Another tragic crime of hate in Parramatta, the horror of which further amplified by the fact that the perpetrator was only 15 years old.
Unfortunately, as is usual in recent times the murmurs (or shouts) of bigotry ensue. Whilst the perpetrator's beliefs were Islamic and the apparent motive behind his actions stem from his beliefs, it still remains the action of a misguided child that was brainwashed by a group of religious extremists. Now calls as to why the muslim community is not being vocal about distancing themselves from this person's actions are being tossed around.
Extremists have existed in our societies for as long as history has been recorded, and most likely even beyond that. The Spanish Inquisition, the attempt to assassinate King James in 1605 was Guy Fawkes and a group of Catholics, post civil war in the 1800's saw the Protestant based Klu Klux Klan emerge, more recently the National Liberation Front of Tripura in East India, the IRA and the anti-abortion violence in America to name a few.
As history has shown, extremists are born of many different belief structures and motives but they remain just that - extremists. The call for the muslim community to make a statement only serves to perpetuate the bigotted attitude that muslims are violent hateful people and provide a forum for those that believe this to further voice their narrow-minded baseless opinions. Quite simply stating that if the muslim community don't officially say anything, then that must mean they support them. Those in the media and influential positions (especially those in the religious circles, the old "people in glass houses" adage comes to mind) making commentary need to be more mindful of what they say and how it may incite and/or influence the minority in the community that are open to or already have bigoted opinions.
The question shouldn't be "Why haven't they made a statement?", it should be "Why do they need to?".
My thoughts and condolences go out to the Cheng family.
