The view from the Middle East: Why the Christchurch attacks were an own goal

OPINION: I’ve spent the past six years based in Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, responding to the Syrian war and the onslaught of ISIS. Many of my closest friends are Arabs, and part of staying safe here involves listening closely to the word on the street. This last week I’ve been listening even more closely than usual.

There’s a conversation here that is so common it could almost be a script. I get into a local taxi – they’re cheaper than catching the bus along Dominion Road – and give my destination. The driver sits beside me, quietly seething. Invariably he’s Palestinian, no longer able to access his homeland, and his assumption is that I’m American, and therefore a supporter of Israel, the very focus of his deep hatred. So he’s conflicted – he needs my money but he hates everything I stand for. I normally give it a minute or so, then turn and tell him "Ana min New Zealand (I’m from New Zealand.)" The reaction is the same every time: the face breaks into a huge smile, "Ahlan wa sahlan – Welcome to Jordan." The change in demeanour is incredible, and always very warming.

New Zealand – Il balad il’lahmé (the land of the meat). Arabs love to cook with lamb, and there’s usually a discussion about which is better – NZ lamb or local lamb. Most taxi drivers have a cousin or friend or brother who’s made the move to Auckland or Christchurch, to live or to study for a while. By the time the ride finishes I’m leaving as a friend, as a link between the relative they care about and the land that person’s gone to. New Zealand – as a country and as a people – is a friend to the Arab people.

So my first reaction last week, when my wife broke the peace of a camping trip with the news of the appalling, cowardly attacks in Christchurch, was a selfish one.

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The sad reality of life in this part of the world is that the murder of about fifty people in or outside a place of worship is not a big headline. It’s a weekly event. And in my work as an aid worker, the drownings at sea, suffocations under mudslides, and slaughterings by fundamentalists I’ve encountered have taken a toll. It takes a lot now to make me grieve.

My first and selfish reaction was: How’s this going to affect my neutrality as a New Zealander, in the eyes of the countries where I work? Identifying from New Zealand has opened a lot of doors over the years, broken down the resistance of corrupt officials and enabled me to respond to disasters much more effectively.

Which is why the conversation has been much harder this week. I’ve spoken to Syrians, Palestinians, Jordanians, neighbours and strangers. I’ve told my neighbours, "Please, pass on word at your mosque. Tell them that this is not New Zealand, that this should never have happened. That the people of New Zealand grieve with you." I’ve felt that in some small way, I need to apologise for what happened. To let them know that what occurred was truly ‘harram’ (utterly shameful.)

But incredibly, the sentiment has been gracious. "We know this is not the New Zealand people," Arab friends have assured me. The scenes on television of New Zealanders pouring out in support have really spoken to the hearts of people here. The message has come through loud and clear – we grieve with you, and we stand with you. That is what Arab people here have heard, and if anything, their admiration for New Zealand has increased.

Three years ago, the threat of ISIS was looming large over Jordan. We had stopped going to Western areas for fear of an attack. And then ISIS broadcast horrific footage of a captured Jordanian fighter pilot being burned alive. The outrage here was intense. Many people who had quietly felt that an Islamic caliphate was in line with their world view immediately changed their stance, and acknowledged ISIS for the butchers and psychopaths that they were. An attempt to shock and intimidate backfired. It was a fatal own-goal. It marked the turning point when support in this region for ISIS dropped right off.

From the Middle-Eastern perspective, the attacks in Christchurch were just as much an own-goal. Rather than causing division and hatred, they’ve shown the true character of the people of New Zealand on a world stage. They’ve given the vast majority of Muslim people the chance to be gracious.

So when you read reports of certain fundamentalists using the events to incite hatred, remember that this is a small minority. A few headline-makers. The overwhelming majority understand and recognise that this was no more the work of the general population than ISIS was any reflection of the vast population of hospitable, welcoming Arab people.

My selfish fear when I heard the news last week, that New Zealand’s welcome around the world would be impacted, turned out to be unfounded. Yes, the welcome has been impacted. But thanks to the heartfelt response of the New Zealand people to such a mindless tragedy, the welcome is even greater than before. It remains Ahlan wa sahlan – welcome.

John Tipper is a New Zealand aid worker based in the Middle East.