And the death of 51 individuals in the New Zealand mosque massacre
SUKKUR: A 28-year-old white Australian opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch, minutes after sending a copy of his 74-page supremacist manifesto to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the media and the legislators. The terrorist attack led to the death of 51 individuals, with over 50 more injured. In his manifesto, the shooter expressed his contempt for individuals who are not white. He referred to the immigrant community as ‘invaders’, and supported the idea of genocide against immigrants and Muslims, in particular.
We have seen the impact of supremacist and Islamophobic words used by lawmakers and leaders across the world, which have provoked individuals to commit such acts. Even after the horrific Christchurch attack, Australian Congressman Fraser Anning blamed the catastrophe on immigration and how “allowing Muslims to live in New Zealand has bought violence to the country”. This rhetoric is actually in line with certain remarks made by Donald Trump regarding Muslims and Latin Americans.
Such massacres are genuinely linked to unchecked xenophobia which inspires people to commit horrific acts. Brenton Tarrant, the Christchurch shooter, may be a white supremacist who acted out of scorn, but in reality, he felt encouraged as Islamophobia has never really been recognised, resulting in western states passively condoning such actions. It is imperative to globally recognise this as an act of terrorism, because a massacre is not a side-effect of a mental illness or a change in personality after losing a family member, as propagated by certain media outlets in the UK and the US.
Sonia Najam Shaikh
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2019.
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