White terror: Indian-American organizations express solidarity with global Muslim community

Seven Indians are among the 50 people killed in the March 15 attacks at two mosques – Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Avenue Masjid — in Christchurch, New Zealand. Media reports say at least nine Indians are still reported missing.

While the Indian High Commission, in a tweet on March 17, confirmed the death of five Indians, some reports in the Indian media say the number of dead is seven. “With a very heavy heart we share the news of loss of precious lives of our 5 nationals in ghastly terror attack in #Christchurch,” the tweet said. The five victims identified in the tweet were: Maheboob Khokhar, Ramiz Vora, Asif Vora, Ansi Karippakulam Alibava and Mohammad Imran Khan.

The Hindu reports that although Kadir, 25, studying to be a commercial pilot, was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, his parents now live in Hyderabad.

Indo-Asian News Service names Farhan Ahsan and Mohammad Imran Khan as the other two victims. News reports say Khan, originally from Karimnagar, Telangana, has family settled in Illinois. He was running two restaurants in Christchurch, including the Indian Grill. ABC 7 reports that according to the Islamic Foundation in Villa Park, Illinois, Khan was the son of one of the foundation’s families. 

The attacker, identified by authorities as Australia-born Brenton Tarrant, 28, who targeted immigrants during Friday prayers, is now under police custody and was presented in court, March 16.

Video footage widely circulated on social media on March 15, apparently taken by the gunman, possibly with a camera on his head, and posted online live as the attack unfolded, showed him driving to one mosque, entering it and shooting randomly at people inside. After parking his vehicle, he is seen taking two guns and walking a short distance to the entrance of the mosque. Over the course of five minutes, he can be seen shooting worshippers. He is seen returning to his car, changing guns, and then going back into the mosque and killing more people.

Calling it one of New Zealand’s “darkest days,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the media right after the attacks that “clearly what has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence,” adding that “many of those who would have been affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand. They may even be refugees here. They have chosen to make New Zealand their home and it is their home ... they are us. The persons who has perpetuated this violence against us ... have no place in New Zealand,” she said.

News reports describe Alibava as a 25-year-old married woman from Thrissur, Kerala. She migrated to the New Zealand with her husband Abdul Nassar last year and lived near the mosques that were attacked.  She was pursuing her masters in agribusiness management at the Lincoln University and was killed in the shooting at the Al Noor mosque. Quoting Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Hindu, on March 17, reported that Alibava’s  body was expected to be bought to India this week. Sources told the Hindu that the family rejected the request of the New Zealand government to perform her last rites there.

Khokhar and his wife Akhtar were visiting their son Imran Khokhar who has been working for over a decade in Christchurch.

News reports say Imran dropped off his father at the Al Noor mosque just moments before the shooting began. Khokhar, 65, a retired employee of Gujarat Electricity Board, was supposed to return to Ahmedabad on March 16.

His son-in-law told the Hindu that Khokhar would never miss offering namaz at their local mosque in Ahmedabad and continued the practice even when he visited his son in Christchurch.

Ramiz Vora, who was reportedly praying with his father at the Al Noor mosque, had just welcomed a daughter, his first child, a few days ago. Asif and his wife had gone to New Zealand just a month ago for the birth.

The father-son duo was reportedly praying at the mosque after completing his wife’s discharge from the hospital.

Vadodara MP Ranjan Bhatt told the Hindu that most of Voras’ close family members have migrated abroad. “The Gujarat government has requested the New Zealand high commission to grant visa to Mohsin, Asif’s’ brother, and relatives of Rameez’s wife, on a priority basis,” he said.

The New Zealand Herald reported that Ashan, 30, who completed his masters from Aukland University, and worked in Christchurch, leaves behind his wife Insha Aziz, his 3-year-old daughter and 7-month-old son.

Fijian-Indian Musa Vali Suleman Patel, 59, an imam in the Fiji Muslim League, was a native of Luvara village of Bharuch, Gujarat. He was reportedly visiting Christchurch with his wife. The couple had come to Australia to visit their son.

Hyderabad native, Ahmed Iqbal Jehangir, who sustained bullet injuries in his chest and shoulder, “is out of danger and recovering,” his brother Mohammed Khursheed Jehangir told IANS. He said a surgery was performed on Ahmed at a hospital in Christchurch to remove a bullet. IANS reported that Ahmed, settled in New Zealand for 15 years, runs a Hyderabadi food restaurant near the Al Noor mosque. His wife and children who stay in the same neighborhood were reported to be safe.

Several Pakistani and Bangladeshi natives are among those killed and missing. The Bangladesh cricket team which was touring New Zealand had a narrow escape. News reports say the entire team was going to the Al Noor mosque for Friday prayers. The third cricket Test between New Zealand and Bangladesh was cancelled in the wake of the shootings.

World leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood in solidarity with New Zelanders as they coped with what is described as the country’s deadliest attacks. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Arden, Modi expressed his deepest condolences to the families bereaved in this dastardly attack, offered heartfelt prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured and underscored India’s solidarity with the friendly people of New Zealand at this difficult time. 

Meanwhile in the U.S., several Indian-American including the All India Christian Council, United Sikhs, Muslim Community Network, Muslim Peace Coalition-USA, Council on American-Islamic Relations, South Asian Americans Leading Together and Chhaya CD among others, have condemned the March 15 attacks.

“This attack is a reminder that the world is in dire need of peacemakers, who will sow peace and fiercely push back against the evil that aims to suppress the fundamental right of every human being to practice his or her religion as they would choose,” a statement from the Muslim Peace Coalition-USA said. “The Muslim American community stands with our brothers and sisters in New Zealand, as we pray for a world of peace and a safer tomorrow, free of the violence we experienced in Christchurch. Together we will overcome this tragedy and continue to stand strong against the wave of racism, hatred, and bigotry that we have been facing as a global community in recent years. We are grateful to have received such a positive outpouring of support from our interfaith partners in this moment of grief and so many of whom are coming to stand in solidarity with us in prayer vigils and community gatherings nationwide.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations recommended that mosques have a written safety plan known to its leaders, and that gaps in security are addressed, such as alarms, barriers to entryways, exterior lights functioning, and security cameras.

In a statement, CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad said: “We mourn the heartbreaking killings of men, women and children gathered for prayer in their houses of worship and urge leaders in our nation and worldwide to speak out forcefully against the growing anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant hate that appears to have motivated these white supremacist terrorists. In the wake of this tragedy, we urge mosques, Islamic schools and other community institutions in the United States and around the world to take stepped-up security precautions, particularly during times of communal prayer.”

SAALT executive director Suman Raghunathan said that “houses of worship should be places of refuge and peace, not scenes of a massacre.”

She said SAALT stands with “Muslim communities everywhere as the world mourns and we seek to keep our communities safe.”

The Muslim American Leadership Alliance board of directors, in a statement said that “we must not give in to hate.

“We must clean our soul from hate and prejudice and replace with love and kindness. We must stand united, increase our membership of camaraderie, love, and compassion. Our ultimate objective is to teach kindness, and inclusivity in our family and communities, and eliminate division and hateful rhetoric through civic engagement and unity.”

“The Chhaya community is outraged and deeply saddened by the unspeakable attack on our Muslim sisters and brothers at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Center in New Zealand,” a statement by Chhaya CDC said. “Our hearts go out to the families who lost their loved ones, many of whom left their homeland in search of a better life.”

“United Sikhs will continue to support our Muslim brothers and sisters, in the United States and globally as they overcome from such a tragedy,” a statement from the group said. “Having been through misfortunes of our own, we, the Sikh community understand the impact these acts of hate have on our community. We will continue to stand by you as you heal.”

Rev. Joseph D’Souza, president of the All India Christian Council, in a statement released on March 15 said: “Our hearts are with the Muslim community in New Zealand after this heinous attack on the Masjid Al Noor and Linwood mosques. We applaud the prime minister’s right decision to quickly condemn the attack.

“This is the latest reminder that our world has descended into a social media-fueled decadence that consumes the political and religious class.

“That this kind of violence could happen in a peaceful country like New Zealand exposes the great danger all nations face when religious extremists or extreme nationalists take advantage of platforms like social media to propagate their twisted, hate-filled philosophies and call for violence to be unleashed on innocent people like those in Christchurch Friday.”