Vigil held in Manchester Albert Square

I know my beautiful city of Manchester is wounded badly right now but please give me a moment to express the following:

Dear Muslims, 

We’ve dreaded this moment for ever, the day that terror comes home to our midst as if there wasn’t enough of it in the world already. 

As believers, you already know that there’s no such thing as “other people’s children”. OUR children in OUR community were intentionally targeted by terrorists who have no bottom level of depravity. They took Alan Henning away from us in Syria, and now they took our children and neighbours from us in Manchester. 

Many of you are scared and uncertain and I understand that. We hugged our loved ones that bit more, worried as to what might happen to them. Those wearing the Niqab or maybe even the Hijab hesitated for an extra moment just to go outside. Some will even avoid leaving home entirely this week. It never matters what the actual facts are about a terrorist attack, Muslims shockingly *always* have to assume that people will blame us because inevitably a significantly loud portion of our society WILL do exactly that, regardless of the truth. 

But you don’t have the luxury of hiding away. You are a MUSLIM. Your community DEPENDS upon you, and if it doesn’t then it SHOULD. We were sent to SERVE our community, not be served by them. It comes in the job description. We cannot stay inside now and make this about US regardless of what happens over the next few difficult weeks and months as people in their anger and confusion demand answers that we genuinely cannot give. 

Our principle responsibility is to those who have directly lost their child, sibling, parent, family member or friend, and we have to do whatever we can (as my previous messages have outlined) to support our wider community in its time of need despite not feeling safe or confident to go out and live and serve normally. 

There’s two things I want you to do:

1. Pray. And I mean properly. Pray. Nothing will calm your fear and uncertainty as much as putting your tawakkul in your Lord to send down love, mercy and safety to all those who are suffering right now.

2. Trust your city and its brilliant people. Manchester knows the difference between you as a person practising your faith, and the criminals who try to hijack it. And if you come across folks who don’t know the difference, then SHOW them that difference by being the awesome Muslim you really are. 

 
Dear People of other faiths and beliefs, 

I know how difficult it can be to have faith in your neighbours and fellow Muslim citizens when all of your senses around you are telling you something different. We wish we could change the narrative that is presented to you, but we’re struggling. You have to believe us that your Muslim friend, colleague, employee, boss and just general fellow citizen is at his or her’s wit’s end on how to get rid of these cursed terrorists from our lives. 

I agree with you. We can’t just blame foreign policy, or their personal social circumstances or whatever. There is an undoubted intentional desire to distort Islam for the Terrorists’ own hideous ideology, even if there wasn’t a single possible grievance in the world. We just have to trust the security services to bring these perpetrators to justice just as they protect us every day from daily failed attacks, and we trust behind the scenes our scholars and leaders to continue guiding the lost out of this criminal insanity just like the many they have saved without the public ever being aware of it.

My friends, there are no short-cuts in dealing with the grief in our city and it is a priority, but the Muslims need your support too. Please realise the *huge* impact of a word of reassurance and solidarity, with a people who are exactly like you but have a different colour or faith. They are DESPERATE to help, but many will be paralyzed by this horrific tragedy and don’t know how to respond. We have NOTHING to do with these evil vermin but then we have everything to do with them in the eyes of the masses, and that’s what creates more fear and division.

To Everyone:

Lives have been changed forever. What the rest of us must do is to not let the terrorists define the narrative that follows. Our response of love and unity right now is the worst possible result for these scum, so let’s give it to them in buckets.

#ManchesterStrong

Amazing pictures of the gathering in Manchester's Albert Square for a vigil after the attack on the Ariana Grande concert #OurCity pic.twitter.com/4udm7uicdh

— Jack Mull (@J4CKMULL) May 23, 2017

https://twitter.com/search?f=images&vertical=news&q=manchester&src=typd

'We had to pull nails out of children's faces': Steve, a homeless man who was sleeping near #Manchester Arena, rushed to help young victims pic.twitter.com/dyxzZpal0Q

— ITV News (@itvnews) May 23, 2017

One NYT reader's reaction to an explosion at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester https://t.co/4nYpCBZbrT pic.twitter.com/FsHJ8Eud7M

— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 23, 2017

@GaryBarlow thought this was lovely when I read it today and very apt… #forManchester pic.twitter.com/2JXOq0PNfI

— Yvonne Ricketts (@HenleyYh) May 23, 2017

https://twitter.com/search?f=images&vertical=news&q=manchester&src=typd