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The An-Nur (Al Noor) Mosque, where 44 of the 51 victims of the Christchurch terror attack died.
Islamic community groups say they want a significant change to the Royal Commission of Inquiry report on the attacks on the Christchurch mosque, rather than being reduced to a government “photo shoot.”
A number of associations have come together to call for a dedicated government minister to deal with the consequences of the terrorist atrocity.
The long awaited report of the Royal Commission until March 15 will be published on Tuesday.
It will delve into the performance of state sector agencies, investigating what they knew about the gunman before the attacks, what they did with that knowledge, if there was anything they could have done to prevent it, and what state agencies can do to prevent another. . tragedy in the future.
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The national coordinator of the Islamic Council of Women of New Zealand, Anjum Rahman, said they hope the report will include “wide-ranging” recommendations.
A dedicated minister was not part of the group’s presentation to the Royal Inquiry, but Rahman said it’s something the women’s council and other community groups have since raised with the government.
Dominico Zapata / Things
The national coordinator of the Islamic Council of Women of New Zealand, Anjum Rahman, believes that there should be a dedicated government minister to be a point of responsibility.
“Have that point of responsibility, have someone who is responsible [for the recommendations], who is watching and monitoring it, that will be important.
“It is difficult to interact with each agency separately.”
Canterbury Muslim Association spokesman Abdigani Ali said they wholeheartedly support a minister and a recovery agency on March 15, similar to the one created in the wake of the Pike River mine disaster.
“We need to keep ourselves as a nation on a course of action, and while we want this for everyone, we also seek specific support for our community.
“Although there have been various government commitments to Muslim communities after March 15 … there has been no specific support framework to ensure that the Muslim community receives long-term support.”
Ali said the specific needs of the community have been lost and diluted within the government’s “ethnic community category”.
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Abdigani Ali from the Canterbury Muslim Association wants to see specific support for the Muslim community.
“We are a religious group that was attacked for our specific faith, a faith that has been unjustly attacked by intelligence agencies, that has faced unprecedented prejudice for the past 20 years after the September 11 attacks.
“We do not want to see a strategy of continuous participation in which we are treated like a photo session, where our silence is seen as an accomplice acquiescence.”
Ali said the community has a voice and something to contribute to New Zealand.
“We believe that a minister for the government response on March 15 would be a step in the right direction, not only to work with the victims and the Muslim community of Christchurch, but also to ensure that the New Zealand community measures in will generally be implemented for a terrorist attack like this will never again happen to anyone of any religion or race on our soil ”.
