New Zealand (NZ) is the second country with the lowest crime rate only next to Iceland. The deadly terrorist attack on March 15, 2019, Friday surprised everyone. The attacks happened during the time of the Friday Sermons which is the Muslim congregation day equivalent to the Christian Sunday.
With 50 dead and 50 injured, the Christchurch mosque shootings are one of the bloodiest in New Zealand’s history. The New Zealand government who showed sincere solidarity with the whole world against islamophobia immediately called the attacker a terrorist, unlike the others who were simply called as gunman or lone wolves. The Christchurch terrorist, who may have acted alone, certainly had some backing from like-minded individuals who influenced him to commit the crimes just like how ISIS sympathizers were motivated to commit terror acts around the world making him affiliated to lurking global terror network that targets Muslims. US President Donald Trump again is in the headlines as the most likely influencer due to his relentless Anti-Muslim rhetoric that people point out as one of the catalysts for the global rise of Islamophobia. In this column, the Christchurch terrorist shall be unnamed in accordance with the NZ Prime Minister’s policy of not fueling further notoriety for this criminal.
The attack killed 50 people: 42 at the Al Noor Mosque, seven at the Linwood Islamic Centre, and one who died in Christchurch Hospital. The ages of those killed ranged from 2 to 71. Fifty people have been reported injured with many of them in critical condition.
The Christchurch terrorist live-streamed the first 17 minutes of his attack. Facebook immediately took the video down within minutes of being notified but copies of it have been leaked into different video sharing sites. The New Zealand Office of Film and Literature Classification quickly classified the video as “objectionable”, making it a criminal offense in the country to distribute, copy, or exhibit the video, with potential penalties.
During the assault one of the songs that he listened to is the the nationalist Serb song which glorifies Serb political leader Rodovan Karadzic who is now in prison for war crimes against Muslims in 1992-1995, in a series of events collectively known as the Yugoslavia wars.
Scribbled around his weapons are inscriptions of names of fellow criminals from around the world and some historical events, places, and dates where Muslims have been defeated in battle. These have been called promptly as white supremacist symbols – it couldn’t be anything else.
The largest inscription that could be easily read says, Tours 732 refers to the major Muslim loss in France that halts their European expansion permanently. This victory was led by Charles Martel, whose name is also inscribed.
The Christchurch terrorist divulged in his manifesto titled, ‘The Great Replacement’, that the attack has been planned for two years while targets have been selected only three months earlier. The manifesto was described as replete with anti-immigrant and white supremacist rhetoric that calls the lawful immigrants as invaders. He was also quoted to have been inspired by the ISIS attacks in Europe which make him feel entitled to exact revenge on innocent Muslims too. This is a crusade-inspired terrorist who still think like we are in the middle ages.
The Christchurch terrorist immediately surrendered to the police after firing upon worshippers in the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Center about 5 kilometers away. He surrendered with almost no resistance alluding to his wish to be imprisoned in a country where there is no death penalty in order to preach his doctrine of hate in the NZ prisons where he may be able to recruit more people into subscribing to his ideologies which may not be most unlikely as Islamophobia is a common sentiment.
One such person who displayed the most insensitive remark and lack of respect even to the dead is Australian senator Fraser Anning who blamed the Muslims for their getting killed and calls Islam as a religion of violence that is being led by a blood-thirsty prophet. While being interviewed on TV, Senator Anning head was hit by an egg in the head by William Connolly who does not agree with the racist senator.
When presented at the Christchurch District Court the next day, the Christchurch terrorist faced the media with a remorseless face and an inverted OK gesture which is a known white supremacist gesture.
To summarize, this is a man who bathed himself with hate, suspicion, grandiosity and chauvinism. The Christchurch terrorist was a lazy man who could not find good jobs and was blaming the hard-working Muslim immigrants for having a good life that he failed to have. Violence is the only way he found meaning in life.
This event polarized people around the world between those who hate Muslims and those who are reasonable enough to believe that terrorism is never a Muslim monopoly.
Mosques around the world including some in the US received added protection from law enforcement agencies in response to possible attacks inspired by the NZ terror attack. Shortly after the event, incidents of attacks on mosques and Muslims were reported in the UK and some other parts of the by people who may have been emboldened by the Christchurch terrorist. It is also feared that the NZ attack is only the first of its kind.
In the end, after the dark Friday, we see a reversal of events. We see people gathering around Muslims and showing sympathy not only to the victims but the Muslims around the world most of all. Vigilance against Islamophobia and hate speech has heightened. A few days after the incident 350 people in NZ embraced Islam and a positive view about Islam is fostered as people become curious about what Islam is. One of the factors to this is the statement of one of the NZ terror attack victim, Farid Ahmad, who lost his wife in the shooting. He says that he forgives the man who murdered his wife and he harbors no hatred for him.
