CHRISTCHURCH
Iranian-Kiwi writer and Christchurch resident, Donna Miles-Mojab, was visiting family in the US when she heard news of the terrorist attack. She reflects on the impact of the attack on her beloved adopted homeland and on her fellow Muslims.
Following the tragedy in Christchurch, we share our readers’ stories, and look to love and hope to help us cope with this trauma.
The minister addressed his congregation: “We are standing on holy ground to acknowledge that every life is a sacred gift. On holy ground we dare let loss stir our souls, we dare let the image of 50 empty prayer mats begin to whisper to our hearts the enormity of loss. We dare this because to become callous to such evil is to lose our souls. We do this because in grief we are not alone. We are on this journey together.”
The words spoken by Reverend Floyd McKeithen, a United Methodist minister, filled the King Fahad mosque in Culver City, California, with echoes of “Allah o Akbar” [God is great].
I attended the mosque with my American-Iranian cousins, but I wasn’t the only Kiwi there. Sam Vanderkolk from Palmerston North was there too. He said his emotional response came when he saw his country’s reaction to the event. He told me he attended the Friday Prayer at the mosque because he wanted to “share some love – to share some support”. “It is not for the Muslim community to come forward, it is our time to step up,” Sam added.
My sadness is deep. I know how Muslim mothers grieve and the mother in me feels their pain. My eyes well up with tears when I read that a mother of one of the victims has died of a heart attack before her son’s funeral. Sorrow literally broke her wounded heart. But all this pain is not in vain. The messages that have flooded my phone since the attack have shown that change is in the air. A friend, who not long ago shared an Islamophobic post on her Facebook page, messaged me to say she visited her local mosque for the first time – “it was grieving that sent me”, she wrote.
An American-Iranian I met at a gathering said he had never stepped foot inside a mosque before, but was
the mosque attack in a matter of days changed many hearts & minds.
determined to travel to Christchurch and attend the Al Noor mosque on the anniversary of the terrorist attack. “I will be there in Christchurch on the 15th of March,” he told me assuredly.
The outpouring of support and love for the Muslim community in NZ has been so heartwarming. People are going beyond the usual expressions of sympathy through flowers and vigils, and they are reaching out to Muslims.
For years, the Muslim community has struggled against Islamophobia. But now, with a cruel twist of fate, a barbaric act of terrorism – meant to spread more hatred and division – has shone a positive light on Muslims who continue to suffer from alienation and dehumanisation all around the world.
The Christchurch mosque attack, in a matter of days, changed many hearts and minds. There is an overwhelming willingness for people in New Zealand and people around the world to listen to Muslims.
The Vice Mayor of Culver City in California, Meghan Sahli-Wells, told me she felt, as a local leader, it was important for her to show solidarity with the Muslim community because in her country “the hateful rhetoric from highest offices” made hate “very banal” and violence “too acceptable”.
The NZ Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern’s display of humanity has set an example for the rest of the world. There is even talk of her nomination for the Noble Peace Prize. When she was asked about her response to the Christchurch terrorist attack, Ardern said she felt she was merely echoing what most New Zealanders were feeling and wanted to happen.
For that reason, I would like the people of New Zealand to be nominated for the Noble Peace Prize. They have shown us how to overcome hate with radical love.