Marking the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attack targeting two mosques in New Zealand’s Christchurch city, Türkiye has expressed its commitment to combatting Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.
“Türkiye remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting all initiatives aimed at addressing hatred against Islam,” said the foreign ministry on Saturday in a statement on the occasion of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
Islamophobia is dangerous for not only Muslims but also poses a great threat to international peace and social harmony, said the statement, honouring 51 people who lost their lives in the shooting attack.
“The ongoing attacks on Islamic values underscore the need for the international community to intensify its efforts to combat hatred against Islam,” the statement added.
On March 15, 2019, Brenton Tarrant, an Australian white supremacist terrorist, killed 51 people and injured 40 more at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch city.
He was sentenced to life in prison in 2020 without the possibility of parole, in the first such ruling ever handed down in the island country.
An inquest into the 2019 attacks by a right-wing extremist on two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, has ended. The probe examined the events of that day, on which more than 50 worshippers were murdered. Rupert Stone reports.
