New Zealand terror attack sheer evil

Terrorists are enemies of humanity. The mass terror shooting at two Christchurch mosques in New Zealand, which left a number of innocent worshippers dead and several others injured, is an abhorrent, cowardly and heinous act that confirms the dangers posed by fanatic ideology and extremism, which is not restricted to any region or religion.

Terrorists engage in indiscriminate violence and destruction with the wrong notion that they can strangle social harmony and break the unity of peace-loving people.

What the evil-mongers fail to realise is that the world remains strongly united more than ever now against the scourge of terrorism. The angry reaction of world leaders who have expressed condolences and condemnation with one voice against the dastardly act serves as ample proof of that.

New Zealand is known as a peace-loving nation that adores the values of peace, unity and compassion towards all communities. It is so placid and so isolated from the mass shootings that plague many other countries that even police officers rarely carry guns.

Ironically, the cold-blooded gunman himself highlighted New Zealand’s remoteness as a reason he chose it. He had mentioned that an attack in New Zealand would show that no place on earth was safe and that even a country as far away as New Zealand is subject to mass immigration.

The dreadful violence violated the sanctity of a holy place of worship. The despicable man had the audacity to leave behind a 74-page document posted on social media in which he said he hoped to survive the attack to better spread his ideas. Disgustingly, the self-proclaimed racist used rifles covered in white-supremacist graffiti and listened to a song glorifying a Bosnian Serb war criminal.

Before Friday, New Zealand’s worst mass shooting was in 1990 when a gun-mad loner killed 13 men, women and children in a 24-hour rampage in the tiny seaside village of Aramoana. He had to be killed by police.

The latest hate attack also indicates a rising tide of violent Islamophobia and this aspect needs to be addressed more earnestly by the international community.

The UAE, on its part, has always maintained an unequivocal position of denouncing terrorism in all its forms and manifestations regardless of their motivations, justifications and sources.

UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Twitter message echoes the feelings  of the entire nation: “On a peaceful Friday, and in a mosque, a typical peaceful place of worship, we saw the most heinous of religious hate crimes where 49 worshippers were killed. Our condolences to New Zealand, and to the families of the victims, and to all Muslims in my name and on behalf of my country that is dedicating a full year for promoting tolerance in the world. We express our deepest sorrow and call upon the entire world to thoughtfully consider inculcating interfaith tolerance.”

The time has come for terrorists to be made to realise that there is no safe place for them on earth.

Such bloody acts of terror could be avoided by strongly promoting the values of diversity and peaceful coexistence. Countries need to act more vigorously to build partnerships to promote the cherishable values of tolerance and peace.