- Monro said the invitation from King Salman was an 鈥渆xceptionally noble gesture
JEDDAH: The president of the International Muslim Association of New Zealand expressed gratitude, on behalf of the families of those killed in the Christchurch mosque massacre in March, for the invitation extended to them by King Salman to perform Hajj this year. Tahir Nawaz also praised the services provided by the Kingdom each year to serve pilgrims.
The pilgrims flew into King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah on Friday.
King Salman last month directed that the families of the attack on two mosques that killed 51 people, are hosted for this year鈥檚 pilgrimage.
They were received by the director of passports at the airport, Col. Sulaiman Al-Yousef.
The reception was attended by New Zealand Ambassador to the Kingdom James Monro and other officials.
Monro said the invitation from King Salman was an 鈥渆xceptionally noble gesture. 鈥淭his move was highly appreciated by the people of New Zealand, not only by the visiting pilgrims,鈥� he said.