Regardless of religion, ingredients of extremists are summarised in one word: Hatred

The heinous terror attack that took place against Muslim worshippers in two mosques in Christchurch was a demonstration that racist ideologies have no limits when it comes to advancing their hatred against “the other”. But the response of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was precisely the opposite. She showed that in humanity there is no “other”, but that we are all “us”. Her compassionate meeting with the families of the victims and her strong policy messages regarding the steps that her government would take provided the right references to stress on the importance of coexistence, respect and peace. In order to fight those extremists, it is important to show the determination expressed by New Zealand’s leader.

In our context, we have suffered from such extremism, with horrible cases of attacks against holy sites. We saw this when an Israeli terrorist massacred 29 Palestinian worshippers in the Ibrahimi Mosque. Only a few years ago, we witnessed with commotion how terrorists from Daesh had attacked two Coptic churches in Egypt during the celebration of Palm Sunday, killing at least 45 worshippers. We have also witnessed Daesh and Al Qaeda attacks against Muslim worshippers. Such crimes have not stopped: Regardless of the religion, the ingredients of those extremists are the same and could be summarised in one word: hatred.

One of the most important issues to be emphasised is the importance of leaving religion aside when it comes to politics. Groups that use religion for political purposes, whether by manipulating religion on one side or, such as in the case of the Australian terrorist that conducted the Christchurch massacre, by hating members of a particular group merely because of their faith, are not only fuelling tensions but making it more difficult to achieve solutions for the real problems faced by humanity. No holy book should be used to advance political goals.

We live in what millions refer to as the Holy Land. In Palestine, we carry the pride of being central for the three monotheistic religions. We have witnessed how, in the name of religion, some people believe they have the right to violate the rights of the others. We have witnessed how some people manipulate religion to claim to have absolute responses that are very often reflected into policies that denigrate human dignity. Our consistent message has been against turning a solvable political conflict into a religious war. Yet those who carry extremist views are benefitting from a wave of right-wing populists that do not only use religion for inciting purposes, but that have no problem in moving towards the dismantlement of the international system if that means pleasing their short-sighted despotic goals.

It is precisely because of the consequences that attacks such as those which took place in Christchurch that the response made by Prime Minister Ardern was not only the right one for New Zealand, but for the rest of the international community. While some continue to repeat that “Islam is the enemy of the West”, she has emphasised that Muslims in New Zealand are not foreigners, but an integral part of their society. In fact, she has identified the enemy in right-wing populist racists who continue to attack the principles of peaceful coexistence between peoples.

As Arabs, we have a lot to learn from Prime Minister Ardern. When we hear those who use Islam for political purposes, referring to Christianity or Judaism as a problem, we should make sure they hear from us the same that white supremacists heard from her. The Palestinian national movement was born on the plurality of Palestine’s social fabric, with the proud contributions that hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Christians have made to our nation, not as strangers or as a minority but as an integral part of our social fabric. We could not imagine our country without Al Aqsa Mosque or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Those are not only places of worship, but also symbols of our culture and history. We should be able to pass on this message of unity alongside like-minded nations, such as Jordan, in order to make concrete steps towards having an Arab world and Middle East region where religion would not be used to deprive anyone of their equality before the law and the state.

In the Christchurch terrorist attack, two of the victims were my relatives. One is Mohammad Alayyan, who had funded one of the mosques and is severely wounded. The other one was his son Ata, who was assassinated, leaving his little daughter Ayya of two years. They were in New Zealand because there they could find the dignity that the occupation had denied them in their own homeland. The attacker was a terrorist from Australia, a country where, unfortunately, Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian voices have taken prominent positions. There is where Senator Fraser Anning, lacking the minimum concept of humanity, blamed the terrorist attack on the victims, citing Muslim immigration as the reason. We sincerely hope that their sacrifice will not be in vain, but will serve as a message to make others wake to the threats of such extremists to our humanity.

Prime Minister Ardern should be thanked for her courageous stand against extremists and right-wing populists. We are partners on this global struggle for justice and peace.

The writer is the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. He contributed this article to The Jordan Times