3 April 2019 | Volume 78 | Edition 2
“We are also humans...we aren’t as scary as the media portrays.” How students responded to the Christchurch Massacre
By Aman Adams
O
n Friday, 15 March 2019, 50 Muslims have been shot dead in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand during their weekly prayers. The event has been live-streamed by the attackers and therefore caused international outrage that led to protests, including the University of Cape Town (UCT). As an institution that values inclusivity and the ability to express one’s religious beliefs, it certainly shook the Muslim community at UCT. Following the event, The UCT Muslim Students Association (MSA) staged a silent protest on Wednesday, 20 March 2019, in solidarity with the victims of the shooting. “Key concept towards combating this discrimination is education”
When a number of MSA members were asked about what students can do on campus to prevent discrimination
against Muslims and other religious communities, they were of the opinion that the student body needs to be more inclusive. Aliyah Abrahams, a participant in the event, said, “ Everyone just has to accept everyone else, just like we accept gay people, transgender people, all kinds of people.” “Even if you don’t understand it, it’s all about respect,” says Amaarah Kehayias.“I think it’s very hard to try and find a solution [to discrimination], it’s not going to happen overnight.” Furthermore, students believe that a key concept towards combating this discrimination is education. “It doesn’t even have to be something big, either,” Zahra Motlekar remarks. “It can be small things, just educating the friends that we have, inviting them to things that we attend as Muslims and having discussions. I think that’s a way that we can incite change.” “The obvious answer
Image by Rachel Hartman
would be to learn more about other people’s faith and religion, but to be honest [the responsibility] also lies on the Muslim,” says Ilyaas Toefy, Head of the MSA. “Events aimed at creating awareness of the way media portrays Islam” Other members of the MSA also seem to hold this opinion. Thaakirah
Dollie supports this point, stating, “It’s also our responsibility as Muslims to conduct ourselves in a way that will show everybody that we are also humans, we aren’t as scary as the media portrays.” According to Toefy, “it is an Islamic value- to verify the information that you are learning before spreading [information] or even acting upon it in a hostile way [regardless of one’s faith].”
The MSA has stated that they will be hosting a variety of events in the future to ensure that the image of Islam is not solely shaped by their responses to events such as the Christchurch Massacre. These events will also aim to bring about awareness of the way in which the media often mistakenly portrays Islam.