AS the world reels from the aftermath of the terrorist atrocity in Christchurch, New Zealand, we are left dumbfounded at this violence and barbarity that many witnessed live on social media.

All sane humans will sympathise with the pain and anguish of those who lost loved ones and the impact on the emergency responders who had to deal with such horror.

Surely there are lessons for us, especially in our home town of Keighley and in our country.

As we celebrate the end of ISIS in Syria we are faced with its twin – the rise of far-right extremism, both two peas in a pod in terms of their actions.

For too long we have necessarily focused on the threat from the likes of ISIS and other extremists claiming to kill in the name of their faith.

However, we have let right-wing extremism not only fester in our midst but have given it fuel through our tabloid media, which even after New Zealand’s horrors doesn’t desist in pushing a skewed narrative to the masses.

The similarities are all too obvious. During the rise of Jihadi extremism we in this country watched for too long hate-filled clerics bringing their ideology which twisted the minds of young men and women leading them eventually not only to espouse such thoughts but violently act on them.

Similarly, the ideology of far- right extremism has bred on the backs of people’s anxieties about society, immigration and integration.

Instead of addressing genuine questions about immigrant communities and other faiths we have allowed extremists to warp the minds of an impressionable few who convert this into barbaric acts of violence, be that against Jews in Pittsburgh, Muslims in New Zealand or any other minority.

We rightfully criticise propaganda from groups such as ISIS, and criticise certain foreign media which serves as almost a Goebbels-like propaganda machine, yet we have tolerated our own tabloid media doing the same for decades.

Perceptions about discrepancies in resources allocated to different communities have not been addressed.

If people’s worries and fears are brushed under the carpet then those with crooked ideologies will capitalise on it and impregnate vulnerable minds with their hate.

DR AZIZ AHMAD HAFIZ Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Keighley

* E-mail your letters to alistair.shand@keighleynews.co.uk