Brush away the shooter, don't brush off racism: Muslim community's advice for Hawke's Bay

Shujja Zahid prays for mass-murderer Brenton Tarrant. Photo / Supplied

Hawke's Bay man Shujjah Zahid can now brush all memory of the Christchurch mosque shooter under the carpet for the rest of his young life.

But he doesn't want New Zealand to think the battle against racism is over - to metaphorically sweep that under the carpet - because his experience shows it isn't.

Not even close.

On Thursday, Brenton Tarrant was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, the first time in New Zealand history the sentence was imposed.

He had earlier admitted 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one charge of terrorism.

The day the 29-year-old Australian stormed two Christchurch mosques - Al Noor and Linwood, during Friday prayers and opened fire on men, women and children worshipping - shook Zahid to the core.

The shock, the weight of loss, it will all stick with him forever - but what happened after he walked out on to the streets of Hamilton in Waikato haunts him to this day.

"I was in Hamilton at the time it happened and I was exiting the mosque," he told Hawke's Bay Today.

"As soon as I drove out I saw three people walking on the side of the road saying something to me."

He rolled down his window to hear what they were saying.

"They were saying 'we've killed 50 of you'. At that point I didn't understand what they meant."

He went back home and saw the news and it sunk in. The same evening he went to Hamilton's city centre.

"There a group of people just shouted at me and said 'we've killed 50 of you, what the **** are you still doing here."

Flowers at the Baitul Mokarram Masjid and Islamic Centre Trust in Hastings on March 16 after March 15 mass-murder. Photo / Paul Taylor

It showed Zahid that even as New Zealand proudly rose up to condemn the shooter and embrace its Muslim community, the racism was still there.

"I can't discount that on the evening of the shootings we were supported, enormous amount of people came to support us at the mosque.

"But those reactions in Hamilton, after the shootings, bothered me.

"It changed how I perceived my life, I realised that I don't belong here [Hamilton]."

He left, moving to Auckland a few months after the shooting, before deciding a year ago to shift to Hawke's Bay.

Zahid is now a media adviser for the Hawke's Bay Baitul Mokarram Masjid and Islamic Centre Trust in Hastings.

Zahid said the Hawke's Bay Muslim community felt no hate in their hearts for the shooter.

"We don't hold hate in our hearts, that's just our culture. We pray for him."

But he said New Zealand needed to recognise that there is more work to be done in terms of educating people about different religions.

"We need to recognise the ignorance, and the fact that New Zealand does have closet racists," he said.

"We can't brush it under the carpet. And that is everyone's responsibility, including mine.

"We pray Allah shows him the right path," Zahid said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday she felt "relief" when she heard the sentence handed down.

"This has been a crime in New Zealand the likes of which has never occurred before and now we've seen a sentence the likes of which we've never seen before as well."

Ardern said it was humbling to hear the words of the victims and families in court and after the sentence was handed down.

"I think many New Zealanders would have felt again that wave of devastation because now we're not just hearing about the day itself, we're hearing about the aftermath. We're hearing about partners without their best friends, children without their fathers, and that's been devastating to hear in the court."

Ardern said the crime was still "raw" for New Zealand and acknowledged the strength of the Muslim community and those who have relived the "horrific events" of March 15, 2019.

"Nothing will take the pain away but I hope you felt the arms of New Zealand around you through this whole process, and I hope you continue to feel that through all the days that follow."