Interfaith Tree Planting for Victims of New Zealand Terror Attack

We ended the year on a somber note – March 2019 saw a deadly far right terrorist attack shake New Zealand as two consecutive mass shootings occurred at mosques which left worshippers approx. 50 dead and 40 injured. With an entire nation mourning and a global Muslim community in shock, this attack reverberated through our city with many communities on edge. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern sprang to action, issuing unconditional rejection of the terrorist and his goals with no excuses.

Prime Minister Ardern met Muslim community leaders and called for “sympathy and love for all Muslim communities”. Within hours, vigils were held in Mosques and other sites around the country, bringing people together from across New Zealand’s society. A group of students performed honorary haka and waiata dances to honour the victims. In a sign of interfaith solidarity, the Tree of Life Synagogue in the American city of Pittsburgh, which itself was victim to a far-right attack in 2018, raised more than $60,000 for the victims.

Here in London, we are organising an interfaith tree planting ceremony with support from Lambeth Council, Ash-Shahada HA, KN Centre and backed by the Mayor of London and Faiths Forum for London. The ceremony will be held on 01 April 2019 at Wyck Gardens, Lambeth. The tree planting will be dedicated to the victims of the New Zealand terrorist attack and we will plant 5 large, beautiful magnolia trees, with each tree dedicated to 10 victims.