One year on from Christchurch shooting, Nelson remembers and comes together

11:33, Mar 03 2020
After the Christchurch shooting last year, hundreds of Nelsonians gathered to show their support of the Muslim community.
Virginia Woolf
After the Christchurch shooting last year, hundreds of Nelsonians gathered to show their support of the Muslim community.

A year after the Christchurch shooting, Nelson's Muslim community is inviting people to come together.

"In our faith, there's nothing called a memorial or remembrance," Nelson Whakatu Muslim Association spokeswoman Nissa Mowjood said.

"But this is an unusual situation. A tragedy that can bring about positive changes for the future."

A free Kotahitanga (togetherness) event will be held at the Trafalgar Centre on March 10. The evening will feature two speakers: John Fontain, who will talk about his journey to Islam, and Fahad Tasleem, who will speak about the qualities of being human.

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LUZ ZUNIGA/Stuff
Flowers were left at the Nelson mosque and hundreds sung waiatas to show solidarity with the victims of the Christchurch attacks.

On Sunday March 15, there will be a gathering and tree planting at the Hardy St Masjid. There will also be a photography exhibition, We Are One, at the Elma Turner Library from March 14-29.

The Kotahitanga was a way to bring the community together, Mowjood said.

"It's an opportunity to show our faith, reaching out to have a better understanding of each other, and provide an opportunity to find out what Islam says, remove misconceptions and curb Islamophobia."

​Mowjood said the support from the local and wider community following the tragedy had been "overwhelming".

"New Zealand has been a wonderful example of empathy and compassion to the whole world."

The Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF
The Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch.

However, her husband Ramzi said the Muslim community has always felt accepted by the Nelson public, and their traditions have been supported by the Nelson City Council. 

"Our community in Nelson exists because of the support of the general public. We get tremendous encouragement."

In the Koran, the Prophet Mohammed explains that people were designed to be different colours and cultures by design, he said.

"O mankind, indeed we have created you, from male and female, and made you peoples and tribes, that you may know one another. That is kotahitanga."

The Kotahitanga event will take place at the Trafalgar Centre on Tuesday March 10 from 6.30pm to 9pm.

The Nelson Mail