New Zealand Shooting: Parliament Opens Session With Reading From Quran

The Quran was recited during New Zealand’s parliament session on Tuesday, the first since last week’s terrorist attack on two mosques that claimed 50 lives.

A Muslim imam led prayers in parliament, in what is being seen as a gesture of solidarity with the victims of the shooting.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who has received international praise for her response to the attack including offering to pay the funeral costs of victims, started her speech with the phrase “As-Salaam-Alaikum”, an Arabic greeting meaning ‘peace be unto you’.

She encouraged people to acknowledge the Muslim community’s grief on Friday – the Muslim day of worship, and one week since the attack, and vowed that the full force of the law will come down on the attacker.