The despicable terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, offers another example of that most compelling of terrorist motivations: the pursuit of immortal glory.
Filming his massacre of 49 innocent worshipers and posting that video online alongside an in-depth manifesto, the alleged Christchurch gunman sought to preserve his legacy beyond the prison in which he will now reside. It’s the same motivation as that which drove Islamic State propaganda in Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2015. Producing brutal videos of their brutal exploits, the terrorist group presented itself as an omnipotent army serving a glorious cause. ISIS’s intent was twofold: offering a cause to those who aspire to violence, and making an eternal testament to their own courage.
In that sense, we must be careful not to view the Christchurch attacker as a solely psychotic or “evil” individual. To do so misses the nuances we must understand in order to better defeat his agenda. Because in the end this is about ideology.
Just as ISIS overlays its videos with Islamic music designed to inspire the listener to serve the legacy of ancient glories, the Christchurch attacker played a Serbian ultra-nationalist song that salutes the 1995 butcher of Muslims at Srebrenica, Radovan Karadzic. That choice of music was not flippant. Rather it almost certainly reflected the gunman’s desire to associate himself with the broader cause of anti-Muslim xenophobia. He wants his name to echo in the minds of similarly minded individuals and groups for all time. He wants to be able to sit in his prison cell and smile in the belief that fanatics around the world are saluting him as a hero.
Our response, then, must be more resolute than his intention. While recognizing the threat posed by Islamic terrorism, we must hold true to the reality that the overwhelming majority of Muslims are brothers and sisters to our shared democracy. Pointing to their lives of service, and to the threat groups like ISIS pose to Muslims, we must reject those who spread lies to feed the trough of bigotry.
If we do so, at the margin, the Christchurch attacker and his compatriots will find a little less favor.
