At the end of Friday prayer, dozens of worshippers at Masjidu Nuur Islamic Community Center in Kansas City, Missouri, said an extra one. They prayed for Allah to take the victims of the New Zealand shooting to paradise.
Forty-nine people were killed in a terrorist attack Friday at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. The country's prime minister says one man is the "primary perpetrator," and media reports say a few people are in custody. A gunman livestreamed the shooting on Facebook.
The motive itself and the identity of the shooter, or shooters, were not top-of-mind at Masjidu Nuur in Northeast Kansas City.
"I am feeling really sad, what happened to those innocent people just doing worship," Sadia Adam said. "It's really more important for us, no matter how we're feeling, scared or sad, we're here to show that we're still doing our worship. There's nothing that's going to stop us from worshipping Allah."
Adam's teenage daughter, Fadumo Ahmed, said she hopes those who are responsible for the deaths face consequences and realize they did something wrong.