Honourable senators, on Friday, March 15, in a heinous attack against Muslims, a White supremacist terrorist opened fire on two mosques in New Zealand, killing 50 people and wounding almost as many as they prayed.

Although the news of this massacre was devastating to Muslims around the world, sadly, it was not shocking. I cannot stand in this chamber today and say that I was surprised. These attacks have served as yet another example of the rising tide of intolerance, racism and Islamophobia that is quickly taking root around the globe. “When the flames of hatred are fanned, when people are demonized because of their faith, when we play on people’s fears rather than addressing them, the consequences are deadly,” wrote London Mayor, Sadiq Khan.

The world has already seen where this sort of rhetoric leads. It was not so long ago that the Jewish people faced persecution and massacre. Just last year, 11 people were gunned down at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. In Charleston, nine African Americans were killed during a prayer service at their church.

In Canada, the Islamophobic rhetoric that we increasingly hear regularly in the mainstream is a breeding ground for this kind of violence. Two years ago, we witnessed firsthand an abhorrent attack at a mosque in Quebec.

In the wake of the New Zealand attacks, the world has been shown the true face of Islam. It witnessed heroic acts by Abdul Aziz and Naeem Rashid, who confronted the shooter and put themselves in front of others to prevent more death and injury. When Daoud Nabi saw the attacker holding a gun entering the mosque, ready to kill, he said, “Hello, brother.”

Husna Ahmed was killed as she went back into the mosque to find her disabled husband. Following the attack, he said that the best thing is “forgiveness, generosity, loving and caring.” He would tell the shooter that, inside, he has the potential to be a kind person who would save people and humanity rather than destroy, and that he prays for him and does not carry a grudge.

The Quran teaches: If you do stretch your hand against me to kill me, I shall never stretch my hand against you to kill you.

The victims included refugees and immigrants from many countries. They had moved to a place where they thought they were safe. They were in a house of worship where they should have been safe. The Islamophobia that motivated these attacks is spreading like a disease. Western democracies must do more to counter white nationalist terrorism and all who seek to divide and destroy.

In Canada, we must work together in the fight against intolerance and hatred in all its forms. The only way to prevent such attacks in the future is to confront and challenge Islamophobic rhetoric whenever we encounter it, to call it out for exactly what it is: racism, bigotry and hate speech. Anything less would be a disservice to the memory of the victims of Christchurch and other such atrocious attacks.

Honourable senators, terrorism has no religion. Thank you.