CHRISTCHURCH: A Muslim victim who greeted a White terrorist gunman as his ‘brother’ as the killer marched towards the mosque in New Zealand with a shotgun has been hailed as a hero.

A white terrorist – named as Brenton Tarrant – entered the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch to kill 41 people as worshippers made their Friday afternoon prayers – another eight were killed at a mosque on Linwood Avenue.

His livestream of the event on Facebook captured one of his first victim’s welcoming him with the words, ‘Hello brother.’

He has been a hailed for his incredible act of brave devotion as he showed Islamic compassion even when faced with the barrel of a semi-automatic shotgun.

Many reacted to the video on social media, taking strength from the fact that hatred was overcome as the twisted killer sought to end the victim’s life.

One Twitter user called Farrukh wrote: ‘How many more lives Muslims need to give to prove that their faith is not violent?’

While another called Yasin said: ‘Love in the face of hate. Allah help us.’ 

“‘Hello, Brother’ were the last words of the first New Zealand victim. As he faced a rifle, his last words were peaceful words of unconditional love. DO NOT tell me that nonviolence is weak or pacifism is cowardice,” one Twitter user said.

“‘Hello brother’ a word came out of a pure soul filled with a peaceful faith. ‘Hello brother’ was said to a killer with a rifle pointed to this greeting. ‘Hello brother’ he said thinking that he is talking to a human with soul and feelings. ‘Hello brother’ was shot dead,” another wrote.

“Hello brother and the reply were three bullets – Bi-ayyi thanbin qutilat (For what crime. She was killed) [Quran: 81, v9],” said another.

Aziz Helou, a resident of Melbourne, Australia, wrote on Facebook that “amongst the chaos of today, the evil we both heard and saw”, that one incident stood out.

“The first Muslim man to die, his final words were ‘hello brother’. These words were uttered by a man who symbolised Islam. He had a rifle pointed at him by a man with clear intentions to kill and how did he respond? With anger? With aggression? No, with the most gentle and sincere greeting of ‘hello brother’.

“Perhaps this hero was trying to defuse the situation? Maybe Allah used this man to show the world the kindness that is Islam. I don’t know but what I want, is to make certain, is that this detail isn’t lost amongst you. That this man’s final act was an Islamic one, a sincere courageous and warm way to stop violence instead of fuelling it”.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the incident a terrorist attack in a Friday press conference, saying the suspects held “extremist views” that have no place in New Zealand or the world.

Forty-one people were killed when gunmen stormed the al Noor mosque on Deans Avenue, New Zealand’s Police Commissioner Mike Bush said Friday evening local time. Seven people died at the Linwood mosque on Linwood Avenue, and one person died from their injuries in hospital.

Both mosques are in Christchurch’s city center and police have placed the two locations on lockdown.

A total of 48 patients, including young children with gunshot wounds, have been admitted to Christchurch hospital for treatment.

New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said four people have been taken into custody — three men and one woman.

Meanwhile, according to BBC Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, the main suspect in the mosque shootings that killed 49 people in New Zealand on Friday has appeared in court on a single murder charge.

Tarrant appeared in the dock in a white prison shirt and handcuffs. Further charges are expected to be made against him.

PM Jacinda Ardern said Mr Tarrant had five guns and a firearms licence, adding: “Our gun laws will change.”

The minimum legal age to own a gun in New Zealand is 16, or 18 for military-style semi-automatic weapons.

All gun-owners must have a licence, but most individual weapons do not have to be registered – New Zealand is one of the few countries where this is the case.

Applicants for a firearm licence must pass a background check of criminal and medical records, including factors such as mental health and domestic violence.

Once a licence has been issued, gun-owners can buy as many weapons as they want.

Two others are in custody. None of those detained had a criminal record.

Tarrant was remanded in custody without plea and is due appear in court again on 5 April.

In the wake of Saturday’s attacks, social media accounts in the name of Brenton Tarrant were used to post a lengthy, racist document in which the author identified the mosques that were later attacked.

The man says he began planning an attack after visiting Europe in 2017 and being angered by events there.

The document is called “The Great Replacement” – a phrase that originated in France and has become a rallying cry for European anti-immigration extremists.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that at least one of the individuals taken into custody is an Australian born citizen.

He called shooting as being at hands of a “extremist right wing, violent terrorist” at a press conference Friday.

Christchurch is a coastal city of 404,500 residents. It is the second most-populous city in New Zealand behind Auckland and Wellington. It has an agricultural economy.

In 2010 and 2011 the city suffered a series of devastating earthquakes, with the most destructive at 6.3 magnitude, which killed nearly 200 people and destroyed thousands of buildings.

Just 1% of New Zealand’s population of almost five million are Muslim, according to government statistics, less than 50,000 people in 2013.

Journalist Chris Lynch, a radio host on New Zealand station ZB Radio, told CNN that one of the shootings had occurred at “the biggest mosque in all of Christchurch.”

He described Christchurch as a “very peaceful city” that is still getting over the devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake that hit in 2011.

“That (earthquake) brought all the skyscraper buildings down and this is one of the reasons why people are fearful, I feel,” he told CNN.