Togetherness and a desire to move forward following the Christchurch attacks

ftikhar Khan says Christchurch spurred public curiosity about Islam. Photo / Stephen Parker

Today marks one year since what's been called our "darkest of days" when a terrorist attack at two Christchurch mosques took the lives of 51 people and injured around 48 more.

New Zealand's worst-ever act of terror shook the country and thrust Muslims nationwide into the spotlight. Suddenly, people were asking them about their families, their beliefs, how they got here and why they stayed. We heard about the outpouring of support, about millions of dollars donated, countless meals shared and acts of reflection and solidarity from Kiwis everywhere.

One year after March 15, has the support remained? Dawn Picken speaks with Bay Muslims and political leaders about how the attacks have shaped their views, attitudes and actions.

I can say that most of the Kiwis, they know Muslim and Islam more than they did last year.

Iftikhar Khan

Iftikhar Khan is the leader, or Imam, at Rotorua's mosque, which meets in an old house near the central city.

Khan says Christchurch spurred public curiosity about Islam.

"This incident make us a little prominent ... and we're becoming like an interesting community. People start visiting the mosque to know more about what is Islam, how we pray, what we wear."

Khan says that previously, people's perception of his faith came from images of the Middle East, where many women are fully veiled.

"It gives us an opportunity for us to let them know more about what is real."

He says while Islam is perceived as a strict religion, it's not; what's key, he says, is respect for others.

Support following the attacks and the ambassadorship of former All Black Sonny Bill Williams, says Khan, may have inspired young local Māori boys to consider becoming Muslim.

"I met him a couple weeks ago. I was flying to Houston and he was on the same flight ... Sonny Bill has been a great [Muslim] ambassador. After the incident, he was in Christchurch."

Khan has been heartened by invitations the past year to speak to nursing and social science students at Toi Ohomai about the Islamic faith.

Last March 16, more than 300 people gathered in Rotorua for a candlelight vigil following the mosque attacks.

Ishaan Pathan Samina Ambakhhutwala lit a candle for the victims of the mosque shooting at a vigil held last year. Photo / Ben Fraser

The event was organised in under 24 hours by Waiariki Labour MP Tamati Coffey and Te Arawa kaumātua Monty Morrison.

Coffey was unavailable for comment this week, but National MP Todd McClay says we are a multicultural, open and tolerant society.

"And that was on full display following the tragedy of March 15. New Zealanders became more supportive of the Muslim community here and the commitment we have to tolerance was strengthened."

Everyone should have the right to speak, to follow their own religions, own beliefs, and we should respect them, whoever it is.

Atikul Islam/div> Sun streams through a ranch slider as Atikul Islam welcomes me into his Tauranga Avenues home. He, his wife and two daughters, ages 5 and 10, live within a row of concrete block flats facing a grassy courtyard. "It's a good place for the kids to play," Islam says. He has just picked up his wife, Nasrin, from work at Tauranga Hospital and aromas of spice waft from the kitchen as she prepares beef curry. Sequined stuffed kitties adorn a bookshelf, and pastel flower drawings are tacked to the wall. I sit on a dark green leather couch, notebook in hand. "What do you want to ask me? Go ahead," he says. Islam recounts how last March 15, he went to the Tauranga mosque after someone told him about the Christchurch attacks. Instantly, he thought of his nephew, Sheikh Hassan, known as Rubel. He called, but someone else answered the phone to provide grim news, that he had been a victim. "After listening to this message you can imagine what my situation was." It was a day-and-a-half before Islam learned his nephew was in intensive care. "After three days I got a message he was a little bit out of danger. He talked with me over the phone from the hospital and said, 'I'm good, how are you'?" Two bullets entered Rubel's back and exited his stomach. Islam says his nephew moved to Christchurch from London because he didn't feel safe there, didn't feel he could practise his religion. Rubel earned a masters degree in professional accounting from Canterbury University, was working as an accountant and expecting his second child when he got shot. "When I went to see him after the incident I had a discussion with him and his wife and they were getting almost every support from the community, from the government, people around him ... he was pleased," says Islam. Today, Islam says Rubel can only work two days each week, and both families have asked themselves whether they made the right decision when they migrated. "Still we believe New Zealand is far better than other countries to live in. After [the terror attacks] we were scared, we were confused whether it was a safe place to live, or not. But when we saw a lot of support from the community ... we became relaxed." Though clamour surrounding the attacks has faded over time, Islam says he has recently experienced anti-Muslim aggression. "I was coming the other day from the mosque from having my prayer and someone in the street was shouting, like some abusing words." Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick says last year's shootings delivered a "brutal lesson". "That our little country, so far away from the rest of the world, was not immune to hate." Rather than divide, Chadwick says the attacks brought us closer together and made us stronger. "I believe people have become more aware of what's happening around them, have made a bigger effort to learn about and celebrate our country's diversity and our tolerance for prejudice, no matter how small, has reduced. It has also been wonderful to have the Rotorua Multicultural Council working with our community and showing their support." Chadwick says we must continue coming together, getting to know our neighbours, learning about multiculturalism and embracing diversity. "Our challenge is to show in our own behaviour the sort of Rotorua and the sort of New Zealand we want to live in. It is up to all of us to make sure that nothing like this happens here again." Atikul Islam says for him, the March 15 anniversary is a time to remember not just the Christchurch incident, but to broaden the focus to Kiwis nationwide. "We pray for the whole community, not just our community, for the peacefulness of the country, for every different religion ... whoever, coming from a different part of the world." "We don't fight evil with evil. That's the Islamic way."-Mohabat Khan Malak, with Emire Khan-Malak Emire Khan-Malak grew up in Te Puke and is a Māori convert to the Muslim faith. Her husband, Mohabat Khan Malak, started life in Uganda and was raised in Dubai. Together, the couple run a shop at the student hub at Toi Ohomai's Mokoia campus. Emire says as a woman who wears a hijab (headscarf), she's heard negative comments, "... but people I work with and students all respect me as the big mumma bear. It's beautiful and we've got the support of the staff and everybody here." She says she reassured international students who wanted to return to their home countries last March that New Zealand was a safe place to stay. "That incident really brought us together as a whānau." Mohabat says the community has learned lessons from the attacks, but he says his faith doesn't commemorate anniversaries of events. "We just pray all the time. Earthquakes can happen, natural calamities ... we just have to pray." While he says Muslims often feel the need to explain themselves, he hasn't personally experienced prejudice. "I always think New Zealand is a safe place. I've been here 20 years and these are things that happen. They don't happen [here] all the time. It's not like other countries where you go down the street and it's normal for people to fire guns." Mohabat says he's reassured by the competence and community interaction of local police. "When anything happens, the response is fast. Police know what they're doing, they know how to deal with any situation." Rotorua National MP Todd McClay says New Zealanders are a kind and tolerant people. "I think it's the old adage, be the change you want to see in the world ... Standing up to those who want to perpetrate violence against our communities whether they be extremists or gangs and the harm they do is a part of who we are." "That's what makes New Zealand as a country: it's diversity of different cultures and different religions."Ahmed Semiz Ayhan Semiz migrated to New Zealand 25 years ago from Turkey. He used to work in hospitality but retrained in his new country to become a registered nurse. "I like dealing with people." Semiz has seen tremendous empathy for Muslims following the Christchurch attacks. "My colleagues, my bosses have a better understanding [of me]. Previously, there was [sic] no issues at all, but now, they understand there are other religions and other cultures that live in New Zealand." He says people here don't care what religion or culture someone belongs to; they want to live in peace. The way ahead The community, including local Muslims and politicians, is forging a path towards understanding people from diverse backgrounds while showing support for victims of the terrorist attacks. Rotorua memorial organiser Omar Al Omari says his message is about multicultural reflection, about closing one painful chapter and opening another - of hope and belonging. "I want to change the concept. Instead of to remember what happened, I want March 15 to be love of New Zealand." "Last year we were under the sorrow and sadness - we lost some of our beloved friends and family. This year we show we go on, we don't stop, we go with the communities, with all the ethnicities. This is the beauty of New Zealand. We want in return to say thank you to everybody, to all. We want March 15 to be different, to be a day of unity and a day that reflects love to New Zealand." Gun buyback gets mixed reviewsNew Zealand's amnesty and gun buyback scheme ended December 20. The programme was launched when authorities banned semi-automatic weapons in response to the killing of 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, 2019. The scheme was put in place after gun law reforms (supported by all parties except ACT) banned most military-style semi-automatic (MSSA) firearms, weeks after the shootings. Starting last April, firearms owners were compensated up to 95 per cent of a weapon's purchase price in exchange for handing it in. NZ Police say in one report more than 56,000 weapons and another 190,000 parts were surrendered and handed in to authorities during the six-month amnesty. Police hail it as a success, though others say most of the guns turned in were not MSSA firearms, but regular rifles and shotguns. Critics say police only collected about a third of weapons outlawed after the Christchurch massacre. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is pushing a new set of gun reforms through Parliament which includes the creation of a registry to monitor every firearm legally held in New Zealand. Rotorua National MP Todd McClay says the gun buyback has not achieved what the government promised. "The police have said there were around 200,000 prohibited firearms covered by the ban however only around 57,000 were bought back." McClay believes the Government has largely targeted sportspeople, hunters and law abiding citizens while leaving gangs and criminals alone. "I haven't heard of a single gang member handing in an illegal firearm and this is where the government and police should put their efforts to make our communities safer." National supported the first wave of changes focused on the military-style semi-automatics and opposes the second tranche. Tauranga Labour MP Jan Tinetti says the objective of the buyback and amnesty was to protect the community, and that a poll late last year found 70 per cent of people wanted tighter gun laws. I thank those 33,000 law-abiding firearms owners who did the right thing, and helped make New Zealand a safer place by participating in the buyback." Tinetti says more than 60,000 prohibited firearms were removed from circulation and more than 194,000 prohibited parts have been handed in. Compensation of more than $100 million has been paid. "Since March last year police have also seized over 2200 illegal firearms from gangs and other offenders. It is up to us as Government to listen to the voices of our communities, and to balance the lawful use of firearms against the harm they do in the wrong hands."