Outside of mosques located in New Zealand, and across the world, are bundles of flowers and messages of kindness for Muslims, directly and implicitly impacted by the terrorist attack at the two Christchurch mosques (Masjid Al Noor and Linwood Masjid Mosque) in New Zealand.
These physical tributes are not gifts, but one of the many acts of solidarity to Muslims everywhere after a White supremacist killed 50 people (up from 49) and injured 47 others, who were attending their Jumu’ah.
According to Time Magazine, many of the individuals leaving flowers outside of mosques are not Muslim themselves, but people who are expressing their solidarity with Muslim communities.
Institutions from varying religious denominations have opened their doors to individuals whose mosques closed due to safety concerns. A LaunchGood fundraiser for the New Zealand families impacted by the racist massacre has received over $1 million dollars with 15 days still left for fundraising. The New York University community and cities across Canada also held vigils to commemorate Christchurch victims.
Some have taken to the internet to spread images and letters of support for Muslims everywhere.
According to BuzzFeed News, Ruby Jones (@rubyalicejones), 25, from Wellington, made an illustration to deal with the events in Christchurch that deeply resonated with the online audience. Jones posted a drawing of a person hugging another person, who is wearing a hijab and assumed to be Muslim.
The bottom of the illustration reads, “This is your home and you should have been safe here.”
“It felt like the only thing I could do in that moment was put a tiny speckle of warmth out there for anyone who needed it,” Jones said to Buzzfeed News. “A hug, although small, is a symbol of love and togetherness and warmth.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvBDW9Oln7R/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana and 2020 presidential candidate, shared a letter after the New Zealand massacre, to express his support and need for the members of the Muslim community in his own town.
“I wish to tell you that you are loved but also needed. This City very much needs you at a time like this, because you help to demonstrate the values and desires that we all have in common,” Buttigieg writes.
“In your community involvement, in your professional work, in your very presence—when you live in accordance with your faith, and bring your stories and traditions to the tapestry of this City and country, you are not only exercising a right but also bearing a gift.”
Some of the New Zealand victims were teenagers, immigrants, refugees, and community leaders — but all were children, friends, or parents to someone.
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