A man who was shot four times inside the Al Noor mosque had previously told friends he chose to move his young family to New Zealand because it was a tolerant country where they could safely practice their Muslim faith.
Wasseim Alsati was shot twice in the back, once in the stomach and once in the toe when Brenton Harrison Tarrant began gunning down worshippers at random on Friday afternoon.
Mr Alsati had been attending Friday prayer's with his eldest daughter Allen when Australian-born Tarrant burst into the mosque and allegedly opened fire.
His five-year-old daughter was shot three times but is now in a stable condition.
Just months before the Christchurch terror attack Mr Alsati had shared a video on Facebook about the persecution of Muslims in China and other nations around the world - and compared it to the safety and tolerance of his adopted homeland.
The father-of-two moved his family from Jordan in 2014, and told friends the respect shown to Muslims was behind his decision to choose New Zealand.
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Wasseim Alsati (pictured with this two daughters) was shot four times during the Al Noor mosque massacre in Christchurch on Friday. His eldest daughter Allen, five, was at the mosque with him and was shot three times - they both remain in hospital
Months before accused gunman Brenton Harrison Tarrant opened fire, Mr Alsati has posted on Facebook explaining how in 2014 he had chosen to move his family from Jordan to New Zealand because it is a rare country where Muslims are safe
'One of the major reasons that I have decided to live in New Zealand is they don't care who you are,' Mr Alsati said.
'They just treat you as a human being and you're allowed to be whatever you want.'
Prior to opening fire inside the Al Noor and Linwood mosque, accused gunman Tarrant wrote a 73-page manifesto detailing his hatred for Muslims.
The 28-year-old, who was originally from Grafton in regional New South Wales, said the the mosque massacre was retaliation for terror attacks carried out elsewhere by Islamic extremists.
Tarrant said he initially planned to target a mosque in Dunedin, but changed to the Al Noor and Linwood mosques because they had 'far more invaders'.
Three days on from Friday's terror attack, the death toll stands at 50.
Like his daughter, Mr Alsati remains in hospital in a stable condition and is hoping to be released in coming days.
On Sunday he posted a video from his hospital bed thanking well wishers for their support and asking for prayers for his young daughter.
'Please pray for me and for my daughter, hopefully she will be so much better,' Mr Alsati says through stilted breaths.
It comes as two of the heroes of the massacres made an emotional return to one of the scenes of the bloodshed.
Australian-born Brenton Harrison Tarrant (pictured) allegedly opened fire at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques, killing at least 50 people. The 28-year-old is so far charged with only one count of murder, but police are expected to lay more charges
Brother Abdul Lateef Zirullah (left) and Abdul Aziz (right), the two surviving heroes of the mass shooting at Linwood mosque attack, made an emotional return to the scene of the bloodshed - three days after chasing Tarrant out of the mosque
Brother Lateef broke down in tears during a traditional Maori ceremony at the mosque. He was the first person to spot accused gunman Brenton Harrison Tarrant out the window and warned worshippers inside, saving countless lives
During Monday's ceremony a policeman placed a comforting hand on the back of Mr Lateef as he broke down in tears
Nearly three days since the horrific terror attack in Christchurch which left 50 worshippers dead, new details about the innocent victims are emerging
As of 2am AEDT Monday
Mucad Ibrahim, 3
Abdullahi Dirie, 4
Sayyad Milne, 14
Khaled Mustafa, 45, and son Hamza, 16
Naeem Rashid and his son Talha, 21
Tariq Omar, 24
Ozair Kadir, 24
Syed Areeb Ahmed, 26
Ansi Alibava, 25
Ramiz Vora, 28
Farhaj Ahsan, 30
Mojammel Hoq, 30
Atta Elayyan, 33
Hussein Al-Umari, 36
Mohammed Omar Faruk, 36
Junaid Ismail, 36
Osama Adnan Abu Kwik, 37
Zeehan Raza, 38
Kamel Darwish, 39
Dr Haroon Mahmood, 40
Husne Ara Parvin, 42
Syed Jahandad Ali, 43
Mohammad Imran Kahn, 47
Mathullah Safi, 55
Amjad Hamid, 57
Lilik Abdul Hamid, 58
Arifbhai Mohamedali Vora, 58
Ghulam Hussain, in his 60s
Karam Bibi, in her 60s
Musa Vali Suleman Patel, 60
Abdelfattah Qasem, 60
Ashraf Ali, 61
Mohsin Al-Harbi, 63
Linda Armstrong, 65
Maheboob Khokhar, 65
Muhammed Abdusi Samad, 66
Ali Elmadani, 66
Mounir Soliman, 68
Ahmad Gamaluddin Abdel Ghani, 68
Hussein Moustafa, 70
Abdukadir Elmi, 70
Haji-Daoud Nabi, 71
Still Missing:
Zakaria Bhuiyan
Imam Abdul Lateef Zirullah, better known as Brother Lateef, and 'Eftpos machine hero' Abdul Aziz, from Australia, were re-united at the Linwood mosque on Monday where days earlier the pair's heroics saved many lives.
An emotional Mr Lateef broke down in tears during the service and was comforted by mourners, including a police officer who was seen laying a friendly hand on the Imam's back.
The service was held just metres away from a growing mountain of flowers, and on a street where strangers have spent the weekend spontaneously hugging Muslims.
A picture of Mr Lateef soaked in blood has become one of the enduring images of the tragedy, which has been described as New Zealand's 'darkest day' with the loss of 50 lives.
Mr Lateef was the first to spot gunman Brenton Harrison Tarrant and raise the alarm outside the second mosque on Friday afternoon, warning worshippers to get down.
'From the window, I sighted him (and) I thought maybe he was a policeman,' Mr Lateef told Daily Mail Australia.
'But then when I saw on the floor next to him was another (dead) lady, I said "no".'
Mr Lateef could hear the killer's muffled, but clearly offensive, yelling, through the window.
'I can't hear him very well clearly inside but I know he was saying something, like using this vulgar word,' he said.
Moments after the gunman fled the scene Mr Lateef was photographed on the street wearing a bloodstained garment
An emotional Mr Lateef was comforted by dozens of mourners during the traditional cleansing ceremony
Mr Lateef told how after he warned worshippers, Abdul Aziz (right) grabbed an Eftpos machine and ran outside to chase the accused gunman
When Tarrant returned to his car to get another gun Mr Aziz chased after him and hurled the gun at the car, shattering the windscreen and scaring him away
'I realised he is amiss and something must be done. Initially people didn't understand but eventually people got to know what happened.'
After being alerted to the gunman by Mr Lateef, Mr Aziz picked up the first thing he could find - an Eftpos machine - and ran to confront the attacker.
When he got outside Tarrant had returned to his car to swap guns.
Mr Aziz then saw a discarded weapon on the ground and picked it up, before aiming at Tarrant and squeezed hard on the trigger - but it was empty.
'He got into his car and I just got the gun and threw it on his window like an arrow and blasted his window... that's why he got scared,' Mr Aziz said.
Inside the mosque Mr Aziz said he could hear his two young sons, aged 11 and five, calling for him to come back inside.
Mr Lateef said he had seen the iconic photograph of his robe covered in blood just moments after the massacre.
'I was trying to rescue some brothers,' he said.
'I was thinking I could do something to save their lives, but, unfortunately, some of them, most of them had passed.'
Mr Aziz (right) said he could hear his two young sons inside the mosque urging him to come back inside and away from danger
'From the window, I sighted him... I thought he was a policeman,' Brother Lateef said. He then noticed dead bodies outside the mosque and yelled out to the worshippers at Friday prayers
Maori leader performs the traditional cleansing ceremony at the Linwood Mosque on Monday
The ceremony, known as a karakia, is regularly held after tragic deaths and is similar to rituals performed by indigenous Australians
Mr Lateef said he was 'very pleased' with a Maori cleansing of the land and blessing, which was held at the mosque on Monday morning.
The ceremony, known as a karakia, is regularly held after tragic deaths and was organised by the staff of New Zealand deputy police commissioner Wallace Haumaha.
Mr Haumaha said the process was much like an indigenous Australian cultural ritual.
'It's important to have that cleansing,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'We use it ... to ensure we have cleansed all the evilness - not so much evilness, but everything left behind by those deaths, to allow the living to move on.'
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