Dagestani Hasbulla has become famous for making online videos of his spoofs and pranks as well as becoming a mascot for numerous UFC fighters including close friend Khabib Nurmagomedov (that most fearsome of cage warriors). He's even been given the nickname "Mini Khabib" because he shares a similar, phonetically sounding surname to the fighter and likes to throw punches.

There's definitely some strange psychology at play here with these tough men adopting this genetically deformed young man as if he is their own Snow White dwarf. Perhaps his apparent vulnerability accentuates their own physical perfection and enables them to virtue signal whilst at the same time accumulating millions of clicks on their social media accounts. Or perhaps they all genuinely like each other, bonded by their Islamic faith. Who knows?

Personally, I hope it's the latter.

Musing on Hasbulla has got me thinking about what might have happened if the fictional Oskar had had a Tik Tok account of his own. Would he and his drum have become a viral sensation and would he have stood up for injustices around the world whilst simultaneously being an influencer like Hasbulla?

And conversely, one might speculate as to what Hasbulla's protest would be should he lend his voice to perceived social and cultural wrongs? I think he may have already provided the answer.

Having ruled out a career in the cage, the young man has expressed his ambition to become a Islamic theologian one day.

Hasbulla may yet become the saviour the world didn't know it needed.

Inshallah!