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Nihad Awad, National Executive Director of the Council for American-Islamic Relations, said that the killing of at least 49 people during a shootout in two New Zealand mosques was "inspired by the perpetrators of hate speech in the US And in Europe ". (March 15)
AP

WASHINGTON – Two congressional women, the first Muslim women elected to Congress, reacted on Friday to mosque attacks in New Zealand.

Representatives Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. And Ilhan Omar, elected in November, reacted with pain and concern to Muslims around the world after 49 people were killed in targeted attacks at two mosques in the neighborhood. Christchurch city.

"This morning, I tried to hold back my tears by squeezing my two brown chestnut boys a little tighter and longer," she said in a statement. "I am so angry at those who follow the program of" white supremacy "in my own country, who send the message across the world that such killings are a kind of call to action. "

She said it was today Jumu-ah, a prayer every Friday, and she prayed for other Muslims to be "protected and able to find some kind of peace." Tlaib also posted a photo of her hug with her two sons, both boys smiling.

"I hope our children do not become insensitive to this and that it is not their new normal," said Tlaib.

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Omar took up those feelings. She told reporters that she had not seen the news until she woke up Friday morning with disbelief.

"Love outweighs hate," she says. "We just need to make sure that we are resilient, loving and that we create an environment that recognizes all of our work."

Omar said that she worried about the level of hatred in marginal groups, like what the suspects were involved in the attack, but added that these terrorists should not be credited nor allowed to win.

She called everyone, Muslim or not, to pray and not be afraid to go to mosques and "join them in solidarity".

"I know that there was a call for people not to leave and told people that it is what the terrorists want us to do. victory for them, "said Omar. "We must face hatred and terror with love and compassion."

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Dozens of people were shot dead after an armed gunman opened fire in two Islamic mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
UNITED STATES TODAY & # 39; HUI

The attacks in New Zealand took place at Al Noor Mosque, where 41 people died, and at the Linwood Islamic Center, where seven people died. A person died at the hospital.

More than 20 people were seriously injured in the racist rampage.

One person, a self-proclaimed racist who described himself as a 28-year-old Australian, was arrested and charged with murder and two others were arrested in what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described as "the One of the darkest days in New Zealand ".

The Australian suspect, who claimed responsibility for the shooting, drafted a 74-page manifesto against the immigrants and used a helmet camera to capture images of the killings.

Contribute: Doug Stanglin and Joel Shannon

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