The trustees of Christchurch's Linwood mosque say they have been sidelined in a secret deal to build a new masjid on the site.
The renovated entrance to Linwood Mosque in March 2020. Photo: RNZ / Nathan McKinnon
Money for the $10 million mosque, which would be the biggest in the country, had come from the United Arab Emirates.
But the current trustees said it was being pushed through by an Australian-based businessman with no links to the community.
Following the terror attacks in 2019, which saw seven people shot dead at the mosque, the UAE-based Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation promised to build a new larger mosque to replace the small and modest one currently there.
A neighbouring building - a former KFC Restaurant - was also bought with the intention that the land would form part of the new expanded masjid.
Mosque chairperson Ahmed Jahangir said a verbal agreement was made that the new mosque would be owned by the Linwood Islamic Charitable Trust.
Instead he said the Imam had gone behind their backs and become involved in a deal that removed them entirely.
Mosque chairperson Ahmed Jahangir Photo: RNZ/Simon Rogers
"As Muslims, we try to stick to what we say. And unfortunately we don't have any written document that says what we agreed on. But everything was verbal."
Ahmed Jahangir, who continued to suffer ongoing pain from the injury he sustained in the mosque attacks, said they only found out about the secret deal last month.
It involved a trust made up of a Sydney-based businessman and members of the UAE charity assuming control of the neighbouring land and the new mosque.
He said they felt betrayed by the Imam, who he said had breached their constitution by acting against the wishes of the majority of the trustees.
The Imam had now been voted off as a trustee.
"We used to spread that love here. And these issues have created a lot of trouble, which is heartbreaking after so much effort and time that we have put in to this mosque to take it to the next level. We feel that everything has been broken into pieces."
The Linwood mosque trustees said they were completely in the dark about when the new mosque would be built and were frustrated they hadn't been able to make use of the former restaurant next door.
Without the use of the extra building, Ahmed Jahangir, said they were having to use a tent to house the extra worshippers they had coming to them during Ramadan.
"It was very kind enough from city council that they have provided us with this marquee for our sisters to pray here, but again, you know this is the winter that we are in and it gets very cold, especially during the night."
The Imam, Abdul Lateef, declined to be interviewed, asking that questions be put to his lawyer.
The lawyer had yet to provide a response.
Taoufik Elidrissi, the Sydney-based businessman who sits on the new trust, was happy to speak.
He contradicted the account given by the Linwood trustees and said they made a verbal agreement a year ago relinquishing their involvement in the new mosque, something the trustees denied ever giving.
"We explain to them and for us there was everything clear. Now they have personal clash among themselves. We don't want to be dragged in. You know, luckily we have a different trust, we can go ahead and build the centre and build the mosque for the Linwood community, not for these individuals."
Elidrissi said the decision to remove the Imam as a trustee, which happened in his absence, was unconstitutional.
And he insisted most were supportive of the new mosque and the new trust that would run it.
He pointed to a zoom meeting he organised recently with 50 members of the congregation, where nobody spoke out against it.
"We have invested for the community not for these individuals. There are many injured, there are other people that they lost their lives. There are people I know personally, they are among the martyred there. The project is for the community."
Elidrissi, said the new mosque had been held up by Covid-19 rules that prevented the UAE-based trust from visiting to sign the agreement, but that things would get underway as soon as the borders re-opened.
