Since February last month, a community organisation is running a billboard campaign, thanking New Zealanders for their love and support after two mosques attacks in Christchurch in 2019.
The billboards carry different messages and values propagated by Islam religion and thanks New Zealand for their support since the attacks two years ago.
The large outdoor billboards with the messages have been put up in four locations in three cities by the charitable community organisation, Voice of Islam, as a campaign leading to the Christchurch attacks' second anniversary.
The billboard by VOI in Christchurch (Photo: Supplied)
These billboards put up on Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland's busy roads caught the eyes of the public and were also widely circulated via photos and messages on social media.
The campaign has received positive feedback from the New Zealanders and has conveyed Islam's true beauty, says Mohammad Thompson, chairman of Voice of Islam.
Speaking more about the campaign, Mr Thompson said the organisation has been in existence in New Zealand since 2004 and works towards spreading the message of the religion via short programmes, organising talks, discussions, school visits, interviews and various other activities.
Mohammad Thompson, Chairman of Voice of Islam community organisation (Photo: Supplied)
"When we established in 2004, we would broadcast programmes about Islam via TV as there were no social media, but now with the advent of smartphones and especially during Covid-19, our work has mostly become through online platforms and social media," Mr Thompson told The Indian Weekender.
Mr Thompson adds that the Christchurch attacks that killed 51 innocent lives and injured many were devastating for the Muslim community and every New Zealander. It became more pertinent to clear misconceptions about Islam that stemmed from the terrorist's hatred of Muslims in the first place.
"It is clear that the terrorist's hatred of Muslims was based on a lack of understanding of Islam and a false idea that Muslims are the 'enemy', the 'others' and not a part of this society.
"VOI decided to counter this by providing more education on Islam. For that reason, in 2020, we held a tour (Togetherness/Kotahitanga Tour) around New Zealand, including small exhibitions on Islam and lectures by guest speakers.
"The objective was to allow people to know what Islam really is about and to meet Muslims. We wanted to build bridges and stop hate," Mr Thompson added.
In the tour, Voice of Islam met many Kiwis from different cities and conducted deep and meaningful conversations and realised that the horrific attacks had a massive impact on the New Zealanders as a whole and not just Muslims.
The billboard by VOI in Auckland (Photo: Supplied)
"Thorugh our conversations, we realised how badly New Zealanders as a whole were impacted and hence in 2021; we decided to give New Zealanders a chance to express how these attacks had affected them.
"We had volunteers asking a series of questions related to the attacks on people in different cities throughout New Zealand. We started releasing these interviews in a series of short videos every day for the first 15 days in March.
We should also be mindful that Islamophobia and the 'othering' of Muslims are still present. This is evident from the incident that occurred with the relatives of a victim of the Christchurch shootings at a shopping store and the recent anti-Islamic posters left at the Queenstown mosque. This shows the need to further create awareness of Islam and Muslims," Mr Thompson added.
The billboard by VOI in Wellington (Photo: Supplied)
Earlier this year, VOI also launched a website to make information on Islam accessible to all and hopefully help remove misconceptions that still exist. The website can be accessed at https://islamic-awareness.com/, and visitors can download small booklets & leaflets about Islam.
"Visitors can also request a FREE copy of the Quran from the site as well," Mr Thompson added.
Mr Thompson, via Voice of Islam, said they want to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their incredible and overwhelming support of the Muslim community.
"People here and even overseas have often commented on how amazing the response of New Zealanders was to these attacks. We wanted to say 'Thank you! New Zealand'," Mr Thompson said.
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