Six months on from the Christchurch terror attack a representative of Al Noor Mosque - where 44 worshippers were killed on March 15 - is calling for peace and understanding.
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"I've spoken to a number of people in our community, and the one thing that they do not want is revenge attacks for Christchurch. That is very, very clear," Tony Green told Newshub Nation.
"We do not want anybody to go out there and say, 'In revenge for what this man did, I'm going to now attack somebody.' I don't think any of the people in our community who have lost loved ones want that at all. They would never sanction that."
Subsequent mass shooters in Norway and the US have since claimed to be inspired by the alleged Christchurch gunman, and a Brisbane mosque was defaced with his name earlier this week, but Green says the support Christchurch Muslims feel far outweighs any hatred.
"I think it has possibly flushed a lot to the surface that was latent or simmering. But the balance of things, as well, is remarkable... We have had floods of people coming into the mosque and bursting into tears."
Green said while he understands the symbolism of the shooting's six-month anniversary, the distinction isn't as significant for those most affected.
"When anything of grief happens to a Muslim, we say, 'Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un' - 'From the one we come, and to the one we return.' It's a bit like the biblical, 'From dust we came and to dust we return.'
"So we don't see things in terms of anniversaries like this. So with the greatest of respect, it's more for the external world."
Newshub Nation.
