What should Muslims say after killing of David Amess MP?
๐)๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ?
Most likely not. Especially not in the first 24 to 48 hours when things are unclear and many questions are unanswered. Apart from the fact that the MP was stabbed multiple times in his constituency surgery and the alleged killer is said to be a British of Somali origin, there few other facts. Why did the killer stab him? We donโt know. Why do you want to comment on the many lines of speculation regarding the killerโs motive? More will become clear as the hours and days go by. You or your mosque or organisation should not feel obliged to comment on the motives of the killer. You could easily be seen as an opportunist wanting to push your agenda. Sadly, some Muslims have come to be seen as rent a quote opportunists. You also run the danger of pushing a particular speculation which tomorrow is shown to be false.
๐)๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ
They had dealings with the late MP over several decades; he attended their events and was a friend to some of them on a personal level. So their issuing a statement is understandable. They are in the local area where this all happened. The tone and content of the statement was sympathetic and appropriate in these circumstances.
๐)๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ค๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ
Regarding this issue? Why? Are you seen as linked to the issue hence natural for you to comment? Or was the journalist looking for a quote in order to justify a point he\she wants to make in an article?
When I was involved in the media team of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain, I learnt that journalists sometimes called to ask for a quote on an issue simply to be able to say โIslamic extremists said X regarding Y issueโ. Some of the issues they called up about were ridiculous, hence we sometimes would not respond to their request for a comment so as not to play into their agenda. You are not obliged to comment on every issue under the sun. Donโt follow the mantra that โall publicity is good publicityโ. As Muslims, we are accountable to Allah (swt) for what we say and are ambassadors for Islam so we donโt believe that โ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ publicity is good publicityโ.
๐)๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ โ๐๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐๐โ ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐๐ค
And some others are saying this could be a result of the wider hostile climate and threats MPs are facing, or the polarisation of society especially after Brexit where some MPS have been called traitors and compared to Hitler, and some others are saying this could be another case of a mentally ill individual. There is a lot of speculation. At the time of writing this, 48 hours after the killing of David Amess MP, the motives of the attacker remain unknown. Muslim activists and organisations should not issue statements based on speculations or issue statements apologising for the actions of others.
๐)๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฌ
From past experience, sadly, that is likely. Hence I stress that in the early days of such a horrific attack, when things are unclear and still unfolding, 1)wait for facts to emerge so you have the wider picture 2) monitor reaction and comment of politicians, media and others and 3)then decide if it is appropriate to responds to those trying to exploit the issue to push hatred of Islam and Muslims. Then your organisation/Mosque/... could issue statements refuting their narrative and showing the hypocrisy and attempt of some to stoke hatred while David Ameesโsโ family have called on people to โset aside hatred and work towards togethernessโ.
These are my thoughts on whether Muslim organisations should issue statements immediately following such events. Let me know what you think. May Allah (swt) enable us to respond to events in a way pleasing to Him (swt).
๐๐๐ฃ๐ข ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐