Press Release
Muslims Must Expose the Hypocritical Media and Offer Islam as the Solution

During the week since the massacre at An-Noor and Linwood Mosques in New Zealand, we have seen some politicians grieving publicly, while many others have been notably quiet. We have seen some journalists questioning their industry’s role in promoting hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric, while many more have not, focusing instead on the gunman himself, the far-right groups, social media companies, or just moving on from the incident to the next tantalizing tale of celebrity trivia.

We have been touched by the humanity of the victims’ families, who have not laid blanket blame on the entire population, but rather echoed the Prophetic attitude when he (saw) said:

«رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِقَوْمِي فَإِنَّهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ»

“O Allah forgive my people, for they know not what they do.” We have also been moved by the kindness and support that many ordinary citizens have shown to Muslims during this past week. Their attempt to deliver a warm message that Muslim lives do matter is a welcome contrast from the secular establishment’s state of denial and its consequent message that they don’t.

The secular political class and their mainstream media have a dual personality when it comes to victims of mass murder and terror. We were all encouraged to be #CharlieHebdo in the aftermath of the gunmen who murdered journalists for publishing insulting images of the Prophet (saw). Yet, we are not all told to be #AnNoorMosque after a gunman murdered Muslims who were praying Friday prayers.

This difference in reaction has been noticed by a number of thinkers and writers, who cannot help but also notice how racism and xenophobia have influenced government and media agendas of late. Brexit, Windrush and Shamima Begum are just three recent examples. Clearly for the secular establishment, as has become apparent, some victims of injustice matter more than others. This leads us to question whether there is a dual agenda of the establishment too.

We were all sold the ‘War on Terror’ narrative; which was supposedly aimed at those who violently attack innocent civilians for political gain, but the reality has been exposed by Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar, India and now New Zealand. If the civilian victims are Muslims and the political gain is secular and capitalistic, then the so-called ‘War on Terror’ is no longer at war with it; but it is actually responsible for and behind the attacks. Thus, people are awakening to see that there really is an unjust global war on Islam and Muslims today.

This falsely named war on terror as well as the policies and media atmosphere that has been initiated, subtly imply that Muslims cannot be victims of terrorism, only instigators of it, as though extremism and violence against civilians is a pathological Muslim trait. Crudely put, the secular colonialists are portrayed as the goodies and the Muslims are the baddies. The fallacy of such a narrative is being exposed to ordinary people every day.

It is the secular capitalist ideology that gave the opportunity for a wealthy elite class to exploit the world’s people for their own personal gain, regardless of the consequences and suffering of the many.

Muslims in Britain have a responsibility - not only to expose the hypocrisy of the political elite and their media - but also to expose the erroneous ideology that they promote to protect their privileged position, despite it ruining the lives of everyone.

Furthermore, we must guide the world to the truth of Islam, which offers a way out for all of humankind. Islam shows people how to organize life’s affairs according to justice; preventing the powerful elite from oppressing and exploiting the masses, in stark contrast to the reality of life today.

﴿وَبِالْحَقِّ أَنزَلْنَاهُ وَبِالْحَقِّ نَزَلَ وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا﴾

“And with the truth We have sent the Qur'an down, and with the truth it has descended. And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a bringer of good tidings and a warner.” [Al-Isra: 105]

Yahya Nisbet
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain