The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern has called it the darkest day. She has called for a “global fight to root out racist right-wing ideology, and make sure that we never create an environment where it can flourish.”

Unfortunately, within a few weeks, most people will forget it — until the next mass shooting. President Trump even dismissed it as an aberration, a crime committed by a deranged lone wolf, but the “lone wolf” theory becomes untenable in the face of statistical data. In a 2017 intelligence bulletin, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warned that “white supremacist groups had carried out more attacks in the U.S. than any other domestic extremist group over the past 16 years” and “they are likely to carry out more.”

Just since 2016, a female counter-protestor in Charlottesville, Virginia, was struck and killed by a car driven by an avowed white nationalist; 11 people were killed in a synagogue in Pittsburgh by a white nationalist; and the FBI arrested a Coast Guard officer with white nationalist beliefs and an elaborate plan to murder liberal civilians and government officials.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the vast majority of extremist groups adhere to some form of white supremacist ideology.
The horrors of World War II, almost 75 years ago, awoke the world to establish a liberal idea, that people in all nations in the world have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. No nation should subjugate another nation. This brought a new dawn; old empires crumbled, giving life to fledgling democracies. Unfortunately, understanding the norms of democracy was difficult and many new countries deteriorated into dictatorships. It took more than half a century for many of these countries to throw off the yoke of dictatorship and gradually return to the fold of democracy.

Meanwhile, within the old democracies such as the United States, people who were denied equality based on color or religion gradually gained equality through the power of elections. Civil rights laws and better education enabled many of the oppressed, mostly African Americans and Latin Americans, to obtain better jobs and, because they started with almost nothing, a steep rise in income that helped them move into the middle class.

In the same period, the incomes of the existing white middle class also rose, but not by as much of a percentage, because they were reasonably better off to start with. Thus, a perception took root that the liberal government favored others and neglected whites.

All societies have fringe elements with grievances based on class, color, religion or ethnicity. They consider themselves superior to others, especially the emigrants or plebeians. With the advent of instant communication through the internet and social media, like-minded people can connect across the continents. It has become easy for prejudiced people to bond in hate, against whatever their definition of “the other” is.
As the world is becoming more egalitarian, irrespective of old class divisions, people can rise based on education and merit. Misplaced grievances have contributed to the rise of white supremacists in the western world.

In the last few years, the peddling of fear and hate of others has brought populist, narrow-minded governments to power in many countries. The good news is that fear-mongering does not sustain commerce and growth. They cannot last more than an election cycle or two. The expanding supremacist fringe will be checked by better understanding, and sanity will return.

Mirza Beg is a Tuscaloosa resident. Readers can email him at mirza.a.beg@gmail.com

Courtesy: Counter Current

The post Roots of Mass Murder in New Zealand appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 

A policeman guards the premises of the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand on March 23, 2019.PHOTO: AFP
 
On March 15, 2019, 50 Muslims offering their Friday prayers died and 48 injured when they were gunned down in Masjid al Noor mosque in Christchurch and at Linwood Avenue mosque in New Zealand. Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old son of an Australian working class family and the gunman behind at least one of the mosque shootings in New Zealand posted his 74-page manifesto making his reasons for the shooting clear. Prime Minister of New Zealand called the attack as a terrorist attack and condemned it strongly and unequivocally as one of New Zealand’s darkest days.
 
There was a world of difference how the media reported the Christchurch mass shooting incident wherein the shooter belonged to the white race and Christian faith and how such incidents are reported when the person involved professes to be a Muslim. London based Daily Mirror’s front page headlines the next day were “Angelic boy who grew into an evil far-right mass killer”. The Daily drew the attention of the reader to the innocence of the shooter in his childhood and sought their sympathies. The story further tried to evoke empathies of the reader by tracing the troublesome situation in which he was. It mentioned, that the blonde little boy had a father who had cancer. The same Daily’s headlines were outright condemning the ISIS shooter involved in Orlando nightclub shooting in 2016 and causing 50 deaths. The headlines then were, “ISIS MANIAC KILLS 50 IN GAY CLUB”. Compare “ISIS maniac” with “Angelic boy”. The former rightly evokes disdain, condemns and censures the killer whereas the latter evokes empathy, tells the reader something went wrong with “person of our race, culture and faith” otherwise an “angel”.
 
The Australian daily – Courier Mail’s front page headlines were “WORKING CLASS MADMAN” and wrote in its opening sentence “Terrorist Brenton Tarrant became twisted by severe addiction to wild video games as he morphed from a curly haired schoolboy into a mass murderer”. The story finds fault with the “wild video games that Tarrant loved to see, once again not finding fault with his ideology or racist attitudes and hatred towards immigrants and Muslims. The Daily found nothing wrong with Tarrant’s 74-page manifesto and launching a war with people of different faith and culture and offered no comments thereon. Western media unequivocally and promptly condemns incidents of terrorism wherein Muslims are involved, as it should be. Section of dominant western media names the religion of the terrorist willy-nilly drawing the entire community in the blame game.
 
They link Islam with terrorism in such incidents. The Daily Telegraph’s headlines while reporting the Orlando nightclub shooting incident was – “SAME SEX JIHAD”. Jihad is popularly linked with Islam.
 
A section of popular media equivocates when the terrorist incident is carried out by a person belonging to a white racist Christian fundamentalist and ultranationalist group describing them as a madman and lone wolf attack. Something went wrong with the individual, they seem to say. As if there was no trace of racism in their culture and body politic and all Christians in the Northern world were most are modern and have the right attitudes. The fault lies with the ‘others’ – those who profess a different religion and are from different race, ethnicity or culture. In the case of terrorist attacks by politically motivated Muslim groups, the cause is located in their religion rather than in the political context. The cause of the attack is attributed to their objective of destroying, what they term as “our way of life”.
 
However, motives of the racist Brenton Tarrant or anti-immigrant Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who gunned down 69 participants of a Workers’ Youth League (AUF) summer camp on the island of Utoya on 22^nd July 2011, are not critiqued or condemned.
 
White supremacists, anti-immigrant ultranationalist or Christian fundamentalists are not perceived to be destroying “our way of life”, although that is a bigger threat rather than the political Islamists who carry out terrorist attacks without leaving their footprints except the ghastly toll and enable the state to acquire more authoritarian powers on the pretext of security. Tarrant and Breivik are seen as “us” rather than “them”, whose strategy to achieve their objectives may have gone a bit wrong.  Deep down there is some sympathy with Tarrant and Breivik as they were trying to get their countries rid of “them”, the people who threaten “our” culture and “our way of life”. Tarrant and Breivik haven’t parachuted from anywhere. They are products of the society that has a deep dislike for immigrants and people belonging to other religion, race, ethnicity, language or culture.
 
The covert and subtle racism which exists in a large number of people makes them believe that their race, religion, language or culture is superior and is entitled to various privileges which need to be maintained by institutional structures and force if necessary. That discrimination against “others” is natural. Covert racism allows institutional structures and systems that produce inequalities in wealth, income, the criminal justice system, housing, health care, political power and education among other factors. Covert racism thrives on prejudices against “others” and dehumanizes them. It is this covert racism that gives rise to double standards in dealing with racism or supremacism of all sorts. Covert racism calls ISIS terrorist as a violent maniac and Tarrant and Breivik as angelic boys with whom something went wrong. It is unwilling to question the racism within individuals when they want to know, or media that wants to report, personal stories of angelic boys rather than the plight of survivors of their reckless attack.
 
Covert racism allows racist ideologies and organizations to thrive and individuals to be filled with hatred and anger and take to violent means and terrorist acts. The ideology of “clash of civilization” by Samuel P. Huntington and Ku Klux Klan and many such violent organizations are supported by covert racism. The racist ideologies and organisations in turn nurture, deepen and spread racism. Merely condemning terrorist act is not enough. Civil society and state must identify the covert racism and address it.
 
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern is precisely addressing the covert racism within New Zealanders when she enters mosques and condoles the survivors of the terrorist attack and embraces members of Muslim community calling them their own and “us” while calling Tarrant and terrorists as “them”.
 
In the Indian situation, if we replace the word racism with communalism in the above analysis, we get the same result targeting Muslim and Christian community. We have overt communalism in the form of communal riots, demolition of Babri Masjid, mob lynching of Muslims transporting / owning cows alleging them to be cow slaughterers, renaming places and lanes that have Muslim sounding names, when hate speeches is a norm rather than exception and highest political officials and officials of ruling party freely propagate hate speeches which is punishable offence and no action is taken against them. Due to limited space here, we are not listing the hate speeches here which have been dealt with in other issues of Secular Perspective.
 
We know there is widespread prevalence of covert communalism when people nurture prejudices against the Christian community that they indulge in mass religious conversions and their prayer meetings and churches are attacked, when Muslim community is stigmatized to be fast multiplying with the intention to become a majority community within a short span of time, that they are terrorists and all terrorists are Muslims even if all Muslims are not terrorists, that their rightful place is in Pakistan a country to which they are loyal, etc.
 
Covert Communalism has led to decline in socio-economic condition and educational status of the community as pointed out by the Sachar Committee Report, Ranganath Mishra Commission and Amitabh Kundu Committee Report. While terrorists from Muslim community are dealt with the severest punishment in law, as they should be, the terrorists of Samjhauta Express Mecca Masjid bomb blasts, perpetrators of communal violence, mob lynchers of Pehlu Khan belonging to Hindu community are allowed to go scot free.
 
Institutionalized communalism leads to innocent Dr. Kafeel Khan being suspended and victimized for the deaths of more than 60 children in BRD Hospital in Gorakhpur only because his religion happens to be Islam.
 
Muslims and Christians are highly underrepresented in Parliament and state legislatures, in Govt. employment and in the private sector. In several cities, housing societies refuse membership of the society to Muslims and Christians. We could go on listing the exclusion of Muslim and Christian community but these are just a few examples.
 
It is the covert and subtle communalism that does not condemn communal riots, mob lynchings and attack on Christian prayer meetings and Churches; that acquiesces terrorist attacks where most victims are Muslims as in Malegaon, Mecca Masjid, Ajmer and Samjhauta Express while it loudly and unequivocally condemns other terrorist attacks where most victims are from Hindu community to be an anti-national crime demanding severest of punishment.
 
We, however, do not have anybody like Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand.
 
Mahatma Gandhi once made some of us question our covert communalism when he undertook fast unto death when there were communal riots. Societies would not be liberated from the cycle of violence unless covert racism, as well as communalism and supremacism of all hues and colours, is addressed. We need to identify our own covert communalism and address it. There are enough resources in all our religions to do so.
 
In India we believe in “vasudhaiv kutumbakkam” – the entire world is my family; and “ekam sat, vipra bahuda vadanti” – there is one truth, wise people have described it differently. Buddhism teaches us to be rational and compassionate towards all, rather than build communities based on ideologies of superiority and supremacism. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in his Tarjuman-ul-Quran opines that it is compulsory for Muslims to accept all religions to be true. Saint Kabir, Maulana Rumi and Bulleh Shah tell us that love is the essence of all religions. We have Christianity that teaches us equality and ‘love thy neighbour’.
 

The post Opinion: Reflecting on our own racism in India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Full text of the letter:
 
Dear Prime Minister,
 
I would like to take this opportunity to send you my personal and heartfelt gratitude and praise for the most remarkable, brave and magnanimous leadership you have demonstrated under extremely testing and dark circumstances. Your heartwarming words of wisdom and steel like determination have lifted the image of New Zealand and her people to new heights. You have resolutely shown compassion and humanity as the two most admirable leadership qualities, not just in words but by actions. You are a remarkable human being.
 
I did not know you before but now that I have seen you in action I will never forget you. In fact it is not just me who will never forget you but the whole world will forever remember you for the way you made the Muslims of New Zealand feel safe in your hands despite the most heinous attacks on them, and your words and actions have made them feel as welcomed and equal as everyone else in New Zealand. It takes extraordinary courage and conviction to be a leader like you. May God bless you and protect you.
 
When the news of the attacks reached your ears and eyes you described the incident in the following words without hesitation or divination: “It is clear that this can now only be described as a terrorist attack” and by doing so you demonstrated your immense knowledge of your surroundings and your mental fortitude to remain fair and calm. Unlike other leaders around the world who often cower away from standing with their Muslim citizens under attack and behave duplicitously just to appease their large far-right voter banks, whereas you spoke the truth and promised to serve justice to the victims of these attacks swiftly.
 
Dear Prime Minister, you did not stop at calling the action a “terrorist attack” but you went out of your way and joined the Muslim community in their moments of extreme grief, you wore a headscarf to show respect and solidarity with the Muslims, you hugged them and cried with them, you stood by them and walked with them to their funerals and burials. You demonstrated through your actions how a genuine leader can foster immense love for humanity regardless of differences. When you said, “we are one, they are us” each and every one of us, Muslims all around the world, could not hold back our tears of joy at this moment of extreme grief. We felt finally a leader in a western country where Muslims are a tiny minority, publicly and confidently, has embraced us as one humanity. It is. clear that you embrace differences and nurture power out of it, whereas other leaders fall victims of our differences and embrace fear that is spread by far-right racists bigots and Islamophobes. With your generosity and compassion, you have made strangers your best admirers and friends. You deserve to be called the best role model of human values of our time.
 
You refused to even utter the name of the terrorist who stole the lives of fifty innocent people while they were in a mosque offering their prayers. You begged everyone else to do the same. You taught the world the value of honour – remembering those who were killed and forgetting the killer. You said, “We, in New Zealand, will give him nothing. Not even his name”. You scored a powerful victory against terror simply by refusing to say the Christchurch attacker’s name.
 
“He sought many things from his act of terror, but one is notoriety. And that is why you will never hear me mention his name. He is a terrorist. He is a criminal. He is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless.”
 
I have never seen or heard such a genuine expression of power and control from any contemporary leaders in our world. You have steel and solace in your personality and thus you have been able to unite your country and millions around the world. You deserve our love, respect and prayers. I pray that God’s grace be with you.
 
You did what no other leaders in the western world have ever done or ever dare to do – you greeted your nation in your parliament with the Islamic greeting “Assalamu Alaikum” (may peace be upon you) and your words have flooded our hearts with peace instantly. Your true desire to include us in the depth of your heart was visible in your face for all to see and admire and in your action for all to feel safe. You then proceeded to open the parliamentary proceedings with a recitation from the Holy Quran, this was even more generous gesture of goodwill, an action that sent shivers of elation down our spine. You are the first leader of a western nation who has the courage to defend the honour of your Muslim minority citizens and guests offering them an equal seat next to you. I believe the Muslims of New Zealand no longer feel an outsider but an equal citizen. I am a British citizen but you made me feel like wanting to migrate to your country so that I too can enjoy the true equality you are offering. I would like to pray for you and your countries’ men and women’s success and happiness.
 
Dear Prime Minister, you took decisive action in changing the course of our history, not just for your country but for the global community. You promised to bring tougher gun laws within 10 days and you kept your promise. You have shown the world that you will not be bullied by gun lobbyists or far-right activists. You have remained true to your words. You have not waited for populist consensus to emerge but you have shaped it. You have utilised your powerful office – the Prime Minister’s office, to challenge bigotry as no other leaders have ever done in my living memory. You have become the antithesis of hatred and the true face of love and compassion.
 
May God fill your life with love and compassion.
 
When the world’s most influential bigot and Islamophobe, Donald Trump called you, your response resonated with peaceful and loving people of the world and reverberated across the world’s political establishments. You gave him a slap on his face with your beautiful words of wisdom and humanity. When he asked you how the USA could help you said to him “Sympathy and love for all Muslim communities.” The icon of hatred has not an ounce of sympathy for the Muslims and therefore received from you what he most deserves. I am so grateful and humbled that you did not give him space or opportunity to bring his toxic and venomous Muslim hating mantra to infect your wonderful work.  Maybe he will learn a thing or two from your beautiful work.
 
Your desire to embrace the Muslims of New Zealand has made further history today when every radio and TV station broadcast the Adhan – call to prayer. When the call to prayer went out each and everyone from New Zealand and all around the world must have watched in awe your determination to show that the Muslims are part and parcel of New Zealand. Prime Minister, I do not have sufficient words in my memory to be able to express what this meant for us. This is your nations most bedazzling display of unbound humanity, overwhelming love and the depth of their profound empathy with their fellow Muslim men and women. If it was not for your leadership I do not think this would not have been possible.
 
May God envelop you with His light.
 
Dear Prime Minister, your actions would make Muslims of New Zealand confidently Muslim and comfortably kiwi (New Zealander). They will not suffer from identity complex like we have in Europe and you would have eradicated Islamophobia from your country with your most generous gestures of welcome, unlike other western countries in Europe and America. The truth is most leaders in the Muslim majority countries have failed to match even one gesture of goodwill that you have demonstrated.
 
I am an Imam and broadcaster from the United Kingdom. My family has been here for 70 years but our status as a British citizen is increasing looking precarious. One day we are British but another day, and without a due process, we could be stripped off our nationality, almost whimsically by politicians. We have struggled with institutional and grassroots  Islamophobia in our country. We have the current governing party plagued by Islamophobia and they have refused to take any decisive actions including an independent inquiry. We have far-right media and journalists who are unashamedly spouting out Islamophobic rants on a regular basis. I find UK’s approach to tackling Islamophobia rather primitive and successive governments have been too scared of the far right backlash to take any meaningful measures. I would like to commend you for paving the way to dealing with Islamophobia head on and with so much grace and understanding. You have shown that you can challenge Islamophobia robustly and powerfully. I would like to thank you again for showing such powerful leadership.
 
As a father of two children, aged 13 and 10, I take my children to the mosque often. They usually sit with me right at the front. As an Imam when I am leading prayers, especially ever since the mosque shooting in Christchurch, my mind does wonder, what if someone walked in with a machine gun in our mosque and started shooting. The consequences are too gruesome to even consider and my natural instinct of fear grips me but when I see how you have turned the darkest day of your country into the most powerful expression of love and compassion, I am strangely empowered and comforted.

May God shower you with love and compassion.
 
Dear Prime Minister, just before I finish, can I take this opportunity to simply thank you even though no words of thanks would ever be enough to express my and our gratitude to you. I would also like to pray for you, your families’ and your nations’ success, happiness and prosperity. 
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Ajmal Masroor.

The post What a British Imam had to say to NZ’s Prime Minister appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Ozair Kadir

The funeral prayers were performed yesterday, Sunday 24^th March at Jamia Masjid, Darul shifa which is close to his residence.

Ozair 25, years, had gone to New Zealnd with dreams of becoming a commercial pilot like his elder brother but became victim of the brutal killings when he had gone for Namaz on Friday at the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch.

He was a student of the aviation academy, New Zealand, who mourned his death along with many other citizens of New Zealand. Back home, his family, friends and many other well wishers bade him farewell yesterday.

Deputy Chief Minsiter, Mahmood Ali, who is said to have facilitated the arrangements to bring the body of Ozair Khadir from New Zealand, was also present for the funeral.

funeral of Ozair Khadir

Courtesy: Two Circle

The post Ozair Khadir, killed in Christchurch shootings, laid to rest in Hyderabad, his hometown appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: Reuters
 
The Muslim call to prayer sounded out over Christchurch and around New Zealand on Friday, as thousands gathered to remember the 50 people killed by a lone gunman at two mosques a week ago. A two-minutes silence was observed throughout the country with PM Jacinda Ardern quoting Prophet Mohammed and saying, “When any part of the body suffers, the whole body feels pain.” 

 
Imam Gamal Fouda of the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch said that he was expecting 3000 to 4000 people at Friday’s prayer service(Khutbah) at Hagley park, including those who came from abroad to be with members of Christchurch’s Muslim community and to attend funerals.
 
Most victims of New Zealand’s worst mass shooting were migrants or refugees from countries such as Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Somalia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
 
“We are broken-hearted, but we are not broken. We are alive, we are together, we are determined to not let anyone divide us,” Imam Gamal Fouda told the gathered crowd.
 
“To the families of the victims, your loved ones did not die in vain. Their blood has watered the seeds of hope,” he said in prayers broadcast nationally.
 
Non-Muslims stood in silence behind the prayer areas as Muslims offered their prayers a few meters from the church. Many women also chose to wear headscarves to stand in solidarity with the Muslim community.
 
“We are wearing headscarves showing our support, love and solidarity, and hope that by everybody doing this it will demonstrate to Muslim women … that they are one with us,” said Robyn Molony, 65, who was with a group of friends wearing headscarves at Hagley Park, where they walked daily.
 
A #headscarfforharmony movement was trending on Twitter.
 
Many citizens also performed the traditional ceremonial Maori Haka dance with a deafening chorus to condemn the Christchurch attack.

 
 
Within a week of the attack, New Zealand took swift action, announcing a ban on military-style semi-automatic and assault rifles under tough new gun laws.
 
Full text of sermons and supplication:
 
First Sermon (Khutbah):
Last Friday I stood in this mosque and saw the hatred and the rage in the eyes of the terrorist who killed and martyred 50 innocent people, wounded 42, and broke the hearts of millions around the world.
 
Today from the same place I look out and I see the love and compassion in the eyes of thousands of fellow New Zealanders and human beings from across the globe, that fill the hearts of millions more who are not with us physically, but in spirit.
 
This terrorist sought to tear our nation apart with an evil ideology that has torn the world apart. But instead we have shown that New Zealand is unbreakable, and that the world can see in us an example of love and unity.
 
We are broken hearted, but we are not broken. We are alive. We are together. We are determined to not let anyone divide us. We are determined to love one another, and to support each other.
 
This evil ideology of white supremacy did not strike us first, yet it struck us hardest. The number of people killed is not ordinary, but the solidarity in New Zealand is extraordinary.
 
To the families of the victims, your loved ones did not die in vain. Their blood has watered the seeds of hope. Through them, the world will see the beauty of Islam, and the beauty of our unity.
 
And Allah the Almighty says “do not say of those who have been killed in the way of Allah that they are dead, they are alive rejoicing with their Lord.”
 
They were the best of us, taken from us on the best of days, in the best of places and performing the best of actions.
 
And they are not just martyrs of Islam, but they are martyrs for this nation.
 
Our loss of you, is a gain to New Zealand’s unity and strength.
 
Your departure is an awakening not just for our nation, but for all humanity.
 
Your martyrdom is a new life for New Zealand and a chance of prosperity for many.
 
Our assembly here, with all the shades of our diversity is a testament of our joint humanity.
 
We are here in our hundreds and thousands unified for one purpose – That hate will be undone, and love will redeem us.
 
We are taught by our Prophet Muhammed peace and blessings be upon him that you can never truly show gratitude to the Almighty God, if you are incapable of thanking your fellow man.
 
To the people of New Zealand – Thank you.
 
Thank you for your tears.
 
Thank you for your Haka.
 
Thank you for your flowers.
 
Thank you for your love and compassion.
 
To our prime minister – thank you.
 
Thank you for your leadership, it has been a lesson for the world’s leaders.
 
Thank you for holding our families close and honoring us with a simple scarf.
 
Thank you for your words and tears of compassion.
 
Thank you for being one with us.
 
Thank you to the New Zealand government and to all the wonderful people who have shown us that we matter and are not forgotten.
 
Thank you to our police force and front-line services.
 
You put our lives before your own every day.
 
Thank you to the neighbours who opened their doors to save us from the killer.
 
Thank you to those who pulled over their cars to help us.
 
Thank you to those who brought us food and held us when we found it difficult to stand.
 
Thank you, New Zealand, for teaching the world what it means to love and care.
 
To my brothers and sisters, those who are here today to perform the weekly Friday prayer.
 
Thank you for coming together once again. It is easy to feel lost after the trauma you and I experienced. But the promise of Allah made to us is true:
 
“Give glad news to the patient – Those who when afflicted they say, To Allah we all belong, and to Him we shall return. They are those upon whom God’s Mercy descends”.
 
Thank you for your strength and your forgiveness. Thank you for your anger that is restrained and for your mercy that is over-flowing.
 
Thank you for your steadfastness and standing tall when many others would fall.
 
Second Sermon (Khutbah):
Islamophobia KILLS. Muslims have felt its pain for many years. It has killed before in Canada and its brutality was used against teens in Norway and against innocent Muslims in the U.K., USA and other countries around the world.
 
Islamophobia is REAL. It is a targeted campaign to influence people to dehumanize and irrationally fear Muslims.
 
To fear what we wear. To fear the choice of food we eat. To fear the way we pray and to fear the way we practice our faith.
 
We call upon governments around the world to bring an end to hate speech and the politics of fear.
 
The martyrdom of 50 innocent people and the injury of 42 last Friday did not come over night. It was the result of the anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim rhetoric by some political leaders, some media agencies and others.
 
Last week’s event is proof and evidence to the entire world that terrorism has no color, has no race and has no religion.
 
The rise of white supremacy and right-wing extremism is a great global threat to mankind AND THIS MUST END NOW!
 
I want to take this opportunity to thank my Muslim and non-Muslim brothers and sisters for attending today and I would also like to thank our international guests who are with us and had come to our support and aid in these difficult times and moments.
 
Supplication (Dua) 
O’ Allah have mercy upon us all.
O’ Allah have mercy upon those who were massacred last week.
O’ Allah grant them the highest level of paradise.
O’ Allah grant the injured a speedy recovery and grant the families of the victims patience.
O’ Allah grant our nation and country New Zealand peace, security and protect it and its people from all evils.
O’ Allah grant the entire world peace, security and prosperity.
God defend our free land, God defend New Zealand.
 

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The recent ghastly and disgusting Christchurch terrorist attack on two mosques in New Zealand, in which 50 Muslims were killed and several were injured is the sheer case of Islamophobia. He live-streamed his terrorist attack on Facebook, playing American Civil war music in the background and had justified attack by publishing his manifesto earlier. The semi-automatic gun which the terrorist had used was inscripted with islamobhobic and right wing ideology. Nothing is more anxious then this even after the terrible attack leaders of the right-wing didn’t speak against the attack and the international media which immediately swings into the action, start spewing venom against the whole Muslim community; if the attacker belongs to the same community had called Christchurch terrorist a shooter. Terrorism is terrorism, it is against the humanity, no religion, race, caste and region has monopoly on it. It should be condemned in its stickiest form no matter who is instigating it.

The organised violence against the Muslims all over the globe is being done in the facade of Islamophobia. The propagators and preachers of Islamophobia are not much sacred of from the terror of any person but their actual fear is; Islam has the capability to influence minds of the people and if it would not be contained, it would spread in the western world very swiftly. British political philosopher David Selbourne “Losing Battle with Islam” enumerated ten reasons and he argues because of these reasons now it is very tough for the western world to win battle from the Islam. Similarly, French writer Micheal Houellebecq in his novel “Submission” argues that in the upcoming seven years France would have Islamist government with the support of Socialist Party. These books have posed the strong impression on the minds of western policy makers and due to these fear anti-muslims policies are being framed in the western world. In this whole well framed propaganda, international media plays an indispensible role in adding fuel to the fire. A hoax is being created round the globe that Muslims are the common enemy and they are the real threat for the peace. But reality is quite contrary to this, for a moment, let us ask ourselves, who are the leading manufacturers and exporters of the arms and which country dropped Mother of all Bombs on Afghanistan. None of the Muslim-dominated country tops the list in terms of annual defence budget expenditure. Moreover, 2011 report of the US government’s National Counter-terrorism Centre (NCTC), said that “In cases where the religious affiliation of terrorism casualties could be determined, Muslims suffered between 82 and 97% of terrorism-related fatalities over the past five years.” Question which needs to be pondered upon is if Muslim countries are the worst sufferer of terrorism then why Islamophobia? Irony is, terrorism killed less people around the world than “War on terror”.

We never heard when Christian- terrorist killed worshippers in the Masjid and media never called him a Christian-terrorist, when Buddhist-terrorist killed Rohingyas in Myanmar and media never called him a Buddhist-terrorist , When Jewish-terrorist killed Palestinian in Palestine media never called him a Jewish-terrorist. Why religion is deliberatively affixed to the Muslim terrorist only? This is how international media creates vicious design against the Muslims and project them as a common enemy for the world.

Indiscriminately, incident like Christchurch terror attack must be vehemently criticised by all leaders of the world and onus goes to the international media to call spade a spade, they should show what reality is without manipulation. Solidarity of the New Zealand’s Prime minister, public and international community is appreciable. The solidarity which Jacinda Ardern showed with the Christchurch victims is worth-appreciating and she gave a beautiful lesson for all the leaders of the world. But it is not just about to criticise one particular terror attack and after sometimes everything will be normal. It is high time to criticise all the terror attacks explicitly and simultaneously international media has to demystify the hoax which is being created against the Muslim community. Silence of the world leaders and media gives impunity to the terrorist to carry out such types of inhumane attacks in broad daylight.  If the deadliest attacks like Christchurch will not be condemned unequivocally round the globe on time, then there is no chance to stop these attacks in future.

Zulafqar Ahmed is Doctorate Fellow at the Department of Political Science, Aligarh Muslim University, E- mail ahmedzulafqar78@gmail.com

Courtesy: Counter Current
 

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Hyderabad: Rev. Joseph D’Souza, Moderating Bishop of the Good Shepherd Church of India and President of the All India Christian Council, responded to the terror attack on a New Zealand mosque on Friday.
 
Bishop Joseph D’Souza said, “Our hearts are with the Muslim community in New Zealand after this heinous attack on the Masjid Al Noor and Linwood mosques. We applaud the Prime Minister’s right decision to quickly condemn the attack. This is the latest reminder that our world has descended into a social media-fueled decadence that consumes the political and religious class. That this kind of violence could happen in a peaceful country like New Zealand exposes the great danger all nations face when religious extremists or extreme nationalists take advantage of platforms like social media to propagate their twisted, hate-filled philosophies and call for violence to be unleashed on innocent people like those in Christchurch on Friday. Our words and tweets and Facebook posts have an impact on vulnerable minds. We must remember that we reap what we sow. This attack is a reminder that the world is in dire need of peacemakers, who will sow peace and fiercely push back against the evil that aims to suppress the fundamental right of every human being to practice his or her religion as they would choose.”
 
Fifty people died and dozens were injured in the twin shootings on Friday. Brenton Tarrant, from the New South Wales town of Grafton, has been charged with one count of murder and is in custody in Christchurch. In a brief court appearance on Saturday, he flashed a neo-Nazi hand signal while on camera.
 
In a six-minute stretch, the man, wearing tactical gear and a camera attached to his outfit, shot hundreds of rounds into dozens of people while being live online.
 
His weapon was scrawled with neo-Nazi symbols and the names of white right-wing extremists who had killed others because of their ethnicity or faith. A manifesto released online laid his motivations bare: to kill Muslim immigrants.
 
 

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The Sikh congregation at a gurdwara in Surrey held prayers for the victims of Christchurch attacks.
 
The Friday attacks on two mosques by neo-Nazis in New Zealand had left 50 people dead.  
 
On Sunday, the congregation at the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple, Surrey remembered the dead and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured.
 
What binds the Surrey Sikh temple with those mosques in a faraway country is their own experience with racism in the past.
 
It is the same gurdwara where a temple keeper Nirmal Singh Gill was beaten to death by the skinheads in the parking lot in January 1998. 
 
The temple President Hardeep Singh Nijjar said that apart from that connection, the values of Sikhism demand that we must stand up for everyone without any discrimination.
 
He pointed out that the daily prayers of the Sikhs end with a verse that calls for the well-being of mankind.
 
The development is significant as a Sikh MLA of the ruling right-wing Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party in India had tried to justify the Christchurch incident. Manjinder Singh Sirsa is a legislator from Delhi and is also the head of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. 
 
He went on the social media to suggest that the attacks were the outcome of violence being perpetrated by the Islamic extremists. He shared the controversial views expressed by a right-wing Senator Fraser Anning in New Zealand.  Anning had blamed the attacks on Muslim immigrants.
 
Nijjar strongly denounced the statement made by Sirsa and said that it only reflects the mindset of his party that desires to turn India into Hindu theocracy and is known for its anti-minority stance. He believes that a true Sikh will never do that as the Sikh gurus always stood against injustice and oppression without compromising with those in power.  
 
He further said that in view of growing bigotry in North America and the Quebec City mosque massacre that left six people dead in 2017, the Sikh temples are deliberating on increasing vigilance in partnership with other religious minority groups who face similar challenges.
 

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Image Courtesy: Reuters

“The Great Replacement” stated that “the invaders must be removed from European soil, regardless of where they came from or when they came. Roman, African, Indian, Turkish, Semitic or other. If they are not of our people but live in our lands, they must be removed.”
 
This is the statement by the white supremacist who along with others, killed innocent worshipers at different mosques in New Zealand on Friday. Those killed including older people as well as children who had gone to pray in the mosques. The terror attack on these mosques in a relatively tiny and peaceful country reflects a major challenge for all people as to how Islamophobia is growing faster in relatively peaceful societies. If it was in the United States, Great Britain or France, it could be understood but when it reaches the peaceful shores of New Zealand it sends a warning signal, a new reality of today’s world; whether Islamophobia is growing silently in the Western world with an active role of media portrayal of the events that happened recently.
 
Several years back we witnessed such a mass shooting in Norway which shocked the peaceful Scandinavian nation but the New Zealand killings have sent shock waves across the world.
 
While there is an unequivocal condemnation of the incident, yet the western media still falls short of a categorical terminology for such a ghastly crime. ‘Suspect’, gunman, shooting are the terms used by the media. Now, this is a terrorist incident and the terrorist happens to be an Australian white man who hates immigrants. It is tragic that the US President is not alarmed by the growth of white supremacists threatening the immigrants everywhere and how his own policies have contributed to it. After Trump’s elevation to power, the United States witnessed many hate crimes, particularly against African Americans. In India, the crime against minorities particularly Muslims grew with the active encouragement of the ruling party and its leaders who actually need Muslims for their votes through polarisation.
 
Amidst all this, the statement of the Prime Minister of New Zealand Ms Jacinda Ardern was a ray of hope. She not only assured that the nation would remain proud of its religious and ethnic diversity but also not allow their place to harbour any hatred. You can see how the police responded to the entire issue and people irrespective of their nationalities and ethnicities expressed shock and grief.
 
The text of her statement:
 
Our thoughts and our prayers are with those who have been impacted today. Christchurch was the home of these victims. For many, this may not have been the place they were born. In fact, for many, New Zealand was their choice.
 
The place they actively came to and committed themselves to. The place they were raising their families, where they were part of communities who they loved and who loved them. It was a place that many came to for its safety. A place where they were free to practice their culture and religion.
 
For those of you who are watching at home tonight, and questioning how this could have happened here, we — New Zealand — we were not a target because we are a safe harbour for those who hate. We were not chosen for this act of violence because we condone racism, because we are an enclave for extremism. We were chosen for the very fact that we are none of these things. Because we represent diversity, kindness, compassion, a home for those who share our values, refuge for those who need it. And those values, I can assure you, will not, and cannot, be shaken by this attack.
 
We are a proud nation of more than 200 ethnicities, 160 languages. And amongst that diversity, we share common values. And the one that we place the currency on right now — and tonight — is our compassion and support for the community of those directly affected by this tragedy.
 
And secondly, the strongest possible condemnation of the ideology of the people who did this.
 
You may have chosen us — but we utterly reject and condemn you.
 
Compare this with the leadership back home who find no time to even mention those killed in mob lynching. The Muslims and Christians in India have a history of several centuries as they came here around the seventh century. So, they are not immigrants but part and parcel of this soil. Many of those who were humiliated in the caste system embraced Islam and Christianity for their spiritual liberation but India’s right wing has not accepted them and wants to send them to Pakistan.
 
The New Zealand Prime minister addressed the press, assured minorities and immigrants saying that was their home and their country is proud of them. Her words and pain are getting reflected and there is a concern in the western world about the growth of white supremacists but back home in India, we do not feel any concern about the rise and growth of the Brahmanical fascism which wants to maintain the hierarchical caste order and target the minorities directly.
 
Isn’t it ironical that the Hindu Mahasabha celebrated the rise of Trump and his birthday in the hope that he will eliminate the Muslims? A few days back, they celebrated the birthday of Queen Elizabeth while abusing Gandhi and re-enacting his assassination. We did not outrage or hold the government and its machinery accountable. Many see the rise of trump as anti-Islamic but if they see the neo-fascist growth in Europe, they hate everyone, the blacks, the Romas and the immigrants which include Hindus and Muslims both.
 
The Christchurch incident is a reminder of the dangers of majoritarianism which is bound to create further polarisation. Politically it may suit some right-wing groups including India but in long term, it will defeat democratic polity if we are unable to contain such hatred constitutionally and legally. It is time for stronger international mechanism against such forces which get legitimacy through the democratic process and winning elections. The world needs to unite and find ways and means to defeat such forces ideologically, democratically as well as through well-built international mechanisms so that hatred does not become a tool to win elections. Meanwhile, we stand in solidarity with all those who are peace builders and believe that this planet is meant for all of us irrespective of our gender, caste, region and nationalities and we all have to protect it.
 
Let us work harder to defeat hatred which is only possible through building bridges and respecting people’s right to choose their faith and life. States need to protect law-abiding citizens and stop mob mentality and kangaroo courts in TV studios. They need to be made accountable in the greater interest of democracy and human rights.
 

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