Amidst reports of ISIS calling for an all out “war during Ramadan on Western countries”, and US President Donald Trump‘s ‘strong’ message to ‘terrorists‘ in his greetings for the Muslim holy month, this social media post by the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau is like a balm to what seems like a fractured humanity at war.
Wishing Muslims in Canada and around the world a blessed & peaceful holy month of #Ramadan. https://t.co/ldumWYlc1e pic.twitter.com/NcDK3ZNoSF
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 26, 2017
Many slammed the Prime Minister on Twitter and Facebook for being ‘a Muslim-pleaser’ and a ‘fake’. However, the number of those appreciating his short and simple greeting were much more with many Americans openly asking him for a Canadian citizenship.
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The US President Donald Trump also released a statement wishing Muslims a ‘joyful Ramadan holiday’ but, referenced the Manchester terrorist attack, calling the bombing at a concert “directly contrary to the spirit of Ramadan.”
“During this month of fasting from dawn to dusk, many Muslims in America and around the world will find meaning and inspiration in acts of charity and meditation that strengthen our communities,” his statement read. “At its core, the spirit of Ramadan strengthens awareness of our shared obligation to reject violence, to pursue peace, and to give to those in need who are suffering from poverty or conflict.”
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“The holiday begins as the world mourns the innocent victims of barbaric terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom and Egypt, acts of depravity that are directly contrary to the spirit of Ramadan,” Trump’s remarks said. “Such acts only steel our resolve to defeat the terrorists and their perverted ideology.”
In the US, the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, refused to forego traditions by declining to hold a Ramadan event at the State Department this year.
This is a 360 degree turnaround from President Obama’s speech from last year where he only specifically wished all American Muslims and refrained from making any references to terrorism.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) called for an “all-out war” on the West during the holy month of Ramadan. The audio message was circulated on the group’s official Nashir channels on an encrypted messaging app.
This is days after the Manchester suicide-bomb attack that left 22 people dead, a crime that ISIS has owned as its own.
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The group has been making similar calls for attacks ahead of the holy month from the last two years.
The Arabic-language audio message and accompanying slideshow directs the latest propaganda message to its “soldiers” and calls for attacks on Western “homes, their markets, their roads and their forums.” It said the “targeting of civilians is beloved to us and the most effective…may you get great reward in Ramadan.”
Keeping to its words, the militant group has already mounted attacks on Christians in Egypt and countries are on high alert worldwide.
In these harsh and bewildering times, Trudeau’s message is important in a world torn by differences where war and selling warheads has become more important than working towards peace, prosperity and brotherhood.
A simple note of love and peace and wishing happiness from one family to others is the essence of any religious festival, may it be Ramadan or Christmas and Trudeau’s speech writer just got it right.