The mosque massacre in New Zealand isn’t the first time & it won’t be the last time until we internationally organize ourselves against all initiatives to discriminate against or persecute Muslims & Arabs, including all attempts to outlaw the veil in public places. It means rejecting the ‘war on terror’ rhetoric justifying war, occupation, genocide. It is not overstatement to say that the rhetoric portraying the Syrian Arab Spring uprising as “Wahhabi jihadi terrorism” & promoting Syrian, Russian, Iranian, & US-coalition military aggression as liberation from ISIS & terrorism is directly implicated in every violent attack on Muslims. The pogroms against Muslims in India, the occupations of Kashmir & Palestine, the genocide against Rohingya, the mosque shoot-ups in the US, the media & cinematic portrayals of Muslims & Arabs as monsters & terrorists, legislation against the veil, the Muslim ban in the US, & now this massacre in New Zealand are on a continuum of persecution that must be politically organized against. As Zachriah Sulayman says, “Until and unless, the root cause of this problem is grabbed by its throat, incidents like these are bound to happen. It’s time to live as one race or perish as fools.”
May our Muslim sisters & brothers in Christchurch Rest In Peace while we fight like hell to end persecution of others that they may all live in peace.