The Australian man prosecuted for shooting 51 believers in two New Zealand mosques caused a shock wave in Christchurch and beyond. Although the community united in grief, there has never before been as much extreme right-wing hatred visible as after the attack of exactly a year ago.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called that March 15, 2019 one of the darkest days in New Zealand.
The man who no longer wants to call them by his name went out that day with multiple weapons to carry out attacks in the Masjid al-Noor mosque and the Linwood Masjid mosque. He shared his actions via a live stream, which showed how the dozens of victims died.
Measures to prevent recurrence soon followed, including stricter gun laws. “But the attack has just spurred people who want to spread hate,” said New Zealand Islamic Women’s Council spokesman Anjum Rahman.
This is also the view of Rebecca Kitteridge, director general of the security services in the country. “The attack has been an inspiration and encouragement to some people.”
The security forces in the country are now tracking between thirty and fifty people who pose a potential threat, a higher number than in previous years. “We already knew the existence of some people, but the attack has certainly had an impact,” Kitteridge describes.
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One of the affected mosques after the attack. (Photo: Reuters)
Incident at the al-Noor mosque
The fear in the Muslim community grew even more after an incident early this month, in which a man with a face covering posted a photo of himself at the al-Noor mosque with a gun emoticon. He did this on the Telegram messaging service.
In response, Ardern said that “more work needs to be done. We need to get to the bottom of the question of why people consider it normal to express death threats.” A suspect has been arrested in this case.
“Message of peace and love”
Farid Ahmed, the husband of one of the 51 fatalities, has undertaken to “spread a message of peace and love.” He says he forgives the perpetrator’s family.
“I have never been angry, but we have asked myself: what was her (his wife, ed.) Crime? She didn’t hate anyone at all.” His wife was shot dead when she ran out of the mosque looking for her husband.
“Sometimes I drive and I feel that she is sitting next to me. Then I look, and then she is suddenly not there,” says Ahmed about life without his wife.
On Sunday, a large-scale commemoration will take place in a stadium for all 51 victims of the attacks.
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A child puts flowers down for the victims. (Photo: Reuters)
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