Every Friday, Muslims attend their local mosques to pray jummah, a special Friday ritual where the community comes to worship together. After the Imam’s speech and prayer, families eat together, friends catch up, children run up and down hallways. On March 15th, the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, were presented with something much different.
The shooter was greeted with a salaam, brother.
At 1:40 pm, an attacker who will remain nameless committed an atrocity. 50 people were slaughtered in the name of white supremacy, an additional 50 injured. Victims were as young as 3 and as old as 77. New Zealand is considered one of the safest countries in the world--if hate is strong enough, it can reach anywhere, especially with live streams.
The first portion of the shooting was documented through Facebook’s Live Stream feature. It was viewed over 1.5 million times, as reported by Facebook. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, declared that the company needed to do more to regulate such disrespectful, dehumanizing content on the internet.
Hearing this news made my heart stop. My first thought was, will my family be next? This was not the first instance a hate crime was committed, let alone in a place of worship. That day, none of my family members attended jummah.
The worldwide Muslim community has endured various tragedies, yet this one seemed to linger. What did this mean for Muslim brothers and sisters? What did this mean for our brothers and sisters? My confusion quickly released as scathing tears. This was not just a crime committed against people who welcomed this man with open arms. This was a crime committed against humanity. This was a crime committed against not the Muslim community, but the world’s community. Mindless hate crimes are not new threads in our history’s tapestry.
If we are ever going to defeat the stigma that surrounds Muslims with inherent violence, it begins with seeing us how we are: as people.
The shooter was greeted with a salaam, brother.
At 1:40 pm, an attacker who will remain nameless committed an atrocity. 50 people were slaughtered in the name of white supremacy, an additional 50 injured. Victims were as young as 3 and as old as 77. New Zealand is considered one of the safest countries in the world--if hate is strong enough, it can reach anywhere, especially with live streams.
The first portion of the shooting was documented through Facebook’s Live Stream feature. It was viewed over 1.5 million times, as reported by Facebook. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, declared that the company needed to do more to regulate such disrespectful, dehumanizing content on the internet.
Hearing this news made my heart stop. My first thought was, will my family be next? This was not the first instance a hate crime was committed, let alone in a place of worship. That day, none of my family members attended jummah.
The worldwide Muslim community has endured various tragedies, yet this one seemed to linger. What did this mean for Muslim brothers and sisters? What did this mean for our brothers and sisters? My confusion quickly released as scathing tears. This was not just a crime committed against people who welcomed this man with open arms. This was a crime committed against humanity. This was a crime committed against not the Muslim community, but the world’s community. Mindless hate crimes are not new threads in our history’s tapestry.
If we are ever going to defeat the stigma that surrounds Muslims with inherent violence, it begins with seeing us how we are: as people.