Attack of a mosque in New Zealand: Buried – a father and son who fled Syria for a safer life | World | New



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Khaled Mustafa, 44, and Hamza, 16, were mown when a white supremacist stormed and killed worshipers at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch. They were the first of the 50 victims to be put to rest after the shooting, which the shooter broadcast live on Facebook. The Mustafa family arrived in New Zealand last year after spending six years as a refugee in Jordan.

Salwa, the wife of Mr. Mustafa, said that when the family first asked for his new home, he was told that it was "the safest country in the world". She added, "But it was not."

The younger son of the couple, Zaid, 13, who was injured during the attack, attended the funeral of a wheelchair.

Islamic tradition requires that bodies be buried as soon as possible after death.

But the funerals of the victims of the shooting were delayed because of the length of the police investigation.

The first bodies were carried in open coffins on the shoulders of mourners in Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch, where they were placed in front of Mecca.

Most of those shot were migrants or refugees from nations such as Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Turkey, Somalia, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

The youngest was a three-year-old boy born in New Zealand to Somali parents.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, bottom left, has received praise from the world for her sensitive treatment of what she described as "the darkest day in New Zealand" and said that the country would hold two minutes of silence tomorrow, the Muslim prayer day.

Ms. Ardern, 38, also confirmed that the call for Islamic prayer would be broadcast on national television and radio because "we want to show our support for the Muslim community back in mosques."

During a visit yesterday to Cashmere High School, where Hamza was a student, Ms. Ardern told the children, "Take care of each other, but also let New Zealand be a place where racism is not tolerated ".

About 30 seriously injured people in the attacks at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Center are still in hospital, including a four-year-old girl.

A 28-year-old Australian, Brenton Tarrant is charged with murder and is scheduled to appear in court on April 5.

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