Cape Town - The man who killed two people at a mosque in Malmesbury is understood to have been mentally ill.
The attack on Thursday morning put a damper on the Muslim community’s Eid celebrations in the area.
Noor Abdulle Araale killed Ismail Bassa, 74, and Ziyaad Haseen Hedick, the father of 10 children.
Residents remain on high alert in the area following the bloody double murder.
It was the second deadly attack on a mosque in the country in just over a month.
Three knife-wielding men stormed a Shia mosque in Durban and cut Abbas Essop’s throat. Essop, 34, died in hospital. Two other people were injured in the incident.
In Malmesbury, Araale was killed by the police following a stand-off. Although the police said they could not speculate about a link between the two attacks, fears that mosques are being targeted for attack are not being discounted.
Hawks spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi said the motive for the Malmesbury attack was unknown, and investigations were continuing.
Somali Community Board of SA spokesperson Amir Sheikh said the Malmesbury attacker was a trader in Bellville who was on his way to Vredenburg to celebrate Eid.
“He was not seen as harmful and considered peaceful; he was a trader in Bellville who bought Grandpa (headache powder) in bulk and sold it to shops in the area,” he said.
“On (Wednesday) at about 9pm he went to read (prayed) in Bellville, and took a lift with friends to Vredenburg, where he intended to spend Eid with close friends.
“But the lift ended in Malmesbury. What we were told was that he went to the masjid (mosque) to seek shelter, because he did not know anyone in the area,” he said.
Sheikh said he and others were told that once inside the Malmesbury mosque, Araale became restless and couldn’t sleep, which made other worshippers uneasy.
Ziyaad Haseen Hedick Picture: Supplied
“The only information we are getting is that (Araale) woke up in the middle of the night and slit the throat of elderly man (Bassa), and when Hedick went to his aid, he was also stabbed to death.”
Sheikh said tensions were high in the Somali community, with some worried there might a revenge attack.
“Speculations will always be rife amid such tragedy but I would like to laud the way the situation was contained by the Muslim community.
“Even after the death, the bodies were not separated.
“From the moment the incident happened, up until Friday when the Eid prayers were read, everything was done in unity and that is how we move forward as a community.
“The messages have been encouraging in that they stipulated how the actions of one person cannot taint the rest of the community,” he said. The Muslim Judicial Council, which has condemned the incident, said there was no animosity towards the Somali community.
“They have always been welcomed in the area and will continue to play a vital role in society,” said MJC president Shaykh Irafaan Abrahams.