It had been, as she put it, New Zealand’s darkest day andPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern shined bright like the ray of hope and sanitythat she truly is in a world gone blind with hate and bigotry.
The world’s youngest prime minister was the very picture oflove, reason and immense courage as she firmly rejected the dark, apocalypticworldview of the white supremacist, terrorist, who calmly gunned down 51 Muslimworshippers last Friday, to embrace his victims.
Referring to the Friday massacre victims, Ardern declared,”They are us!” In one single, three-word sentence, she redefined the wholenarrative of ‘Us versus Them’ and turned the terrorism debate on its head.
Reaching out to all those affected by the tragedy, sheasserted: “Many of those who will have been directly affected by this shootingmay be migrants to New Zealand; they may even be refugees here. They havechosen to make New Zealand their home and it is their home. They are us.”
Rejecting the killer’s claim to speak on behalf of NewZealand and the West, she stressed: “The person who perpetuated this violenceis not (us)!”
Timeless words of wisdom and immense courage underfire. She did not mince her words. Nordid she fib or fudge, as has been the tradition of so many clever politicians,including our own, in her unqualified rejection of evil. Not for her the cleverspin of speechwriters and ingenious prevarication of dual-faced politicians,protecting one’s own and defending the indefensible.
She spoke straight from her heart and touched a billionhearts and more around the world. Andthose were not mere meaningless platitudes meant for occasions tailored forcameras. She walked the talk as she warmly hugged the families of victims andother Muslims during her visits to mosques in Christchurch and Wellingtonwearing hijab and looking solemn and grief-stricken.
In the words of Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Mahatma’s grandson,”Ardern spoke from a thinking heart and feeling mind to say something that wastotally different, totally timely and timeless.”
When President Trump called her and asked what the US coulddo to help, she advised: “Send out sympathy and love for all Muslimcommunities”.
Speaking later in Parliament she began her speech with’Assalamualikum’ and refused to name the killer: “He sought many things fromhis act of terror, but one was notoriety. And that is why you will never hearme mention his name. He is a terrorist, he is a criminal, he is an extremist.But he will, when I speak, be nameless.”
Instead she chose to stand with his victims, embracing themas her own and repeatedly assuring them of the support and solidarity of thepeople of New Zealand. Again she demonstrated it during the solemn funeral ofvictims held with the state support.
This is what leadership is all about, rising to the occasionand leading with example. Ardern has seta shining example for all world leaders and the rest of humanity. Bydemonstrating empathy, compassion and solidarity with the victims and embracingthe Other, she has shown the face of true humanity.
This is leadership at its best. This is how it should be.Embracing the Other and standing up for the vulnerable and the oppressed, thatis the real sign of humanity. Especially at a time when doors are shutting inthe face of refugees and persecuted minorities around the world and the leaderof the world’s richest nation spends all his time and energy obsessing overbuilding a wall to keep them out.
As my friend Sabrina Lei, an Italian scholar of the Quranand Iqbal, put it: “A true leader is someone who loves the people, and is inturn loved by the people. Ardern epitomises such leadership rooted in love,compassion, wisdom and trust. Unlike some of her male counterparts in certainwestern countries, she comes across as truly wise, genuine andcompassionate.”
And it takes real courage and audacity to do so when it iseasy for politicians to do otherwise. Especially today when the politics of expediency is the order of the dayand hate and bigotry have come to be normalised and even encouraged by thepowerful.
It is their dog whistle politics and hate-laced propagandaagainst minorities that has been creating monsters like the one who went on therampage at the Christchurch mosques.
While Islamophobia and racism have always been an integralpart of Western societies — sometimes visible and sometimes latent and nuanced– there has been an explosion of sorts in anti-Muslim sentiments in the wake ofSeptember 11 attacks.
As Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, one of the firstleaders to respond to the New Zealand attacks, put it, post 9/11 Islam and 1.3billion Muslims have collectively been blamed for every act of terror and violencearound the world, creating a climate of hate and intolerance for Muslims.
Indeed, the global war on terror led by the US has spawnedand normalised an unprecedented climate of hate against Arabs and Muslims andeveryone who looks like them. Over theyears, this hostile environment at home alienated many young and impressionableMuslims, born and brought up in the West, forcing some of them to flirt withextremists like Al-Qaida and ISIS.
On the other hand, this has emboldened all those whosehearts have forever been consumed by the mindless hatred of vulnerableminorities such as Muslims of India, Burma and Sri Lanka.
The ascent of Trump and his unbelievable election to theworld’s most powerful office coupled with his brazen anti-Muslim rhetoric andactions like the Muslim ban have taken Islamophobia to a whole new level. More important, as the Christchurch terroristacknowledged, it’s apparently inspiring dangerously unhinged sickos everywhere,especially in the West. The rise of the fascist Right across Europe is part ofthis alarming shift. The leader of the free world is the poster boy for many ofthem.
In India, it is the same cult of a masculine leader who isout to “deal” with Muslims that is driving the anti-Muslim hatred. As a result,Islamophobia has emerged as a clear and present danger to the peace andstability of our world.
Over the past few years, Muslim countries have repeatedlyraised the issue at the United Nations and other global forums. However, given their limited influence andthe random nature of their efforts, they have mostly been like voices in thewilderness and are yet to bear fruits.
Apparently, the Christchurch killer had been radicalised over the years growing on the kind of incendiary nonsense and conspiracy theories that politicians like Trump and Fox News routinely peddle.
He obsessed over the centuries old encounters between Islam and the West, especially the fall of Constantinople or Istanbul, once the seat of a great Christian empire, to Muslims and the subsequent Ottoman assaults on Vienna.
He even visited Turkey twice and had identified its leaders as his targets. All this clearly had been the result of perpetual brainwashing and indoctrination at the hands of white supremacists and Christian-Zionist bigots.
The Christchurch attacks should come as a wake-up call to the world community. It can no longer be business as usual. Politicians routinely spewing hate and intolerance and sowing strife between communities must be held to account. If you sow hatred against enemies imagined and invented, it is bound to produce a backlash.
You shall reap as you sow. World leaders, including those in the West and South Asia need to learn from New Zealand’s leadership. You must confront evil head on to nip it in the bud while lending a helping hand to those who need it the most.