Sunday 15th March marks the first anniversary of the attack on two Mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which a white supremacist gunned down Muslim worshippers resulting in 51 dead and 19 injured.
A year on from the Christchurch massacre, Muslims still feel the pain. Muslims are deeply concerned and anxious about growing levels of Islamophobia across the world.
Today we remember the innocent lives lost and hatred and Islamophobia. In their honour we must combat hatred and stand together.
The threat from the Far Right extremists is real and we must realise the threat they pose to our values. Hatred of any community creates a downward spiral of bigotry and violence. There must be zero-tolerance of religious hatred in our country.
Racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and other forms of hatred do not evolve in a vaccum. They evolve and are amplified because we don’t simply, clearly and unambiguously challenge it.
Mosques and Islamic centres must arrange for tighter security to protect the worshippers.
British Muslims must continue to support each other and also work with police, local authorities and other security related organisations to ensure that far right terrorists attacks do not happen in Mosques in Britain.
Imam Qari Asim
Senior Editor, ImamsOnline.com
