Thanks for your aroha
As-sala¯ mu ‘alaykum – peace be upon you, to the Muslim community of Christchurch, of Canterbury, of New Zealand.
Haji-Daoud Nabi, Khaled Alhaj-Mustafa, Ali Elmadani, Muhammad Haziq MohdTarmizi
You may read this on Saturday, today, but as I’m writing it, it’s early on Friday, yesterday. Another Friday, and I know that later on this day many of you will be gathering at your places of worship again. Every Friday now, as has been the case for the last 17 months and 13 days, must carry a sting, a longing, a reminder. There is deep pain, individual and collective, that I know will be always be there for you.
Atta Elayyan, Husna Ahmed, Junaid Ismail, Mohamad Moosid Mohamedhosen
I’m thankful that on this particlar Friday, and on those that follow, you can gather with the small consolation of knowing that the man who so callously inflicted that pain on you is behind bars for good.
Hamza Mustafa, Mucaad Aden Ibrahim, Hussein AlUmari, Zekeriya Tuyan
I won’t mention his name, you have heard it enough this week, and it’s time for it to be forgotten again, quite frankly. Unlike the names on this page, the 51 he took from you, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters … but only in this life.
The comfort of your unshakeable belief that you will be reunited with them has shone through this week.
Lilik Abdul Hamid, Mohammed Imran Khan, Linda Armstrong
Thank you for the example of your immense courage, displayed in so many ways over the last year and a half. There was the courage of those who confronted the gunman on that terrible afternoon, with no thought for their own safety, but only the protection of their fellow worshippers in mind.
Sayyad Milne, Syed Jahandad Ali, Ahmed Gamal Abdel Ghany
And then there was the courage of those who got up in court to confront him this week. It’s impossible for those of us who were only watching from the sidelines to fathom how difficult that must have been for each of you. As your fellow New Zealanders, we couldn’t fail to be deeply moved.
Naeem Rashid, Tariq Rashid Omar, Matiullah Safi, Ashraf Ali
That courage has been in complete contrast to what motivated the heinous crimes against you.
They were acts completely devoid of courage, motivated by cowardice and blind, ignorant hatred.
Farhaj Ahsan, Kamal Darwish, Muhammad Suhail Shahid
Thank you for your glorious humanity, in the face of being treated as less than human – your strength, your unity, your defiance, your vulnerability, your love.
Abdelfattah Qasem, Musa Vali Suleman Patel, Ramiz Arifbhai Vora
I’m glad that in passing sentence on Thursday, Justice Mander used the word ‘‘inhuman’’ to describe the gunman’s actions. In his hatred he had dehumanised you, not recognising that he was the one who was giving up his humanity.
Ansi Alibava, Ozair Kadir, Arifbhai Mohamedali Vohra
Most of all, thank you for your remarkable example of forgiveness. Reflecting on the forgiving words of Farid Ahmed, soon after March 15, and Janna Ezat, in court this week, I was reminded of a line English poet Alexander Pope wrote hundreds of years ago – ‘‘to err is human, to forgive divine’’. I doubt that in writing it, Pope contemplated anything like the dreadful acts for which forgiveness has been offered here, which makes it all the more powerful.
Ashraf El-Moursy Ragheb, Talha Naeem, Haroon Mahmood
Thank you for how you make our society here in New Zealand richer, wiser, more understanding. I know many people, including me, were too slow to learn what an enriching thing diversity is for a society.
Syed Areeb Ahmed, Maheboob Allarakha Khokhar, Hussein Moustafa
I appreciate the words in court this week of John Milne, the father of 14-year-old Sayyad: ‘‘You have shown New Zealand how important multiculturalism is. We are not broken because of your actions.’’ I hope the truth of what he had to say is increasingly evident in the wider Canterbury and New Zealand communities as this ghastly episode recedes into history.
Amjad Hamid, Mounir Soliman, Zeshan Raza, Ashraf Ali
I’m thankful that ordinary Kiwis rallied around in support at the end of the sentencing on Thursday. Those pictures of unity and aroha were uplifting. I hope it’s a sign of things to come.
Ghulam Hussain, Karam Bibi, Abdukadir Elmi, Zakaria Bhuiya
I hope that those of us who are not affected by racism and bigotry, casual or overt, as you and others often are, will have learned from this sorry chapter about that reality for some members of our community.
Mohsin Al Harbi, Osama Adnan Abukwaik, Md Mojammel Hoq
I hope we will be honest with ourselves about how we have treated those different from us, where we have not spoken out against unacceptable behaviour when we needed to, or worse, when we have been guilty of that behaviour ourselves, and be better.
Mohammed Omar Faruk, Muhammed Abdus Samad, Muse Nur Awale
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un – we belong to Allah and to Allah we shall return. Out of respect for those who have passed.
In his hatred he had dehumanised you, not recognising he was the one giving up his humanity.