On March 15, 2019, the Al-Azhar Mosque in Belmore, a suburb of Sydney, Australia hosted an emergency panel discussion following the massacre at the mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. One of the speakers, Sheikh Jamil El-Biza, suggested that attack was the result of governments' and politicians' defense of freedom of speech. Sheikh Jalal Chami, another one of the panel members, said that it is an honor for the victims of the shooting to have died for Islam and that Muslims should be happy for them and pray that they are accepted as martyrs. He said: "We give our life freely for the sake of Allah and His religion." Another panel member, Sheikh Omar Najjarine, said that people in Australia and New Zealand have thoughts of harming Muslims like the Christchurch shooter did. He also said that he felt jealousy towards the victims of the shooting because they entered Paradise, and he said that it is sad that most people would be thankful if they escaped or survived such a shooting, when they would have lost out on the blessing of dying as a martyr. Sheikh Najjarine added: "Who would ever think that a person in a non-Muslim country [who is not waging] Jihad could attain martyrdom. That's not special?" The panel was streamed live on Al-Azhar Mosque's Facebook page and was aired on Al-Jazeera TV with Arabic voice over. Sheikh Zoheir Abouhamza Issa, Sheikh Mohammad Anwar Sahib, and Sheikh Nassim Abdi also participated in the panel. Al-Azhar Mosque is part of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'ah Association Australia (ASWJ Australia), which has been the subject of media criticism in the past. ASWJ Australia's YouTube channels have recently shut down. For sermons by ASWJ's Sheikh Nassim Abdi, see MEMRI TV Clips No. 6790 and No. 6504.
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