Gloucestershire charity leader Hash Norat’s heartfelt message of hope in the sake of the Manchester bombings has gone around the world.
The well-known Muslim was captured on TV cameras from American network ABC as he talked to Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham after going to the city to lay flowers and pay his respects.
And the emotional video, which shows Hash condemning the bomber and telling the Mayor his call not to blame Muslims had reduced him to tears, has been shown from Manchester to Massachusetts.
The clip shows the well-known Gloucestershire figure telling Andy Burnham how upset he is that the bomber claimed the attack was in the name of Islam.
And he drew a round of applause from the crowds gathered in St Ann's Square when he said: “I am from Gloucester and I know my friends and family, the people of Gloucester, stand united with Manchester.”
Hash, who turned 50 last weekend, woke up on Tuesday expecting a happy day celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary with a trip to the Lake District with wife Sheehnaaz.
Instead he turned on this TV to find out that 22 people had been killed and 116 injured by a suicide bomber at a pop concert in Manchester and was transported back to 9/11 when he was shunned by some people who blamed all Muslims for the attack on the Twin Towers.
But he says Andy Burnham’s words persuaded him that not everybody would blame Muslims and the couple went ahead with their trip, calling into Manchester on the way home to lay some flowers and pay their respects on behalf of their home city.
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Co-incidentally Andy Burnham was there in St Ann’s Square and as Hash shook his hand a TV camera crew caught the emotional exchange which has now gone around the world.
“This is not about Islam,” he tells Mr Burnham, explaining the Mayor’s call for unity had reduced him to tears. “Muslims have not done this. Somebody has done this in our name.
“What you said gave us the courage to get up and say ‘no we are going to fight this’.
He tells Mr Burnham that his 88-year-old father came to Britain in 1955 and worked hard, bought property and had six children.
“We love people. We run a charity in Gloucester,” he told Mr Burnham. “This is Islam, not what that person did on the 22nd. 22 lives lost, 116 people still fighting for their lives. How can it be?’ ”
After speaking to Mr Burnham the couple went into a nearby church and came out to find reporters from the American TV networks waiting to interview them.
“We had gone there to show our respects and show Gloucestershire was standing united with Manchester,” said Hash, who arranged a one-minute silence with 1,500 cups of tea after the policeman was killed at Westminster.
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“A mosque had been petrol bombed within minutes of the attack and innocent people were being verbally assaulted because of this cowardly, barbaric act. I felt I had to go there and say this is not our way. Islam preaches peace not evil.
“I thought if anybody wanted to throw a punch or shout at somebody, they could do it to me. I have a thick skin. Then I could engage them in dialogue and explain my beautiful religion.
“The most dangerous thing is ignorance. There were people saying on Facebook that the target was chosen because Muslims do not go to concerts. That is not true. I have three amazing kids of that age and they go to concerts. I have seen George Michael, Madonna and Michael Jackson, it simply isn’t true.
“We must now let cowards of this nature to get under our skin and create divisions between us. Every life matters. We are all brothers and sisters, regardless of race, colour or creed.”
He went to bed in tears and woke up this morning to hundreds of messages but said: “It’s just another day for me. It’s very humbling to see it has gone right around the world and I just hope it makes a difference.
“It goes to show. One positive sentence by the Mayor moved me and now that message has cascaded far and wide.”