New Zealand vigils

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6815029/Thousands-people-come-globe-vigils.html


https://metro.co.uk/2019/03/15/christian-tells-muslims-will-keep-watch-pray-8910942/?fbclid=IwAR0JclbGXth-k0gvMxKkAYH_qXuTYLGRDdorkVNHB09yAh-A7dv602mEyA4

Following the tragic attacks last week where 49 people were killed in a Mosque, thousands of people from different faiths and backgrounds have come together across the globe to pay tribute to the victims.

The photo shows people laying flowers and candles at a vigil in Hyde Park, London. There were vigils in cities all over the world as people said no to terrorism and stood together for peace. The organiser of the London vigil Zaharan Sofi said, "I am a British Muslim and I want to make sure that people come together. Bringing people together is how you deal with terrorism. In this sensitive time and in our society it is important that we all know we are human beings first."

Notes left at the Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand read, "We are one", "This is not NZ" and "You are my friends, I will keep watch while you pray."

A Christian man in Manchester stood outside his local Mosque holding the same sign to support Muslims as they prayed. Andrew Greystone said, "We can respond to these things with either fear or friendship so I thought I would go to my local mosque and make it clear I saw the people there as friends."

Andrew lives in Levenshulme and says, "Levenshulme is a very mixed and multicultural area where there could easily be tension but there doesn't have to be if we choose friendship instead."

Christians in Birmingham also handed out flowers at Birmingham Central Mosque.

What do you see in the pictures?
What do you think is happening?
Why is is happening?

- What do you notice about the people in the Hyde Park photo- are they all the same?
- Is everyone white? Everyone Muslim? Everyone Christian? Are there different nationalities in the crowd? People with disabilities? LGBT people? Different ages? What does that crowd show us about the UK today? (that it is diverse)
- What are those people saying? (that we are different but we want to live in peace)
- Why did the attack in New Zealand happen? (because not everyone agrees with us and No Outsiders. Some people want to make others feel like outsiders; they think if you have different skin or a different faith or a different culture that you don't belong. It's the opposite view to us in our school- we know that you can have different skin or different faith or different culture and you do belong. We like it that way, that's why we say there are no outsiders so that everyone is welcome and everyone is always safe.)
- why does one note at the mosque say, "This is not New Zealand"?
- why does Zaharan say, "Bringing people together is how you deal with terrorism"? what does she mean?
- what does she mean by "We are human beings first"?
- why is the Christian man saying he will keep watch while people of Muslim faith pray?
- What is he showing about people of different faith in the UK today?
- he says "Choose friendship," why?
- what can we learn from the man?
- why is this story about No Outsiders?

At the end of the discussion I will hold a minute silence to think about all those affected by the attack.