Staff Reporter
Auckland, August 30, 2020
New Zealand’s Ahmadiyya community has welcomed the sentencing of Australian terrorist Brenton Tarrant at the Christchurch High Court on August 27, 2020, saying that it brought an end to the chapter of the horrific Mosque attacks on March 15, 2019.
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community New Zealand Imam Mustenser Qamar said that the harrowing memories of ‘that dark day in March 2019’ will live on especially for the families directly affected.
Courage of Muslims
“Our Muslim brothers and sisters showed great courage and bravery in confronting the terrorist with their victim statements (at the Christchurch Court). Though, according to our beliefs, the martyrs will be rewarded, it is often those who are left behind and the survivors who go through the most difficult times,” he said.
He said that over the past few years, many members of the Ahmadiyya community have arrived from Pakistan where they have faced similar targeting.
“One of the survivors of a Mosque attack in Lahore in 2010 still recalls the vivid memories of that time and still has multiple scars of bullets in his body. Many of our community members have survived similar Mosque attacks and targeting in Pakistan, however, due to state-backed persecution perpetrators are often hailed as heroes,” Imam Qamar said.
He hoped that Muslim countries like Pakistan can also learn from New Zealand.
“Not only in the support and love shown by the people, but also the government and legal system ensuring justice reigns supreme. However, due to our faith, we also turn only to God Almighty and seek strength from Him through these difficult times being faced by our community as we come to the end of a chapter in New Zealand,” Imam Qamar said.
Community targeted in Pakistan
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community New Zealand National President Bashir Khan said that we are fortunate to live in a country where there is freedom of belief and worship.
“Whilst we are grateful for the harshest possible sentence being given out to the Christchurch terrorist, we also recall the sufferings of our own members. Some who have survived and taken refuge in the shores of New Zealand and some who are still suffering on a daily basis without any justice from the legal system or the law,” he said.
Mr Khan said that in Pakistan, due to state laws specifically targeting our community, we do not have these freedoms to peacefully practice our faith.
“Our members are mercilessly killed and openly boycotted. Signs are even placed outside of shops saying, ‘Ahmadis must be killed’ and ‘We do not deal with Ahmadis’. Unfortunately, we do not get justice or the support of the law due to state laws like Ordinance XX,” he said.
Heightened threats
Mr Khan said that threats against community members in Pakistan have heightened in recent years, including targeted killings.
“Due to the laws restricting Ahmadis from peacefully practicing our faith and the false accusations of blasphemy levelled against Ahmadis, vigilantism leads to the targeting of our members. Recently, a murderer walked into a court and killed one person, identifying him as an Ahmadi [though he was not]. Yet, this murderer was hailed as a hero and even security forces proudly took selfies with him due to the honour he was getting for this murder,” Mr Khan said.
