By Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim
In one of the deadliest attacks on any place of worship around the world, on Friday a hate-filled White supremacist gunman went on a rampage in two mosques in New Zealand’s Christchurch, shooting dead 49 people in cold blood and injuring many others. The attacker live streamed the horrible act – perhaps in a bid to scare Muslims and immigrants in a country considered one of the most peaceful on earth.
While the attack highlights the poisonous Islamophobia prevalent around the world, it’s not shocking in the least. In a post 9/11 world, which in many ways gave birth to blind hate against Islam, and then over the years normalised and institutionalised the Islamophobia, the Christchurch mosque attack is not shocking.
It’s not shocking because it’s only a natural step in the process of systemic hatred against Muslims. It’s not shocking because the world leaders, with a few exceptions of course, have always failed to call out the demonisation of a community and religion.
It’s not shocking because the global media, filled with ignorance about Islam, only helped a narrative that Islam is synonymous with terrorism. It’s not shocking because Islamophobia has been selling great on TV, and the media has been drawing a very skewed picture of the religion, because of their lazy journalism.
Though it must be shocking for those who didn’t care enough to see the patterns and designs of the anti-Islam industry prevalent in large parts of the world, including India. The global media has reported hundreds of hate attacks against Muslims and their symbols.
Somebody has a problem with my hijab, some are scared of my beard, some see bombs under my burqa, some find the adhan problematic. No, brother, we don’t hate you, we are not supposed to kill every non-Muslim, we are not here to conquer the world, we just want the space to practice our religion and be who we want to be.
What we expect from you is to get out of your perceptions formed by careless news media and anti-Islam conspirators who spread lies against our religion. Care to read about Islam yourself, not through social media posts by Islamophobes in an ISIS-frenzied world. Visit a Muslim family, spend time with them; I am sure you’ll find them much like you in many ways.
If the New Zealand attacker or the people who hate Islam think they can scare Muslims, they’re mistaken. Fear and Islamic belief do not go together. They may be able to kill a few of us, drive us out, but you cannot scare us.
Muslims have seen enough violence targeted at them – in Palestine, Syria, in Afghanistan, in Myanmar, in India, and in other parts of the world. Mindless acts of violence like the one in Christchurch will not scare us, they will not deter us. They will only make us stronger in our resolve for love, peace, and our faith.
If at all Friday’s attack is anything, it’s a warning to the world that if Islamophobia is not contained, it’s going to affect not only Muslims, but non-Muslims too. The anti-Muslim wave after 9/11 when virtually every Muslim around the world was branded a terrorist and had to face naive questions about his faith on the street, in schools, in offices, and everywhere – has had awful repercussions that the world is still struggling to deal with – with hate, not love though.
In India, the renewed systemic hate against Muslims, questioning their patriotism, attacking their beliefs, linking them to terrorism, asking them to go to Pakistan, driving them against the wall is nothing but Islamophobia. It will only reap hatred. It will have repercussions too. The political leadership should decide once and for all whether it wants to embrace Muslims or demonise them.
Whatever choice they make, one thing is clear: Muslims are not going to be scared by these acts of hate and violence against them. We are not going to give in. We are not going to stop praying. We are not going to stop standing up against your ignorance and misplaced hatred for Islam. Not because we are a global community of one belief. But because our faith in God is much stronger than your hatred. We are here to stay, deal with it, in my suggestion, with love.
—END
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