THE PURSUIT OF HUMANITY

                                                          The pursuit of humanity.

                                                       (An article by Sabine Kayani)

The devastating, cruel and calculated terrorist attack on defenceless Muslims at the Al Noor and Linwood Masajids in Christchurch, although horrifying, were not completely unexpected. In the last few decades many similar incidents have been faced and confronted on a global scale. Despite this the largely peaceful country of New Zealand was met with unprecedented violence of this scale; for the first time New Zealand was facing the horror that almost every country around the world has had to witness. 

on a deeper level, it wasn't just an assault on one religion, it was an attack on humanity and peace;

Superficially, this particular act of terrorism, was a direct and indirect Islamophobic onslaught on Muslims. However on a deeper level, it wasn't just an assault on one religion, it was an attack on humanity and peace; it was synonymous to an offensive on a person's freedom to peacefully and freely practice any religion or follow any school of thought that they wish to, without the fear of endangering their lives or being hated or ridiculed. 

It was a signal to anyone with even a basic intellect, that we can, at any time be unjustly punished for our choice of the place or country we call home and our religious beliefs.

It was a signal to anyone with even a basic intellect, that we can, at any time be unjustly punished for our choice of the place or country we call home and our religious beliefs. On the parallel scale, fascists that do not uphold the right to these freedoms are further incited by the irresponsible supportive actions of people, such as the Australian senator, Fraser Anning, who have given the signal to white supremacists and other radicals of different faiths and races, that this breed of violence is acceptable. In a nutshell, the idea that we are secure is an illusion. We are not safe. Anywhere. 

The irony that the scene of this brutal massacre was held in a place named Christchurch can't be ignored. Jesus Christ (pbuh) whose message, of love and peace for all mankind was audaciously disrespected in a city named after him, by a man who cited historic Christian battles against Muslims as a justification for his ideology. This man's  actions and views couldn't be further from the teachings of Jesus Christ (pbuh) and have sinister parallels with the ideologies of extremist pseudo Muslims who take the teachings of the Quran and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) out of context to justify their violence. 

One of the most haunting and prominent facts of this incident in Christchurch, was the brutal, callousness of the actions of Brenton Tarrant: the white supremacist terrorist initiating the mass murder. His lack of remorse at ruthlessly killing innocent children, women and men was not only apparent, but the heartless killing of his first victim who greeted him in peace, with his first and last words to him being, "Hello brother" serves to epitomize the fact that only the good and vulnerable are attacked by the malicious extremist mentality. A mentality fueled by motivated ignorance, hatred, irrationality, and intolerance. 

Peace is the only logical way forward

There is a profound hope that nothing even resembling this will be repeated but realistically it seems unlikely that it will be the last of similar ideologically propelled attacks and subsequent revenge attacks.

The majority of us are people living in civilized countries that give us freedom of speech and the power to freely put across our opinions and this often deceptively makes us think that we are powerless to stop anyone inciting and celebrating acts of terror and violence. We need to understand that there are exceptions to this rule. An example of this is in Europe and the UK in which the law tries to strike a balance between freedom of speech and the exceptions to the right of free speech. 

Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Right itself recognizes the need for some limits on free speech. Included in the limits are:

* Publishing material or making comments that are specifically designed to incite racial hatred.

* Restrictions to prevent crime and disorder;

Under the racial and religious hatred act of 2006:

* Using threatening words or behaviour intended to stir up religious hatred;

Under the terrorism act 2006:

* Encourage or glorify terrorist acts

The latter two crimes carry the maximum punishment of 7 years imprisonment.

In light of this we all have the authority to legally silence the bigots; fascists; Nazis and racists rampant nowadays, especially on social media. 

The relatively recent wave of Islamophobia is eerily reminiscent of the antisemitism that the Jews have faced on a large scale

The relatively recent wave of Islamophobia is eerily reminiscent of the antisemitism that the Jews have faced on a large scale. Similarly Muslims are being hated worldwide and are being blamed for the actions of a tiny minority; many are using this hatred to unjustifiably revel in celebrating and supporting the actions of the murderer of forty nine innocent lives, not to mention the harm he caused to dozens more, injured and scarred for life. These despicable creatures that commemorate acts of violence committed against innocent civilians, which include women and children, succeed in consolidating and planting seeds of hatred in others. 

The majority of these cowards are hiding behind their computer screens and posting hateful, evil comments on social media that are gathering more hate and support for their cause. There is a very real threat of these presently insignificant bigots being recruited in light of their views by like minded individuals, similar to the recruitment of Muslim extremists pre and post 9/11.

This malevolent frame of mind is being displayed even by some ignorant, educated professionals. It can be seen that destructive rhetoric, based on motivated ignorance is being spewed to justify these innocent deaths and other innocent deaths caused in the same manner in the past.

Our first course of action in any law abiding civilized country should be to report inflammatory statements we come across online and in our surroundings, to the police. 

Our first course of action in any law abiding civilized country should be to report inflammatory statements we come across online and in our surroundings, to the police. The naming and shaming of those that glorify, celebrate and encourage acts of violence, is the most powerful but peaceful weapon and protest against barbarism we have. These people are individuals at the moment; nipping their actions in the bud is the best chance we have of stopping them and retaining peace, harmony and safety. The accused may not go to jail and may not even be severely punished for their actions but they will definitely know that there is a consequence to their actions. The chances are that they will be forced to remove the hateful prejudiced remarks that leave a profound influence on impressionable minds. 

We have a duty of care to call out those that we know or even don't know on social media and those people in positions of power and influence that we genuinely feel are spewing hatred or prejudices against any community including all races and religions. We need to take a stand for others and subsequently protect our-self from the menace of terrorism that we have globally been facing for the past few decades. Many lives have been needlessly lost and only the innocent suffer.

As sane, rational people, a no tolerance policy needs to be adopted universally, towards anything and anyone that promotes; glorifies; condones or celebrates, violence, murder and hatred towards and against anyone. This also means educating those that are close to us such as family, friend's and neighbours. 

We also collectively need to stand against all religious extremists and racist bigots, not to be confused and bullied into supporting them by the fact that they are a similar race or religion to us. These people don't belong to or represent anyone or any religion and have harmed everyone in the most despicable way possible. 

My message to all those this reaches is, stand united with all that is good and weed out the violence and hatred that is growing among us like a malignant tumor. Social media is a powerful tool in the present climate and it's influence resonates. A simple gesture of peace in the shape of a condolence to those that have lost a priceless soul or a kind remark in support of anyone who stands up to bigotry; rebuking anyone who promotes hatred or violence are all steps that we are capable of undertaking. 

We are all one; bleed the same colour; we all grieve for the loss of our loved ones with the same pain and sense of hopelessness; we are all here on earth for only a limited time and we can all only try our best to leave a positive mark. Make a difference, no matter how small, for the sake of our present and future generations. 

Be human, stand for humanity and let it prevail. 

"NO RELIGION IS HIGHER THAN HUMANITY." Abdul Sattar Edhi. (Pakistani philanthropist and humanitarian.) 

The writer is a London based Rights Activist who holds a Masters degree in Law with Human Rights as a major from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. She has special interest in politics and human rights developments in particular in South Asia and South Asians living around the globe.