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The Al Noor Mosque ( ar, مسجد النور, ') is a Sunni mosque in the
On 15 March 2019, the site was one of two targets in a terrorist attack at Christchurch. A majority of the victims were at Al Noor: of the 51 people fatally shot and the 40 people injured overall in the attack, 44 victims died and another 35 survived gunshot wounds in that mosque. The mosque reopened on 23 March. The lone attacker was convicted of multiple murder, attempted murder, and terrorism charges on 2 June 2020, and sentenced to life in prison without parole on 27 August the same year.
Muslim Association of Canterbury
1980s architecture in New Zealand 1985 establishments in New Zealand Christchurch mosque shootings Mosques completed in 1985 Religious buildings and structures in Christchurch Mosque buildings with domes Sunni mosques in New Zealand
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
suburb of Riccarton Riccarton may refer to:
New Zealand
* Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch
** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it
** The location of Riccarton Race Course
* a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago
Scotlan ...
in New Zealand. It was the primary target of the Christchurch mosque shootings
On 15 March 2019, two consecutive mass shootings occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks, carried out by a lone gunman who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, began at the Al Noor Mosque ...
of 15 March 2019.
History
The Al Noor Mosque was built in 1984–1985 by the Muslim Association of Canterbury, an organization founded in 1977 that also manages the mosque building. The government ofSaudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
donated NZ$460,000 towards its construction.
In 2003, the Christchurch Muslim community organised a "National Māori Muslim Day" at the mosque. By 2015, the mosque had 550 members.
Terror attack
On 15 March 2019, the site was one of two targets in a terrorist attack at Christchurch. A majority of the victims were at Al Noor: of the 51 people fatally shot and the 40 people injured overall in the attack, 44 victims died and another 35 survived gunshot wounds in that mosque. The mosque reopened on 23 March. The lone attacker was convicted of multiple murder, attempted murder, and terrorism charges on 2 June 2020, and sentenced to life in prison without parole on 27 August the same year.
Controversies
In 2003, controversy arose within the local Muslim community over the mosque's management. The arrival of new members ofArab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and Somali origin sparked tension with the earlier members of South Asian origin, who have a different culture and have a different interpretation of Islam.
In 2014, an Australian convert was alleged by his mother and stepfather that he was introduced to radical Islam
Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic und ...
at Al Noor before going to Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
to join al-Qaeda, an allegation denied by Hisham el-Zeiny, the mosque's imam. The president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand
The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) was set up in April 1979 by Mazhar Krasniqi and other Muslim community leaders to draw together the regional Islam organisations of Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury into one centra ...
, Anwar Ghani, said that mosque officials had told a Salafi follower not to promote his views there. El-Zeiny said that many Muslims were angry about US drone strikes in Yemen and that the mosque's leadership was "spending most of tstime trying to lessen the effect."
See also
*Islam in New Zealand
Islam in New Zealand is a religious affiliation representing about 1.3% of the total population. Small numbers of Muslim immigrants from South Asia and eastern Europe settled in New Zealand from the early 1900s until the 1960s. Large-scale Musli ...
References
External links
{{Commons categoryMuslim Association of Canterbury
1980s architecture in New Zealand 1985 establishments in New Zealand Christchurch mosque shootings Mosques completed in 1985 Religious buildings and structures in Christchurch Mosque buildings with domes Sunni mosques in New Zealand