A group of human rights activists staged a rally near the White House on Sunday, condemning the massacres of Muslims in New Zealand mosque attacks and urging an end to bigotry and Islamophobia.
The participants displayed a large banner to express solidarity with victims of terrorist shootings that claimed lives of 50 Muslims in two Christchurch mosques, and expressed solidarity with the bereaved families.
Several American Muslim participants also protested sensational stereotyping of Muslims in parts of the media, saying the sweeping coverage also fuels Islamophobia.
A large banner displayed pictures of the victims with a call that “Islamophobia has no place in civilized societies.”
Speakers at a rally in D.C. March 24, 2019
Image: Kazi Mannan Facebook
A placard said the “Muslim martyrs of New Zealand are heroes of humanity” while another said “Stop Islamophobia.”
In their speeches, activists thanked the Government of New Zealand, particularly Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. The participants said the New Zealand government’s expressions of solidarity with the Muslim community and recitation and streaming of Azaan from the Parliament changed the narrative and people got an opportunity to know that Muslims are people of faith like other people.
“That changed the narrative, and gave a message of inclusion,” said Imam Ali Siddiqui.
The participants also highlighted America’s commitment to pluralism and religious freedom, and asked President Donald Trump to strongly condemn any incidents of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bigotry. Pakistani-American religious leader Zafar Iqbal Noori also stressed Islam’s spirit of love and peaceful coexistence.
Photo: Kazi Mannan
Kazi Mannan, a Pakistani-American owner of Sakina Halal Restaurant, who co-organized the demonstration, said Muslims are a peaceful people.
Mannan, whose restaurant located in the heart of Washington D.C., feeds the homeless and the poor free of cost, underscored that Islam is a religion of peace.
“We stand for love, and we are here to condemn hate and bigotry.”
Nine of the 50 victims were Pakistanis. A Pakistani Naeem Rashid, who saved lives from the rampaging shooter by confronting him, and later died of bullet wounds, has been hailed in New Zealand and globally for his courage and heroism.
