Al Noor, in Arabic, means 'the light', and everything about the mosque in Christchurch was a monument to its name.
Everything about the mosque in Christchurch was a monument to its name; the white walls, the hulking 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 Deans Avenue – which loomed above bungalows and modern townhouses, on the edge of a park – regularly opened its doors to visitors, including schoolchildren, tertiary students, and the media.
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. It was driven by a small group, most of whom have died; 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.
As with any other religion, Islam has a variety of sub-cultures among its adherents – Muslims from more than 40 countries were regular members of the Masjid Al-Noor in 2014, according to a news report in Christchurch newspaperThroughout the 1990s, more Muslims migrated to Canterbury, many as refugees from Somalia and Afghanistan.
Christchurch Muslims unanimously condemned violent extremism and continued their outreach to the wider community. Three weeks after the September 2001 attacks in the United States, a"Islam condemns any acts that encourage disharmony within communities and between human beings, " said Sheikh Abdulrahman, who was then Imam of the mosque. "Forget about doing an act by hand, you can't even put something bad in your heart for another human being.
The Muslim community worked to raise the money needed to buy the building, which they did in June 2018 for $NZ400,000, property records show.
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