Ngwan Ahmed
Jamal Fouda, the imam of the Nur Mosque, was elected to the local councils in Christchurch, where the New Zealand massacre took place on March 15, which left 51 worshipers dead and 51 injured.
Fouda, a survivor of the massacre of the Nur Mosque in Christchurch, was the first Muslim figure in New Zealand to appear in the media after the incident, speaking of the need to address hate speech against Muslims.
Sermon of Peace
A week after the incident, Fouda succeeded in calling Friday prayers at Christchurch Park. Thousands from all over New Zealand listened to his pro-peace sermon, stressing in his letter that the evil ideology would not triumph over love and unity.
The call to pray a few meters from the incident was a bold decision at a critical time, while local and international media reported Fouda's sermon, described as influential and pro-peace, as it provided a close-up picture of Muslims inside New Zealand.
At the time, Fouda received Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Prince William and the UN Secretary General to discuss the New Zealand Muslim community's response to the attacks, and the mechanism to curb hate speech against Muslims.
Election promises
During his election campaign, Fouda indicated that he would wear two hats if he wins, the first as the imam of the Nur Mosque, and the second as a powerful voice for citizens regardless of their religion, ethnicity and color, stressing his quest to strengthen relations between Muslims and others in New Zealand society.
Fouda, of Egyptian origin, moved to New Zealand in 2003, when he was appointed to the Palmerston North Islamic Center as a religious counselor, then moved to the Dunedin Islamic Center, before becoming an imam of the Al-Noor Mosque.
Zahra Hosseini, 27, of Afghan origin, ran in local elections, and her candidacy came in an attempt to integrate Muslims into New Zealand society, to curb the hate incidents of veiled women, after being subjected to racist incidents and ridicule.