The Camp of Goodness Which Is against Terrorism
Published in March 30, 2019
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
Introduction:
It is clear enough that the massacre committed at the two mosques inside New Zealand has shown the emergence of two camps or sides: the camp of goodness and the camp of evil. Again, it is clear enough that New Zealand (with its leaders and nation) is definitely number one within the camp of goodness.
Firstly: the camp of goodness inside New Zealand is against terrorism:
1- Geographically, New Zealand is a remote country; it is rarely mentioned in the news of world media; its citizens live in peace with no troubles among one another and they never disturb others. After the terrorist attack at the two mosques in New Zealand by committed by an Australian criminal who visited New Zealand, the name of this country has occupied headlines in media worldwide. Of course, the stance of the people of New Zealand regarding this massacre at the two mosques show the kindness and peaceful, good nature of the citizens of New Zealand; their country deserves to be on top of the list of the camp of goodness which is against terrorism. New Zealand is a democracy and it has no oppressed or weak ones on earth; it has its democratic system and original values. This means that the distant, peaceful New Zealand is in contrast with Middle-East countries which are filled with troubles and from which bad news come within world media; Middle-East countries are ruled by enthroned tyrants who spread corruption inside and outside their countries and they deserve to be on top of the list of the camp of evil.
2- The citizens of New Zealand are nearly 5 million people; about three quarters of them are white people and they welcome immigration (i.e., this is the stance of the State and the nation). In fact, most of the citizens of New Zealand are immigrants; about 50 thousand immigrants enter New Zealand annually. There are several minorities in New Zealand, including the minority of the indigenous people: the Maori. Within such diversity and tolerance,New Zealand is one of the most advanced countries in terms of levels of education, economic freedom, and lack of corruption. In fact, 99% of adults in New Zealand are educated people; this country is one of the most liveable countries in the world. The percentage of 'Muslims' in New Zealand is 1%, and most of them were not born inside New Zealand; many of them are Indians and Middle-Eastern people.
3- The heinous massacre of the two mosques has shown that the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, is among the best politicians and humanitarian figures in our modern era. Ardern assumed her position as the Prime Minister of New Zealand in 2017; she is the youngest person to assume this position in New Zealand since 150 years. This great lady deserves the love and respect of the whole world as per her stance after the massacre in terms of her words and her deeds.
3/1: In terms of words, we note the following points.
3/1/1: The best words Ardern said about the victims that they and the rest of the New Zealand people are one: "They were New Zealanders, they were us. Because they were us, we mourn them," she said. "We are one, they are us," she said.
3/1/2: Ardern began her speech, while dressed in black to indicate deep mourning, by saying (in Arabic): "Peace be with you" and ended her speech by saying (in Arabic) "Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be with you". In addition, she quoted some Quranic verses within a session inside the Parliament of New Zealand.
3/1/3: Ardern praised the courage of some victims who tried to stop the Australian terrorist who attacked the two mosques; she mentioned how a 71-year-old man welcomed this terrorist (before the terrorist showed his weapon) by saying: "Hello brother, welcome"; these were his final words. Ardern said that the incident was "one of New Zealand's darkest days" and that "March 15 will now be forever a day etched in our collective memories". She said there is "no place in New Zealand for such acts of extreme violence". "We cannot know your grief but we can walk with you at every stage.", Ardern said to the victims' families.
3/1/4: Ardern said to the Muslims of Christchurch that New Zealand is united in grief. She said that the victims had chosen to make New Zealand their home and this must never be deemed as the reason for the spread of extremist ideas.
3/1/5: Ardern said the following about the Australian criminal: "He will face the full force of the law in New Zealand. The families of the fallen will have justice. He sought many things from his act of terror, but one was 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. And to others, I implore you: speak the names of those who were lost, rather than the name of the man who took them. He may have sought notoriety, but we in New Zealand will give him nothing. Not even his name."
3/1/6: "We will examine what we did know, could have known, or should have known. We cannot allow this to happen again," Ardern said. She asserted that the authorities will ill assume the responsibility to preserve the reputation of New Zealand and its peaceful nation which embraces diversity.
3/2: In terms of deeds, we note the following points.
3/2/1: Ardern participated in many of the funerals of the victims.
3/2/2: Sheannounced sweeping changes to the country's gun laws; she banned all military-style semi-automatic guns.
3/2/3: Sheannounced that a two-minute silence will be observed on Friday to mark a week since the Christchurch terror attack.
3/2/4: She made the Friday Azan (i.e., call to prayers) be aired in the national radio and TV all over New Zealand.
3/2/5: She wore a black headscarf (i.e., hijab) and a black dress of mourning as she met with leaders of the Muslim community. Women around New Zealand have donned headscarves in solidarity with the Muslim community in the wake of the Christchurch shooting,the image of Ardern and these women has since become 'iconic.'
3/2/6: She urged the New Zealand government to provide more protection to all mosques.
3/2/7: She urged the New Zealand government to revise the role played by social media networks in spreading ideas of violence, hatred, and extremism.
3/3: Within her endeavors for the sake of reform, we note the following points.
3/3/1: Ardern acknowledged the existence of a discourse, among few people inside New Zealand, urging extremism and hatred and that those few people share the ideology of the Australian criminal: "A 28-year-old man — an Australian citizen — has been charged with one count of murder. Other charges will follow ... This of course doesn't take away the responsibility we too must show as a nation, to confront racism, violence and extremism," she said. "... We will also look at the role social media played and what steps we can take ... There is no question that ideas and language of division and hate have existed for decades, but their form of distribution, the tools of organization, they are new. We cannot simply sit back and accept that these platforms just exist...," she said. "We are a nation of 200 ethnicities, 160 languages. We open our doors to others and say welcome. And the only thing that must change after the events of Friday is that this same door must close on all of those who espouse hate and fear. Yes, the person who committed these acts was not from here. He was not raised here. He did not find his ideology here, but that is not to say that those very same views do not live here," she said. Main government figures in New Zealand said that ideas of extremism are insulting to the vast majority of New Zealanders and that the government will assume the responsibility of uprooting such ideas and to never allow the climate of helping them grow. The Christchurch massacre is an individual and shocking terrorist attack which harmed a group of New Zealanders who gathered to pray in a peaceful place. The ideology of the Australian criminal is condemned. Helping the families of the victims is part of the values cherished by New Zealanders. All citizens refuse the ideas of far-right extremists and any ideologies which go against the values of New Zealand. The New Zealanders condemn violence and extremism. The government of New Zealand assumes the responsibility of protecting houses of worship and freedom of expression of all religions and cultures. New Zealand is a country which takes pride in its cultural, religious, and racial diversity.
3/3/2: Ardern addressed her speech, calling for reform, to the whole world; she proposed an international campaign to uproot racist ideas of the far-right. She told President Trump that the U.S. should offer Muslim communities "sympathy and love". Ardern twittered the following: "What has happened in Christchurch is an extraordinary act of unprecedented violence. It has no place in New Zealand. Many of those affected will be members of our migrant communities – New Zealand is their home – they are us.'' Ardern now leads effort to curb online extremism;New Zealand will lead efforts to stop the use of social media to organize and promote terrorism in the wake of the Christchurch attacks."The March 15 terrorist attacks saw social media used in an unprecedented way as a tool to promote an act of terrorism and hate," she said in a statement."It's critical that technology platforms...are not perverted as a tool for terrorism, and instead become part of a global solution to countering extremism...In the wake of the March 15 attacks New Zealanders united in common purpose to ensure such attacks never occur again. If we want to prevent violent extremist content online we need to take a global approach that involves other governments, tech companies and civil society leaders...for too long, it has also been possible to use these platforms to incite extremist violence, and even to distribute images of that violence, as happened in Christchurch. This is what needs to change...We all need to act, and that includes social media providers taking more responsibility for the content that is on their platforms, and taking action so that violent extremist content cannot be published and shared. " she said.Ardern has led calls for a united global front to fight rising white extremism. "Domestically with each of us. I have to acknowledge though there are some things that we do need to confront collectively, as leaders internationally. We cannot, for instance, just simply allow some of the challenges that we face with social media to be dealt with on a case by case basis. There is an argument here to be made for us to take a united front on what is a global issue. This is not just an issue for New Zealand. Social media platforms have been used to spread violence, material that incites violence. All of us need to present a united front. When it comes to racism, extremism, violence, we domestically have duties upon us as well," she said.Ardern has now set an example for other world leaders on how to respond to a crisis and how to ensure that everyone feels safe and welcome."Feeling safe means feeling safe from violence. There are lots of things that government can do to make sure people are free from violence, and we will do those things. But it also means making a place where there is no environment for violence to flourish, where we don’t let racism exist, because racism breeds extremism," she said. ''My job is to make people feel safe, the idea that people currently do not I find deeply distressing and it's my job to bring that sense of security back,'' she said.''The values of tolerance and inclusion and peace - those are New Zealand values. That is not to say there are not pockets of ideology that are counter to our values - that we as a nation utterly reject - but we would be naive to think we're the only country in the world that didn't have pockets of that,'' she said. ''You'll hear New Zealanders reflect the fact that what happened here was not an act by a New Zealand citizen, but that does not mean that there are not things we need to address here, we do. And that's the bigger project,'' she said. Ardern said that New Zealand has been 'deliberate' in labeling the shooting as a 'terrorist attack' against the Muslim community. "...the message I've been sharing with every global leader is our job is to share love and support for our Muslim communities around the world," she said.
4- Of course, the nation of New Zealand has the same level of truth and honor as Jacinda Ardern who led the country’s mourning process, as she was the first person to sign a national condolence book. She also met with family members of the victims and the wider Christchurch Muslim community while wearing a hijab, thus becoming a symbol of love and tolerance in a world of rising hate and xenophobia. She did not want the 50 victims to die in vain as she instantly took action to tighten gun laws, among the new legislations that her government issued was a national ban on assault rifles.
4/1: The New Zealanders showed their solidarity with Muslims directly after the terrorist attack in Christchurch by building a memorial having the names of the victims in the same street where the attacked mosque is situated. Flowers were offered to this memorial all day long for several days. About 20 thousand people attended the prayers inside a garage in front of the attacked mosque to show solidarity. Planes wrote the Arabic word (Allah) in the skyline of New Zealand.
4/2: A female 65-year-old doctor in Auckland urged women in New Zealand, especially in the capital, Willington, to wear headscarves or hijab on Friday to support the Muslim community, especially Muslim women.
4/3: The newspapers of New Zealand dedicated whole pages as tribute to the victims and mentioned all their names, while calling for a national day of mourning. In its first page, the New Zealand Herald headlines were "A Call for Prayers" and "Unity is Strength", whereas the Express newspaper headline in the first page was the page-long word "peace".
4/4: Police officers and security men who filled Christchurch streets wore green badges on their chests to express solidarity and peace.
4/5: Human chains were formed outside some mosques in New Zealand to symbolize solidarity and protection.
4/6: Thousands of people participated in the march titled (for love and peace) in the streets of Christchurch early on Saturday morning to pay homage to the souls of the dead victims; the two attacked mosques were reopened and about 3000 people who participated in the march carried slogans such as (He wanted to divide us but he made us stronger!), (No to racists!), and (Muslims are welcome!). most of those who participated in the march were silent and some murmured a hymn for peace.
4/7: Even a notorious biker mob in New Zealand stood guard to ensure the safety of mosques all over New Zealand in the first Friday congregational prayers after the Christchurch massacre.
4/8: Amidst such nobleness, a voice of extremism and fanaticism emerged in New Zealand; the bishop of Destiny Church, Brian Tamaki, twittered his denouncing the Azan (or call to prayers) in the country as he assumes that this goes against teachings of Christianity, since the Azan contains the phrase (There is no God but Allah). Tamaki expressed his fear that New Zealand might be a Muslim country on Friday; he said he agreed on the two-minute silence, but he dislikes the Azan; he said Christ is the 'Only God' and nothing else would represent New Zealand. Tamaki considered the call of Jacinda Ardern to air the Azan in the media of New Zealand as part of abusing her political authority; he said she has insulted true Christians and that the national identity is in danger. Luckily, Tamaki received fast and angry responses: a commentator told him he should not pray and he must make room for those who desire to pray without fear and to practice their rituals within absolute freedom; they must be allowed to enjoy religious freedom after the nightmare they went through; another commentator told Tamaki to shut up and to try to open his heart to all human beings as per the commands of his Lord.
Secondly: the camp of goodness outside New Zealand:
1- The UN Secretary-GeneralAntónio Guterres denounced the Christchurch terrorist attacks; he mentioned the fact that a man welcomed this Australian terrorist (before he showed his weapon) by saying: "Hello brother, welcome."; Guterres asserted that this is the essence of Islam, a religion he respects; its essence is love, mercy, tolerance, charity, and forgiveness. Guterres emphasized that the discourse of hatred, fanaticism, and extremism is spreading fast worldwide, especially within social media networks. Sadly, many political movements declare in public its affiliation with the neo-Nazis and they use their symbols and mottos, Guterres stressed. He also mentioned that this cancer is spreading fast and all of us must find a remedy for it. Guterres mentioned that he requested from,Miguel Moratinos, the High-Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, setting an action plan to make the UN organizations get involved in protection and security of houses of worship worldwide. He said that world leaders, religious leaders, and nonprofit organizations should participate in this endeavor. Guterres asserted that mosques and all houses of worship must be safe havens and not targets for terrorists. He delivered his speech while surrounded with an imam of a mosque and more than 10 ambassadors (of Islamic and non-Islamic countries) in the UN, including representatives of New Zealand and Australia.
2- Amnesty International said that "the horrific attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand...is a devastating reminder of the consequences of letting hatred and demonization go unchecked...This is one of the darkest days in New Zealand’s history. The attacker who unleashed his deadly hatred and racism upon women, men, and children as they took part in Friday prayers has thrown us all into shock and grief...This is also a moment of reckoning for leaders across the world who have encouraged or turned a blind eye to the scourge of Islamophobia. The politics of demonization has today cost 49 people their lives. Reports that the attacks followed a white supremacist manifesto must galvanize world leaders to start standing against this hate-filled ideology.Today we stand with all those who have lost loved ones, and vow to unite against this hate. The New Zealand we believe in is one that thrives as a multicultural society, welcomes refugees and migrants, and respects the rights of everyone to practice their religion in peace. These attacks can only strengthen our resolve to fight for a society built around peace, hope and justice."
3- After a 7000 km journey,a Hawaiian delegation has gifted a mile-long garland of flowers to the city of Christchurch as a symbol of love, peace, solidarity, and connectedness from the other side of the world following the terror attacks. Those present before the two mosques were in tears and many hugs and kisses were exchanged upon seeing the garland. The aim was to relieve the sorrow of the families of the victims and to weave flowers of all colors to represent all races and colors of human beings as united and indivisible.
4- A Jewish temple in Pennsylvania, the USA, launched a campaign to collect donations for the families of victims of the Christchurch massacre; the aim is to collect 100 thousand US$. The statement of this Jewish temple asserts that Jews stand by their Muslim brethren and share the grief of those who lost loved ones in such unreasonable act of violence and that work will continue until all people on planet Earth would live in peace within mutual respect. This Jewish temple desired to return the favor as donations and aid came to it from all races and religious communities from most states inside the USA, including donations from Muslims, after it was attacked on the 27th of Oct., 2018, by an armed terrorist who shot at the congregation indiscriminately, killing 11 persons. The donors send their money donations along with words of condolences and solidarity with New Zealanders, while asserting that love will achieve victory over hatred.
5- All Jewish temples in New Zealand closed down for the first time, on Saturday, march 16th, 2019, cancelling the rituals on that day in solidarity with Muslims of the country.
6- A human-rights center in Israel stressed the importance of making an investigation about how some people on social media networks sympathized with the Australian criminal who committed the Christchurch massacre at the two mosques.
Lastly:
1- Arab, Middle-Eastern enthroned tyrants are, of course, against all of the above! They never did anything to support the victims of the New Zealand massacre of the two mosques.
2- We beseech our fellow Quranists to support the call advocated by Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, concerning facing and ending the calls for hatred and extremism; this call matches with the Only True Islam; i.e., the Quran, rejected by the Muhammadans of today.