“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.”
– Coretta Scott King
Terror Shakes The World
The recent terrorist attack of the White Supremacist who killed 50 Muslim worshipers, including a 3 year old child, and injured many more in New Zealand, has brought into sharp focus the realities of extremist ideologies in the world today, and how easy they can be spread around the world through the use of social media. The Terrorist streamed the attack live on Facebook, which was then played by several news outlets, after which they apologised.
The impetus with social media is always to share content that we have had an emotional reaction to, whether we find it funny, inspirational or horrifying. The outpouring of love and unity that has galvanised the New Zealand public in support of the Muslim community in their country has created collective inspiration to respond to hate with love. This is a message that should always be shared and encouraged, especially on social media.
The Wrong Message
The Prophet Mohammad and every other prophet across the multitude of world religions said that we should love our neighbour as ourselves and respond to hate with love. This message should be shared on social media to encourage such behaviour in others and to drown out the opposing views of hate and violence that are also spread through social media, including some heads of state like Donald Trump, who spreads divisive ideas through his daily barrage of tweets.
However, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put on a Hijab and held the mourning survivors in a loving embrace. She also made a statement to their Parliament stating that the Terrorist was looking for attention and fame for his actions and extremist ideology, so she will never say his name. This is a powerful reminder to me that just as Politicians and news outlets have the responsibility to make wise decisions on whether they put a spotlight on the actions, motives and ideas of extremists, we too have a responsibility to do the same with the content that we share on social media.
Our Social Responsibility
Every time we share a negative comment, image or video on other people because of their race or religion we not only spread racist ideas we also create a space for this type of content to be acceptable. After the rise of extremist groups that call themselves Muslim who cite the oppression of the West on Muslims as justification for acts of Terror, it has become more acceptable to disrespect and insult Muslims, as if they were part of the problem. There is also a rise in Nationalism across the world, which has consequently encouraged racist comments and actions towards immigrants, who are largely fleeing the violence of wars that the West has a stake in creating in the first place. The Terrorist who attacked Muslims in New Zealand attacked them for being immigrants, but he was himself an immigrant from Australia. There seems to be a double standard depending on the colour of the immigrants skins.
Many White Supremacists, who are classed as Terrorists, are Christian, but we do not associate Christianity with Terrorism. This is because Great Britain and America are seen as Christian nations and it is part of ‘OUR’ identity. Muslims are seen as the ‘OTHER’, which in many people’s minds makes them fair game for criticism and attacks. Remember that the vast majority of world religions talks about loving our neighbour as ourselves. The American Declaration of Independence states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
We Need Not Stand Divided
It is high time we started treating ‘ALL PEOPLE’ as our neighbours and to love them as ourselves, just like New Zealand did in the wake of this Terrorist attack. There will be exceptions where we come across individuals who act or speak in a way that is in direct opposition to our values and beliefs, but we can always disagree respectfully. If we disagree with the theology of other religions then by all means criticise the theology in the form of theological debate, with arguments for an alternative set of beliefs, but this should never extend to criticising someone because they are Muslim or Christian, Buddhist or Atheist. We all have the right to explore and follow our own beliefs.
It is our actions that we need to monitor and challenge when they infringe on the rights and dignity of others. We have to be responsible when we are deciding to share content on social media. There is an old Sufi maxim about our words passing through three gates before we say them, and I believe that we should consider them when we share content online. Each gate has a question, each of which is very important. These are the three questions.
- Is it true?
- Is it necessary?
- Is it kind?
If we can all be responsible on social media and we share only content that encourages love, compassion, community, inspiration and respect then we can drown out the hate. When Terrorists attack any of us they attack all of us. We are one humanity and, like New Zealand has, we can respond to hate with resounding unity. We can look into the face of those who hate and say not here, not in my community. We are shaped largely by our community because what is permitted becomes normal. We must never late hate become normal. Then we will all lose.
Something to reflect on:
I challenge you to find people in your lives that need a hug, a kind word, a good laugh or a listening ear and be the person who provides it. Lead by example and change your community, whether it be your family, your friends, your neighbourhood or your workplace, by being there for others. They will then do the same for someone else, it is in our nature to do so.
The Fullfilment Project 