New Zealand massacre recalled at meeting
WEST CHESTER >> A member of a Chester County mosque offered an Islamic prayer for guidance and a heartfelt expression of gratitude at Tuesday’s commissioner’s meeting in response to the terrorist shootings in New Zealand that killed scores of members of her faith.
“While the attacker sought to propagate an ideology of hate and division, people all over the world, across all faiths and walks o life, responded with compassion and love,” said Bushra Qureshi, representing the Islamic Society of Chester County, invited by the commissioners to open their monthly business meeting.
“Right here in Chester County, we are very, very grateful to have such a supportive community who opened their hearts and offered to help in any way that they can,” Qureshi said, noting that about 200 people had come to the mosque on Sunday to show communion in the wake of the shootings by an avowed white supremacist. “It eased the pain that we feel, and gave us hope.”
Commissioners’ Chairwoman Michelle Kichline, introducing Qureshi, noted that it was the second time in less then a year that she had invited a faith member to open the meeting following a mass shooting at a place of worship, the first coming in October in Pittsburgh when a gunman opened fire at a synagogue there, killing multiple worshipers on a day of prayer.
“The first time was too many,” Kichline told those attending the work session. “The second time is making my heart a little weary.”
Qureshi, an immigrant from Pakistan who lives in the West Chester area with her husband and three children, told her audience that Friday afternoon is the traditional weekly day of communal prayer for Muslims around the world.
“Just like for any faith, Muslims try to dress their best that day, maybe wear extra cologne or perfume, and request some time off from work to be able to make it for the prayer,” she said. “It is an opportunity to reflect in introspection and peace to rejuvenate one’s relationship with God.
“This is probably how it was at that mosque in Christchurch when the attacker walked in an shattered the peace and tranquility by spraying bullets indiscriminately, killing all who he saw,” she said. “It was shocking and heartwrenching to see the pictures and videos as they surfaced, and to learn of all the hate that was the motive behind the attack.”
The white supremacist suspected in the shootings at two mosques killed 49 people during prayers, after posting an anti-immigrant manifesto online and apparently using a helmet-mounted camera to broadcast live video of the slaughter on Facebook.
Brenton Harrison Tarrant, who police say carried out at least one of the shootings, possibly with help from others, posted a jumbled, 74page manifesto on social media in which he identified himself as a 28-year-old Australian and white supremacist who was out to avenge attacks in Europe perpetrated by Muslims.
World leaders condemned the violence and offered condolences, with President Donald Trump tweeting, “We stand in solidarity with New Zealand.”
Trump called the bloodshed “a terrible thing” but rejected any suggestion the white nationalist movement is a rising threat around the world, saying it is “a small group of people that have very, very serious problems.”
Tarrant, in his rambling manifesto, deemed Trump “a symbol of renewed white identity.”
In her address to the commissioners, Qureshi said she took heart from a passage of the Koran which speaks to the differences and unity of humankind.
“Oh mankind,” she read, “we created you from a single man and a single woman and made you into races and tribes that you may know one another. The most honored of you are the ones who are mindful of the thought that God is all knowing, all aware.”
Kichline, who said she attended the memorial Sunday at the Islamic Society in West Goshen, said another one at the service had told her how important it would be for those of different faiths to meet one as individuals and families, perhaps over a common dinner. “We are all just people,” Kichline said. “And we can unite in the face of what is occurring.”