NZ struggles with shock, fear
Everything was out of control, recalls the Linwood Mosque imam in Christchurch
CHRISTCHURCH: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 an Australian terrorist now identified as Brenton Tarrant - stormed the building, spraying bullets at worshippers. “There was blood everywhere. Everything was out of control,” Ibrahim Abdel Halim, imam of Linwood Mosque, told AFP.
Like the wider Muslim community in Christchurch, Egyptian-born Abdel Halim 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 fund-raising efforts.
One local woman fell down beside his wife when she was shot dead, Abdel Halim 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,” Abdel Halim 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.