Ballarat Mosque will open its doors to all residents this Friday in remembrance of those who died in the Christchurch mosque massacre - and to thank the community for its "overwhelming" support.
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The remembrance ceremony in honour of the victims will take place in the afternoon of March 22 at 2.15, just after the mosque has held its Friday prayers. Everyone is welcome to take part.
"The support we have from the community is just overwhelming. It's our way to say thank you to the community and we would like to stand all together and remember the departed souls," said Yousuf Khan, the treasurer of the mosque.
The response from the local Ballarat community to the devastating attacks that occurred in Christchurch has really touched the hearts of our local Islamic community
- Darren James, secretary Islamic Society of Ballarat
There were 50 people killed in Christchurch last Friday after an Australian extremist committed the worst act of terrorism in the New Zealand's history.
The Courier reported in depth about the Ballarat community's reaction in the wake of the attack, which was described by the country's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as "New Zealand's darkest day."
Many people have left flowers and notes of condolence at the Masjid Abu Bakr Siddiq mosque in Canadian, which opened around four years ago.
The imam, Abdulkhalk Ismael, said at the weekend people in the community had been crying with him and that he had spent time after the attack welcoming well-wishers to the mosque.
Ahmed Naqeeb, who works as a surgeon in Ballarat and is a member of the Ballarat Islamic Society, also said they had been inundated with with messages, emails and letters from friends and colleagues since the shootings took place last week.
The secretary of the Islamic Society of Ballarat, Darren James, said: "The response from the local Ballarat community to the devastating attacks that occurred in Christchurch has really touched the hearts of our local Islamic community."
"We've really noticed the support, the encouragement, the condolences expressed.
"We thought that offering the opportunity to come along on Friday was a good means of showing the community our thanks for their sincere thoughts and just showing what it really means to everyone within the Muslim community."
The remembrance ceremony will take place a week to the day after the attacks took place.
There will also be a vigil of silent prayer and remembrance at the Ballarat Anglican Cathedral Church in Lydiard Street South on Thursday (March 21).
Doors will be open from 3.30 to 7.30 pm, allowing people to come to the cathedral and light a candle in mourning for those who lost their lives last Friday.
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