I
received the news of this terrifying attack at approximately 3.00am by text,
from a friend. It came as a complete shock and removed any thoughts of further
sleep from my mind. I was confused and just prayed that it was not true. A
congregation of Jumuah salaah (Friday Prayers) had just started at the Al-Noor
Mosque in Christchurch; probably the first Jumuah salaah of the day to begin in
the whole world, but no one visualised that such a calamity, planned by a
lunatic ‘lone’ wolf as is claimed, was about to be inflicted on those attending
that Friday congregation .
The
world’s anti-Islam and Muslim hate mongers have been preparing such an atrocity
for decades. Indeed in many countries, it has become one way of achieving power
and political populism by demeaning Islam and indulging in violence towards
Muslims. Both social media and the worldwide internet provide ready made and
easily accessible platforms for those hate-mongering opportunists whose only
goal appears to be a desire to destabilise the world. Such people continually
use these platforms to spread whatever lies and misinformation as they wish,
with no fear of the consequences, irrespective of the inevitable adverse
effects on other people’s lives and on their communities.
Since
the infamous phrase ‘War on Terrorism’ was coined, before the Iraq war, a
mindset has developed, akin to slow poisoning, against Islam. As a result, a
sizeable proportion of the world’s population has grown up in countries which
actively foster hatred and bigotry, arising out of ignorance and spite, against
Islam and all Muslims.
Terrorism
is a phenomenon in our world that now exists in all countries and has followers
from all the major religions and cultures. They all seem to have a ‘just’ cause
to fight for. What is a cause for great concern is the hastiness with which
Muslims are labelled as responsible as soon as an incident occurs. If an act of
terrorism is obviously committed by a non Muslim, it is rarely labelled as such
until much later.
In
the case of the New Zealand attack, it was very different. I pay homage to the
fair-mindedness and courage of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who never
hesitated to call it a terrorist act, as did the Australia’s Prime Minister.
Muslim
communities have paid a heavy price in this war on terrorism campaign
worldwide. They are often, themselves, targets of attack in many countries,
including Muslim countries. Families have been shattered and communities have
been destroyed and their loyalties have consistently been brought into
question.
However,
this time, the world response has been quite different. The world seems, with
an astonishing outpouring of emotion and solidarity, to be behind their Muslim
communities. For this I would give credit to the New Zealand’s Prime Minister’s
response to this barbaric atrocity and how she handled the whole unfolding situation
with complete empathy and outstanding leadership despite threats to her own
safety.
The
politicians and people of New Zealand treated the incident as an attack on
their entire population and not just on a ‘Muslim community’. The whole
political system stood in solidarity and empathy towards their Muslim
population and willingly offered their condolences through their parliament,
and by inviting the imam and his Muslim colleagues to recite from the Quran
with translation, the intended consequences of the perpetrator have been
thwarted and reversed.
A
decent and wise leadership keeps working in even difficult circumstances to
achieve what is a good and healthier path for their people to follow. The minds
of the peoples of this world must no longer be subject to forces that would
create an atmosphere of prejudice and bigotry, as in the past. We have great
challenges in building our new world and maybe, just maybe, New Zealand has
provided a beginning.
The
responses to this act came from three sources:
The
first was political and was led by the Prime Minister of New Zealand and its
parliamentary parties, including civic leaders with the support of local police
and local governments. This resulted in many other world leaders condemning the
barbaric attack.
The
second came from interfaith and Faith communities. Leaders of Muslim, Jewish
and Christian Faiths stood in solidarity worldwide. Interfaith Groups have been
the strength and a source of moral support in this terrible time. Leaders of
many world religions have shown their empathy and also stood with their Muslim
communities.
The
third has been the continuing outpouring of empathy from the public. Local
residents visited their local mosques and offered help and their condolences
with bouquets of flowers and words of kindness.
It
all shows that, in New Zealand at least, Muslims are not isolated at times like
this. A wide range of leadership and communities groups have come forward to
support them. I have been heartened with all these responses and know that it
is no longer all doom and gloom in this world. When I was the Imam at the Bath
Islamic Society, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 or 7/7 and other terrorist
attacks that have taken place, I received a very heartening local response from
local government, Faith communities, the Interfaith Group and local residents.
That gave me drive and strength to further building bridges of understanding
and harmony among people.
We,
the Muslim community, have the ideal religious teachings and guidance to bring
the humanity together and fight against
prejudiced attitudes and bigoted thoughts of any kind against anyone and
any people. We also must engage with all people and work together with them in
promoting peace and justice and for all causes that serve humanity. Islamic
teachings address humanity but are not exclusive to Muslims. Islam asks us to
take a leadership role in all good causes and in co-operating with others in
that which promotes goodness and righteous works.
Let
this despicable and barbaric attack become the catalyst in changing our
fortunes, improving our community relationships and herald a new world that can
accommodate us all in peace and harmony.
