‘Hate speech’ graffiti outside Christchurch mosque: police locate man

Christchurch police located a 36-year-old man after “hate speech” graffiti was found scrawled on the sidewalk of a mosque in the city where 42 Muslims were killed last year.

The message was written on the concrete outside the Al Noor Mosque on Deans Ave on Saturday.

The mosque was the scene of the beginning of the Christchurch terror attack on March 15.

A gunman opened fire on the mosque during Friday prayers, killing innocent men, women and children.

He then drove to the Linwood Mosque and continued shooting.

In all, he killed 51 people and wounded 40 others.

He was jailed for life without parole, the first such sentence in New Zealand, by Judge Cameron Mander after an unprecedented four-day hearing in Christchurch High Court in August.

Saturday’s message read: “Islam is right about women.”

A man posted a video of himself outside the mosque near the scribbled words, claiming to be responsible for it.

“Let’s see what the public outcry is, it should be fun,” said the alleged writer.

In the video, he points the message to another member of the public who tries to erase it with his foot.

“Oh look, he’s going to erase it … okay, buddy,” the man continued in the video.

“I have no problem with Muslims, by the way.

“What I do have a problem is that they take away our freedom of expression.”

The police investigated the incident.

This afternoon, Canterbury District Commander Superintendent John Price said officers had encountered and spoken to a 36-year-old Christchurch man “in connection with a series of chalk messages written on the trails in Christchurch, including the mosque. Al Noor, Linwood Mosque and various police stations. ” .

“We appreciate that this behavior has attracted a lot of attention and we want to thank the public for letting us know,” Price said.

“We also want to take this opportunity to remind the public that if you see behavior that concerns you, please contact the police.”

The man is due to appear in Christchurch District Court today for unrelated matters.

The Herald has chosen not to publish his name on Twitter or the images.

The imam of the Al Noor Mosque, Gamal Fouda, also responded to the incident.

“Freedom of expression is one of the priorities of any community in New Zealand, yet no New Zealander can tolerate hate speech and hate crimes,” he said.

“No one should be discriminated against because of their ethnicity, gender or faith.

“This is not our culture in New Zealand.”

Fouda said that addressing the issue of institutional racism in New Zealand “is not just a duty of the Muslim community.”

“Since we are not the only community that has been suffering it systematically,” he said.

“Many people, including Maori and others, suffered from it for decades.”