Mosque shootings timed for most important weekly congregation

Friday, 15 March 2019

The Christchurch mosque shootings were planned to hit the most important weekly congregation for Muslims. 

It has been confirmed 40 were killed and at least 20 injured in shootings at the Masjid Al Noor on Deans Ave and the Linwood Masjid on Linwood Ave, on Friday afternoon.

The attacks came during Jumu'ah, a congregational prayer that has Muslims crowd shoulder-to-shoulder in mosques not long after noon each Friday. 

Islamic Women's Council spokeswoman Anjum Rahman​ said Friday was a holy day much like Sunday for Christians. 

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'You'll find that a significant part of the community will be going.'

Prayer is a daily rite practiced five times daily for Muslims, but this does not always happen at a mosque, as people lead busy lives. 

The time of prayer was based on the movements of the sun and, as it was daylight saving, most mosques would start Jumu'ah  about 1.30pm, Rahman said.

'[The attackers] knew the mosque would be packed, standing shoulder-to-shoulder … unlike a church there is no seating, it's just a big hall, so there's nothing to hide behind. 

'They had no way to protect themselves.'

Lower Hutt Islamic Centre trustee Sameer El-Matary said Jumu'ah was significant because it was the day Adam, the first human being, was created and sent down to Earth. 

It was expected all men attend Jumu'ah; for women it was optional. Jumu'ah also featured the week's only sermon, where religious, social, and financial matters could be discussed. 

El-Matary said Muslims around the country would convene for prayer and discuss Friday's attacks in the coming weeks. 

'We will go back to our mosque soon after this is sorted out. And this is a very important thing to address, because some people will misunderstand, because this is an act of terrorism.'

He shared a story about Prophet Muhammad's mercy and tolerance in the face of conflict.

'If our Prophet is doing that, it is a message for us that we stay calm … that dealing with such people, and they are a minority, is a job for police.

'We just do not escalate matters, because you cannot respond to violence with violence.'