March 15 Mosque Attacks
On Friday 15 March 2019, a terrorist attack at two mosques in Christchurch New Zealand tragically killed 51 defenceless men, women, children, and injured many while they were listening to the sermon. The atrocious attack on our mosques was seen, by many, as a wakeup call to all decent Kiwis to get up and address the social injustices that had led to the tragedy. The challenge is to immortalise into our memories and harness the phenomenal demonstration of compassion and solidarity both locally and internationally in response to the atrocity.
Sakinah
The name Sakinah (سكينة) is inspired by many verses in the Qur’an and refers to a state of feeling tranquil, calm, settled, at peace, and feeling belonging. Sakinah Community Trust aims to support community initiatives that restore and grow sakinah ie., the God-inspired tranquillity, calmness, reassurance to the survivors and in the broader society.
Women as Agents of Change
Sakinah Community Trust believes Muslim women can be active agents of change. Women in the Muslim community have played a vital role in contributing to its development, security and progress; their talents and skills should be harnessed. There are many women in the Muslim community with great ideas and abilities to plan and deliver projects that will work towards the well-being and spiritual development of the Muslim community and the wider society.
Honouring a Legacy
Sakinah Community Trust is a women-led organisation comprising widows, mothers, and daughters of those lost in the tragedy who felt a responsibility to the honour their legacy and to ensure that the goodwill generated after the attacks is enabled to continue in a positive way. As individuals our trustees are intimately aware of the needs and lived reality on the ground. They are committed to serve by supporting the development of long-term community response and engagement towards shifting societal attitudes. You can find out more about our trustees here.
Grant Management
Sakinah Community Trust is a grant managing body that will make decisions about which community-led projects to support. Initial funding has been provided by the Christchurch Foundation. This is the legacy of the donations that were given to the Muslim community of Christchurch in the aftermath of the tragedy and that were managed by the Christchurch Foundation. Sakinah Community Trust will ensure that the donations are invested directly towards community initiatives. Sakinah Community Trust will also be seeking further donations, grants and partnerships to continue to support the ongoing work in this area.
How you can be involved
We appreciate the importance of developing an organized effort integrating the partnership and collaboration of organizations, and stakeholders within New Zealand, around the region, and across the world. We invite advocates, imams, survivors, families, allies and friends to address the needs of our community.