Christchurch Muslims struggle with shock, fear

Christchurch, Mar 16: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who was wearing a ‘dupatta’, Saturday visited families of Christchurch terror attack victims and her expression of solidarity with Muslims in this hour of grief was well received.
Attacks on the two Christchurch mosques left at least 49 dead Friday, with one gunman — identified as an Australian extremist — apparently livestreaming the assault that triggered the lockdown of the New Zealand city.
In what appeared to be the worst attack against Muslims in a western country, witnesses spoke of victims being shot at close range, with women and children believed to be among those killed.
A teary-eyed Ardern said she brought messages of love, support and grief on behalf of all New Zealanders to the crowd gathered at Canterbury Refugee Resettlement and Resources Centre.
“New Zealand is united in grief,” she said.
A few months ago, Christchurch’s Linwood Mosque proudly laid down new carpets in its halls.
On Friday, the light brown carpets were stained red after a gunman stormed the building, spraying bullets at worshippers.
“There was blood everywhere. Everything was out of control,” Ibrahim AbdelHalim, imam of Linwood Mosque, told AFP.
Like the wider Muslim community in Christchurch, Egypt-born AbdelHalim is struggling to come to terms with the violence wrought upon worshippers this week as he waits to bury the dead.
Working together with the local Islamic community, AbdelHalim had sought to refresh the mosque after a trust bought it over in early 2018.
Some of the seven worshippers who died at Linwood were among the most enthusiastic contributors, donating their personal time to help in fundraising efforts.
One woman, a local Kiwi, fell down beside his wife when she was shot dead, AbdelHalim said. His wife, Falwa El-Shazly, was shot in the arm but survived the attack.
Another man, a Fijian-Indian New Zealander who would regularly bring boxes of food from his restaurant during mosque donation drives, was also killed.
“They are dear to me, these are people who offer to us work for free,” AbdelHalim said. “It was a very bad day, not just all of us, all of New Zealand.”
At Hedley College, the main meeting centre for the survivors and victims’ families, local Muslims from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds shared wordless hugs and fought back tears as they exchanged news about their loved ones.
With Muslims making up just one percent of New Zealand’s population, some members of the close-knit community raced to the mosques when they heard about the shootings.
“I did not go to the prayer yesterday due to work… But received a call from my friends and rushed to the spot,” Mohammad Kamruzzaman, originally from Bangladesh, told AFP.
“Five of (our Bangladeshi friends) are still missing, only Allah knows where they are. We have lost… A guardian lady for our community, who taught children the Koran for free. It feels like we have lost a parent.”
Fiji-born Azan Ali, 43, who was in the Linwood Mosque with his Auckland-based father when the attack occurred, trembled when he thought back to crack of the gun shots on Friday.
“Will I see my parents, my kids, my loved ones again or not? All the people you pray with, you see beside you…” he added, his voice trailing off.
“My kids are scared, you know. You just have to work through it as a community.”
His father, Sheik Aeshad, who saw a worshipper shot in the neck, said he could not understand how such violence could take part in New Zealand, a small nation better known for its rolling, green hills and snow-capped mountains.
“We never thought in New Zealand, this could happen. New Zealand’s so friendly a place, you can leave your door open and go. But not now,” he added.
“I’m thinking what’s going to happen the next time… It could be more people targeting somewhere else.”
It was a sentiment shared by Sahra Ahmed, a New Zealander of Somali origin and a nurse active in her local community.
Sahra said the attacks showed the South Pacific island nation could not escape the global wave of right-wing extremism.
“This is a global movement, for better or worst, it’s happened in all parts of the world. And some people like to import ideas from everyone else. So we’re not immune from what’s happening,” she told AFP.
“It doesn’t matter where you go, the world is very small.”

JK Guv condemns NZ shootings

Jammu, Mar 16: Governor Satya Pal Malik strongly condemned shooting at Mosques in New Zealand.
In a message, Governor has expressed shock and anguish over the fatal shooting at two Mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in which innocent lives were lost, and many were injured. We stand in solidarity with the people of New Zealand, he said.
Governor said that this heinous act is an attempt to spread fear and hatred and there can be no justification for such attacks.
Asserting that terrorism has no color, caste, creed or religion, Governor said that the whole world shall stand united in the fight against terrorism.
Governor has conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of the victims and wish those injured a swift recovery.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)