Ignorance breeds fear, says Sydney imam
A Sydney imam in Christchurch to bury those killed in Friday’s terror attack says the best response is to show love.
Shayk Soner Coruhlu arrived in Christchurch on Sunday to help prepare the bodies of those killed in the shootings.
Coruhlu, who belongs to Bonnyrigg Mosque in southwest Sydney and lectures in Islamic studies, said the best response was ‘‘to show love’’.
‘‘I will help with washing the bodies ... and getting them ready for the funeral and trying to be a comfort to the families.’’
He expected this to happen over the next two days.
‘‘They will really need our support when the bodies are released and brought back to the families.’’
Coruhlu had just finished leading prayers for Muslim students and staff at Macquarie University on Friday when he learnt about the Christchurch attack.
A week earlier, he had been invited to Queenstown to help Muslim leaders who were planning to build the resort town’s first mosque.
He told them they could not afford to be ‘‘complacent’’ in helping non-Muslims understand Islam, as those who did not have such understanding ‘‘may cause us harm’’.
‘‘The response from the brothers in Queenstown was: ‘No, never in Queenstown, never in New Zealand.’ ’’
Coruhlu said ignorance about Islam could breed dangerous misunderstandings and Muslims had a role in helping to stop that.