The 6th annual Unity in Diversity Dinner was held in Christchurch on Saturday 18 October 2025 attended by around 300 invited guests from different walks of life to discuss about the importance of human unity.
At the event, the guests acknowledged the Friday 15 March 2019 tragedy, and the overwhelming compassion from New Zealand and from around the world towards the Muslim community of Christchurch.
Community leaders, representatives from faith and non-faith communities, diplomats and government officials committed to promote unity in compassion for peace and prosperity.
The Hon Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon sent his message (link):
https://youtu.be/CkgWPzCvlFY?si=lZdz6cVNvsXGW901
What do we do to put out the fire? We use water, the opposite of the fire.
Similarly, after a terrible hate crime on Friday 15 March 2019 in two Masajid in Christchurch New Zealand, to inflict disunity between Muslims and others, we decided to push back with the opposite action.
That action was to promote unity among humans. Our call was to unite in kindness and compassion without dividing humans for their faith, cultures and traditions.
Humans have differences in ideas, faith, and cultures but many commonalities to enjoy without hating, fighting, and killing one another., After all, all humans are children of Adam and Hawa (Eve) that makes us One Human Family.
When we consider humans as one large family, then the responsibility comes on each one of us to love and care for one another without being hateful, abusing human rights and unfair to one another.
From the philosophy of One Human Family, we can accommodate the diversity without forcing one way or another to enhance the peaceful co-existence.
During the Friday 15 March 2019 massacre, my dear wife was a martyr (Husna Ahmed) along with 50 other martyrs (friends). May Allah grant them the highest place in Paradise, Ameen!
I took the healing path to do the best action to push back the evil action, and from that spirit I established the annual Unity in Diversity Dinner event to give the message of unity among humans to safeguard one another rather than destroying one another.
I share my message that killing never cures the pain, but loving does bring healing and winning hearts.
Finally, unity in common values is essential for establishing fairness, human rights, harmony and peace in this world. Holy Quran guides humans to promote unity in righteous actions:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍۢ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَـٰكُمْ شُعُوبًۭا وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌۭ ١٣
O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may (get to) know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware. [Quran 49:13]
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