About the New Zealand attacks..

Bismillah

Al-Nu’man ibn Basheer reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The Muslims are like a single man. If the eye is afflicted, then the whole body is afflicted. If the head is afflicted, then the whole body is afflicted.”Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2586

I’m sorry. I was really supposed to get a post together this weekend, but for a reason known to many, I could just not find the heart to do so.

So many words are going through my mind, but yet I cannot seem to find the inspiration to pen them down. If this post does not seem to meet expectation, please excuse the writer behind its shortfalls, who is clearly at a loss for words.

Let me be honest. I don’t read the news. I don’t look at the papers. I don’t even have a news application on my phone. I prefer not to know about the news, because it’s seldom that there’s anything good to hear on it. When I first heard about the attack in New Zealand, I wasn’t deeply affected.

“One of those mosque attacks that happen now and then,” was all I thought.

And I shrugged the thought away and continued with my Jumuah Prayers, and normal routine.

It was only that very evening, when a friend gave me a detailed account of what had actually occurred, that my heart almost sunk to my toes.

The fact that the perpetrator used social media and it followers as an attempted popularity attempt, is sickening. With a helmet camera, full armour, and countless machine guns that he fired at innocent civilians who had just wanted to pray… I wasn’t sure that there was much else in the world that was more brazen than this merciless killing. As I read various accounts on social media, of the killing and even of him shooting a women who was still alive twice in the head and driving over her… I am deeply affected. More so than ever before, and I don’t fully understand my emotions. I think this has been on of the worst mass killings I had read of, and his utter brutality and complete lack of remorse is what disturbs me most.

The thing is, this is not the first attack of this type, and unfortunately, it won’t be the last. We have to feel for our fellow Muslims, and we have to share in the grief of fellow humans. Innocent lives of children as young as 3 years old were lost. Kids that had their lives ahead of them were killed. Refugees who had been living in New Zealand with the hope of a better life… were shot down.

And of course, I couldn’t help the questions. What kind of world are we living in? What kind of sick world are my kids going to grow up in? How do we explain the ugliness and brutality that is becoming more and more rife, as the years go by?

Someone wrote something yesterday that kind of stuck with me. Everyone is talking about this. Everyone wants to know the face behind this terror. Everyone needs a name to place blame on.

But let’s take a minute and think. This is what he wanted. He wanted fame. He wanted recognition. He wanted to be known for the terrorist attacks that he committed, inspired by Donald trump and white supremacy. This sick man, wanted people to talk about him.

So let’s not. Let’s make a pact with ourselves, and let’s not even make an effort to know his name. If you do know it, try to forget it. Kill his notoriety because he’s not even worthy of that. Instead, let’s be the light in the darkened world that’s been switched off.

Let’s speak about the good. Speak about the heroes, who had lost their lives. Speak about the heroes around the world, who are making a small effort in trying to exert a big change. It’s not only about the #Christchurch attacks… it’s about the attack on pure humanity. On goodness. The constant rivalry that makes the haters always win.

So in a world where hate triumphs, let’s choose love. Be simple. Be kind. Smile at people. Share food. Spread Love.

Because the hate is all over. The hate is what everyone focuses on. Hate is, after all, what sells.

So in a world where hate stands out, be that little light that can make a difference. Be the love that can spread goodness, even if it’s just in one corner of this ruthless world.

Only with love, will we eventually see some beauty in this ugly world. Even in slums, and in fear, and even in the face of terror… With love, maybe some day .. one day… we will see that love.

Choose love. Because love CAN conquer it all.

Much Love,

Amatullah 🌸

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