New Zealand had a national day of reflection on Friday for all those who lost their lives in the tragic terrorist attack in Christchurch. Thousands of people gathered in Hagley Park near the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch to commemorate those who lost their lives and form a human chain protecting Muslims whilst they pray.
Muslims, non-Muslims and people from all walks of life and different backgrounds came together to support their fellow brothers and sisters in humanity, on a day when many Muslims like myself, felt anxious and fearful following last week’s horrific attack. There is that shared sentiment that this attack could have happened to any one of us who go to pray in our place of worship which we see as a safe place and peaceful sanctuary to worship God and also a place where we are most vulnerable whilst being absorbed in prayer.
The way that New Zealand has shown a unified response to terrorism is an example of hope for other nations in combatting hate in all forms and the growing rise of Islamophobia. One of the main driving forces for the compassion, solidarity and integrity that has been shown is in the form of New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinta Arden who has been a beacon of light and a role model of exemplary leadership. World leaders can take note from her warmth, genuine concern and swift action in tackling gun laws in the country.
The newspaper front cover in Christchurch’s The Press showed the Arabic word “salam” which means peace as well as all the names of the victims affected by this tragedy. This is quite a contrast compared to some of the headlines splashed across the British press which has been called out for double standards in reporting of the incident. There are a lot of lessons that could be learnt in combatting hate from the way that New Zealand is handling Islamophobia.
Since the Christchurch terrorist attack, there has been a further rise in anti-Muslim attacks around the world. A Muslim man in East London was attacked with a hammer and called “terrorist”, four incidents of mosques being vandalised in Birmingham were reported with heightened security presence around mosques in the area and in Oxford a school was sprayed with graffiti with reference to the white supremacist terrorist.
As someone who has experienced Islamophobia in the past I was pleased to see that the UK Labour Party has adopted the definition of Islamophobia which will be a positive step in raising awareness of the issue. Islamophobia is real it is experienced in countries all around the world and those expressing views not to have any laws governing Islamophobia are putting lives at risk because the growing anti-Muslim rhetoric in the media and words used by some politicians are fuelling Islamophobia around the world.
When I was verbally abused by a man in Glasgow for being Muslim he told me to “Just look at the news to see how evil your people are”. He made it out that Muslims were not valued as part of society and that being Muslim to him was equivalent to being deemed “the other”. Ever since that day I have worked tirelessly to combat Islamophobia through my writing and try my best to ensure that people will take the issue more seriously through calling for interfaith dialogue and better understandings of Muslims within the media.
The unity, warmth and heartfelt response that I have witnessed miles away from the UK in New Zealand has renewed my hope in leadership, has renewed my hope in there being a way to pave the road for change and that starts by coming together as one to tackle all forms of hate collectively.