We are appalled and horrified by the heinous terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, which have taken the lives of 49 innocent worshipers and injured over 20 others. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, friends and loved ones.
The attackers can not lay claim to any religion or civic values but the ideologies of hate, violence and intolerance. Indeed, an attack on a mosque is an attack on all places of worship and faiths. We urge everyone to be vigilant but we must stand united once more to defend our values of love, compassion, coexistence and peace.
The Al-Khoei Foundation is extremely concerned about the rise of far-right extremism and Islamophobia. It is vital that this form of hate is acknowledged and confronted before it causes further violence and takes more lives. We continue to work with faith leaders and communities to raise these issues with the authorities and recently addressed the Human Rights Council in Geneva on this subject. We call on all governments to take the matter seriously and develop strategies to tackle this serious threat.
We stand in solidarity with the people of New Zealand and pray for the victims of this tragedy.
