The Southland Times

Welcome, brother: Masjid Al Noor – monument to light

- Charlie Mitchell

Al Noor, in Arabic, means ‘‘the light’’. Everything about the mosque in Christchur­ch’s Deans Ave was a monument to its name; the white walls, the immense golden dome and the green carpet, now stained red.

Until its door was darkened by a white supremacis­t intent on terror, the prominent mosque at 101 Deans Ave – which loomed above bungalows and modern townhouses on the edge of Hagley Park – regularly opened its doors to visitors, including schoolchil­dren, tertiary students, and the media.

Every year, the Masjid Al Noor (as the mosque is formally called) would host a free barbecue during Islam awareness week, for interested members of the wider community.

Leaders of the mosque welcomed questions and gave presentati­ons to community groups to enhance the visibility of the small but dedicated Muslim community.

There was little proselytis­ing; the mosque, as its name implied, was a light that drew those who found it.

The final words of Haji Daoud Nabi, a 71-year-old worshippin­g at Masjid Al Noor on Friday, were ‘‘Hello, brother. Welcome’’ – directed at the man alleged to have killed him.

‘‘They’ve always been apolitical,’’ said Abdullah Drury, a Muslim historian, about the Muslim community in Christchur­ch. ‘‘It’s always been a lowkey, quiet community that kept to itself ... A lot of them had been trying to get away from the violence in the Middle East.’’

Muslims have lived in Christchur­ch as long as the city has existed. The first Muslims known to have come to New Zealand were from India and settled in Cashmere in the 1850s. Muslims remained a small part of the predominan­tly Pa¯ keha¯ , Christian city until the 1970s.

By 1981, there were nearly 500 Muslims in Canterbury, many of them university students.

The first communal space for Muslims to congregate was a house in Tuam St, bought in 1981. It wasn’t large enough for the growing number of migrants, so work began on constructi­on of a new building in Deans Ave, on what was then the site of a horse stable.

The mosque’s developmen­t was community led and largely relied on member donations, as well as a $460,000 donation from the Saudi Kingdom.

It was driven by a small group; among them was Dr Muhammad Nabi, originally from Bangladesh, who died many years ago but was vital to its establishm­ent, his wife, Shabiba, said on Sunday.

When the Masjid Al Noor was completed in August 1985, it was the southernmo­st mosque in the world, and likely further from Mecca than any other. It was the only mosque in the South Island and the second in New Zealand.

Great care was taken with its constructi­on, according to a 2016 thesis authored by Abdullah Drury about the history of South Island Muslims. The interior was carefully designed and laden with symbolism. Inscriptio­ns were prepared by a calligraph­er from Sudan and placed on walls and windows; the interior was otherwise largely bare.

As with any other religion, Islam has sub-cultures among its adherents – Muslims from more than 40 countries were regular members of the mosque in 2014.

Throughout the 1990s, more Muslims migrated to Canterbury, many as refugees from Somalia and Afghanista­n.

Despite the rising Muslim population, comprising many different cultural and racial groups, the Masjid Al Noor remained the only mosque in Christchur­ch. Despite occasional tensions, there was never a schism.

‘‘In many respects, the [Christchur­ch] Muslim community resembled an extended family or perhaps a clan or a tribe: sometimes functional, sometimes

‘‘It’s always been a low-key, quiet community.’’ Muslim historian Abdullah Drury

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