The whole Islamic world is guilty

By Sarbaz Roohulla Rezvi

TEHRAN - The horrible images massacre of Al-Noor mosque of Christchurch that shocked us all, were of course delightful for some. Right-wing movements from the divinator United states of America to the black heart of the green continent, from French white fascists to Anti-non-semitic Zionists, from RSS Hindus in Saffron dresses to extremist Buddhists of Rakhine, all have watched those images again and again ridiculing those frivolous Muslims drumming the beats of Arab-Ajam, Kurd-Turk, Shia-Sunni differences.

We Muslims were also guilty in the spread of Islamophobic rhetoric when the American discourse of "War Against Terrorism" was accepted by us all, overlooking that the discourse considers every and each Muslim, be an Arab or Ajam, Kurd or Turk, Shia or Sunni a potential terrorist. We started to blame each other as Terrorists naively, conceiving that this will obtain us respect in front of the so called modern world as non-terrorist Muslims. Here the intrinsic diversity among Muslims, was revealed more as repulsion, hatred and animosity.

Extremists with different ideological backgrounds have never been under attack with the discourse of Terrorism until 2001, while during second half of 20th century, most of the massacres that took place, victimized Muslims but non of the western countries, considered those criminals as Terrorists that whole world has to unite against them. The discourse of Terrorism all started when extremist Muslim groups tried to retaliate USA in the same way that they were attacking Muslim territories, no doubt both had to be denounced. 

The new wave of Islamophobia is a result of hegemony of the discourse of war against terrorism that non of the Islamic countries was able to keep away itself from that. It was resonated and repeated by Muslims more, rather than others, resulting in widespread penetration of the discourse across the world as we Muslims were confessing it.

Lets hope that the blood of innocent prayers of Al-Noor mosque of Christchurch makes the Muslim countries to review their attitude and convince them not to be a part of the system that reproduces violence against the Muslims by bowing in front of the American discourse of war against Terrorism. This, of course does not mean that hardliners among Muslims should not be confronted by any means, but we have to find an alternative discourse to fight them.