Islam On Campus to hold vigil on to remember mosque shooting victims

UF Islam On Campus will hold a flower memorial on Monday night in honor of the 50 victims of the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand.

The vigil will be held at 7 p.m. on Turlington Plaza said Sana Nimer, the president of UF Islam On Campus. Nimer hopes the vigil will show the community’s solidarity.

“When hate crimes like this happen, it’s really easy to feel like the world is against you,” Nimer said. “But at the same time, there have been so many instances of community members letting us know that they stand with us.”

On Friday, a gunman opened fire at Masjid Al-Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch killing 50 and hospitalizing 36, according to The Associated Press. The youngest victim was a 3-year-old boy.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressed determination to change gun laws within the country after the attack, AP reports.

Although the community, like the rest of the world, is grieving, Nimer said she was not shocked it occurred.

As a Muslim woman, she said she often has to be vigilant.

“We’re reacting the same way the rest of the world is reacting, which is just sadness, and grief and mourning,” she said. “But I think one thing to know is that none of us are really shocked.”

Speakers at the vigil will include students, members of the executive board of Islam On Campus, UF President Kent Fuchs and other campus partners, she said.

“It’s very empowering to understand that the world isn’t against us, and we don’t have to be ashamed of our identity,” she said.

Looking to the future, Nimer said she encourages people outside the Muslim community to reach out and be allies. She said it shows unity amidst tragedy.

“Come talk to us,” she said. “That’s really the only way to eradicate the sort of hateful mentalities.”

Nushrat Nur, a 21-year-old UF journalism junior, wrote an article for “The Tempest,” an online storytelling medium, in response to Friday’s tragedy about her experience growing up in mosques.

She read the article at the vigil.

“For a brief moment, I can just take away a little bit of the pain and just remind them that our communities are so important,” Nur said.

Mourners lay flowers on a wall at the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, March 18, 2019. A steady stream of mourners paid tribute at makeshift memorial to the 50 people slain by a gunman at two mosques in Christchurch, while dozens of Muslims stood by to bury the dead when authorities finally release the victims' bodies. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)