There were Malaysians who welcomed the Orlando shooting?
By Zan Azlee

The Orlando shooting that happened on the weekend is now all over the media and everyone would have heard about by now. 49 people died and their ages ranged from 18 to 50.

The shooter, 29 year old Omar Mateen, was shot dead by police after he took a few people hostage and barricaded himself inside the Pulse nightclub, frequented by the LGBT community.

What happened was something terrible and disgusting. No excuse can be given for such an atrocious and inhumane action.

So I find it totally disgusting and shocking too when I read news reports that there were Malaysians who welcomed the shooting and expressed their agreement on social media.

It may be shocking, but hardly surprising. And as you can guess, a lot of the people who said the killing was okay and justified were people who used religion as an excuse.

One person online said that there should be no guilt at all because there are more Muslims being killed by Americans and their allies. So what’s the big deal about 49 gay sinners?

Another said that the incident is just a stage show by the United States in demonising Islam and Muslims. One other person hoped that those injured would die and not be saved.

I cannot understand how people can say things like that when human beings are hurt and die. What if these people were their family or friends?

This was an act of terror against innocent people for crying out loud. Politics should be left out of it. It could be what prompted the attack, but that doesn’t justify it or make it right.

I know it is cliche to say that it should be everyone’s responsibility to condemn the act of terror that happened in Orlando, especially by Muslims who do not support violence.

But i still strongly believe that it needs to be done. Muslim leaders should condemn it and, well, just everybody needs to condemn it. No violence against innocents has ever solved anything.

It is a relief to say that a majority of Malaysians have condemned the act and have expressed shock and empathy with the victims and with the US. Thank god the dumb ones are a minority.