The Royal will host 200 Hajj pilgrims
Four months ago, New Zealand suffered a horrific terrorist attack, at a mosque in Christchurch, which left 51 people dead and 49 others injured. Now, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud announced that he will be hosting 200 Hajj pilgrims from the families of victims of the terrorist attack.
This announcement was made on Wednesday by the Kingdom’s Minister of Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Abdullatif bin Abulaziz Al-Asheikh. He said that the hosting of the families during the Hajj season was a part of the Kingdom’s efforts to “confront and defeat terrorism” in all forms. He also revealed that the initiative is an effort to ease the suffering of the relatives of the victims of the attack on Christchurch, which violated all religious teachings and humanitarian values.
In an interview with Arab News, New Zealand’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, James Munro said: “New Zealand has been humbled by the support we have received from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia following the Christchurch terror attack on our Muslim community.” He continued: “This includes words of support from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the attendance at the national memorial service by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir, and a generous donation of $1 million to the victims’ families by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.”
“This latest act of generosity by the king is deeply appreciated by New Zealand and will be hugely meaningful to the families of those who died, and to the survivors.”
The horrific shooting took place on March 15, 2019 when a 28-year-old Australian white supremacist opened fire on worshippers at Al-Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch during Friday prayers. His trial on 51 charges of murder and 40 of attempted murder is due to begin in May 2020. The terrorist has not be named and that is because: “The New Zealand government, police and media have agreed not to name the terrorist to deny him a platform, or publicity,”James Munro said. “The victims will be remembered. He will not.”
The initiative taken by the Saudi Arabian King is part of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Guests Program for Hajj and Umrah which is annually implemented and supervised by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. King Salman also stated that he will cover the travel expenses of the pilgrims and provide them with all possible services.
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