New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who is winning praise for her gesture to the Muslims after the Chrischuch mosques massacre, set an example of humanity by opening the Parliament's doors for a Pakistani cleric Maulana Thanvi to recite the holy Quraan.
Meeting the moment with a deft mix of empathy and resolve, Ardern emerged as a decent lady of the world, urging the public to follow her lead and avoid giving the terrorist the fame he so obviously craves.
Maulana Thanvi recited Verses 153-156 of Surah-e-Baqarah, translation of which reads: “O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient. And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allah, “They are dead.” Rather, they are alive, but you perceive [it] not. And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, Who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.”
Dressed in black, the 38-year-old leader opened her remarks in parliament with the symbolism of the greeting uttered across the Islamic world Assalam-u-alaikum (peace be unto you).
In her passionate speech to the special session of the Parliament on Tuesday, Jacinda Ardern said "I implore you, speak the names of those who were lost rather than the name of the man who took them. He is a terrorist. He is a criminal. He is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless.”