Laid to rest after senseless massacre: Mourners gather for traditional Islamic funeral as father and son become first victims of the Christchurch shooting to be buried Up to 400 mourners have gathered for the funerals of the first victims of the Christchurch mosque massacre 50 graves dug at Memorial Cemetery in Linwood while several bodies will be repatriated to home countries Men participate in burials, while women pay their respects under a mammoth marquee that was erectedBy Daniel Piotrowski In Christchurch For Daily Mail Australia Published: 00:08 GMT, 20 March 2019 | Updated: 00:13 GMT, 20 March 2019 Viewcomments Advertisement Two victims of the Christchurch mosque massacre - a Syrian father and son - have been laid to rest at the first funeral, with mourners each using their hands to throw three handfuls of soil into the graves. Refugees Khaled Mustafa, 44, and his high school student son Hamza, 15, were killed in the carnage at the Al Noor mosque during the gunman’s alleged reign of terror, which claimed 50 lives last Friday. The bodies arrived in a procession of more than a dozen cars about 12.30pm. There was complete silence on the grounds. The janaza, or funeral prayers, began shortly thereafter, with the words 'allahu akbar' (god is the greatest) hanging in the air. The victims were then carried to the plots for burial, with the men ordered to line up in order to throw soil into the graves. The women in attendance watched on from afar, as is Islamic custom. The talented farrier father and his son, a student at Cashmere High School, were buried next to one another at plots 87 and 88. The coffin of the first victim from the Christchurch terrorist attack arrives for the burial ceremony at Memorial Park Cemetery Mourners console each other before the first funerals for the victims of last Friday's terrorist attack in Christchurch The burials, more than five days after the massacre, follow mounting frustration from families that their relatives’ remains could not be released quickly, due to the police investigation. Two people will be buried in the next few hours. Three to four hundred men, women and children have arrived at the service, with an area set up for mourners to wash their hands and feet. An announcer has given mourners evacuation instructions in case of an emergency. Authorities moved swiftly to prepare the grave sites after the massacre, where 50 were killed. Fifty graves have been dug at the Memorial Cemetery in Linwood. Several bodies will be repatriated to their home countries. A council spokeswoman said ‘there were 50 victims, and we didn’t know how many were being repatriated, it was just in case.’ Many burials will occur en masse as bodies are released in the coming days. In typical Islamic funerals, men participate in the burial, while women pay their respects under a mammoth marquee that has been erected nearby. Up to 400 mourners gathered at Memorial Park Cemetery for services to farewell the first Christchurch massacre victims Funeral prayers have already been said and the bodies washed in a traditional fashion. The victims have been wrapped in white shrouds and placed in the ground. Auckland University expert Dr Zain Ali said the bodies will be pointed towards Mecca. Mourners traditionally place three handfuls of soil into the ground as part of the burial. This morning’s bodies are being buried in plots 87 and 88. The families of the two victims gave permission to media to photograph the services. New Zealand Police officials confirmed on Wednesday morning that six had been released to their families and forensic investigation of six more bodies had been completed. Female mourners have gathered under a marquee to pay their respects at the first funerals held for victims killed last week HOW AN ISLAMIC FUNERAL WORKS A typical Islamic funeral service involves the washing of the body with warm water from head to toe at a mosque with family members at a mosque, said Auckland University expert Dr Zain Ali. The body is then placed in a shroud, or white cloth. It is then brought to its final resting place in a coffin. ‘Here in New Zealand, because it’s a small community, you’d have a lot of the community turn up, even if you’re not directly related to the person who’s passed away,’ Dr Ali said. The body is then placed in the grave, facing Mecca, and buried. Mourners traditionally place three handfuls of soil into the plot, in a symbolic gesture. Dr Ali said the gesture means: ‘We’ve come from this soil, we return to the soil, and one day we will be raised back from the soil again, in a sort of resurrection ‘From this we came, from this we return’. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility