We must shut down bigotry, hate speech

Terrorism has no regard for mankind. It does not care for religion, race or culture. It lacks respect for humanity in general.

I have received many messages of support and love following the murder of 50 individuals of Muslim faith in Christchurch, New Zealand. I thank all well-wishers from the bottom of my heart.

I must add though that it is insufficient to stand in solidarity only when such massacres have taken place. It is our obligation to grow in respect and tolerance. It is important to shut down bigotry and hate speech right when it’s taking hold.

If we let even a small amount of hatred grow inside our communities, it spirals into something much bigger one day, eventually affecting the lives of many. Therefore, we must not wait for tragedies to bring us together; rather we must stand beside each other at all times.

The words of Mirza Masroor Ahmad, leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, are very relevant at a time like this: “This tragic event should serve as a lesson and warning to other countries of the developed world that we must join together to tackle all forms of racial, ethnic and religious hatred with wisdom and with a firm hand.”

I end with a simple message for humanity: Love for all, hatred for none! Imam Tariq Azeem, Missionary Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Delta, B.C. Re Citizens welcome tighter gun restrictions, March 18 New Zealanders who think we don’t need guns to feel safe, but perhaps it’s a different story in the U.S., are failing to see that semiautomatic guns in particular are a terrible idea (even in the U.S.) and pose more risk to those who own or “collect” them than they are worth. Gun fanciers who complain about their fun being taken away because of a few “bad apples” fail to recognize that one “bad apple” in Las Vegas killed 59 people and wounded hundreds more.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must join New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and earn his feminist credentials, while at the same time forcing Conservative Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer to openly distance himself from advocating for the ownership of these weapons.

We need an immediate moratorium on the import of rapid-fire guns from the U.S. destined for civilian sale, since Canada already has about a million restricted and prohibited firearms. Until this can come into effect, those who “collect” such weapons should be obliged to have tens of millions of dollars of insurance, due to what the burglarization or misuse of their weapons can potentially cost the public.

The U.S. has already endured more than 1,700 mass shootings. We got our most recent wakeup calls at a Quebec City mosque and on the Danforth. As the old bumper sticker used to say: “Enough is enough is enough.” Ron Charach, Toronto