The mother of an extremist inspired by so-called Islamic State who stabbed shoppers in a New Zealand supermarket said her son was radicalised by neighbours from Syria and Iraq who helped him recover from an injury.

The attacker, Ahamed Aathil Samsudeen, was a 32-year-old Tamil Muslim from Sri Lanka.

He arrived in New Zealand 10 years ago on a student visa, and applied for refugee status on the basis of being persecuted in his home country.

Samsudeen was shot and killed by police, who said five people were stabbed and two injured in last week’s attack.

His mother, Mohamedismail Fareetha, said his descent into extremism began after he fell several storeys from a building in 2016 while at university.

“Because he did not have anyone there, it was people from Syria and Iraq who helped him.

“It looks like they brainwashed him. Then he started posting on Facebook,” she said in a phone interview on Saturday with a local TV station from her home in eastern Sri Lanka.

“He changed only after going abroad,” she added.

Police first noticed Samsudeen’s online support for terrorism in 2016, and the following year he was arrested at Auckland Airport.

He was heading for Syria, authorities say, and was later released on bail.

“After being arrested in 2017 he talked less with us, it was about once every three months,” his mother said, adding that two of her other sons “were angry with him and scolded him”.

In a statement Saturday, her son Aroos said his brother “would hang up the phone on us when we told him to forget about all the issues he was obsessed with.

“Then he would call us back again himself when he realised he was wrong. Aathil was wrong again yesterday. Of course we feel very sad he could not be saved.”

In 2018, Samsudeen was jailed for three years after he was found with IS videos and knives, and the following year his refugee status was cancelled after authorities found evidence of fraud.

Immigration authorities tried to argue he should remain behind bars, but in July, Samsudeen was released.

New Zealand on Saturday marked the second anniversary of one of its most traumatic days, when 51 worshippers were killed at two Christchurch mosques by a white supremacist gunman.

Several hundred people gathered at the Christchurch Arena for the remembrance service, which was also live-streamed.

A similar service planned for last year was cancelled at short notice due to the sudden spread of the coronavirus.

Kiran Munir, whose husband Haroon Mahmood was killed in the attacks, told the crowd she had lost the love of her life and her soulmate.

She said her husband was a loving father of their two children. He had just finished a doctoral degree and was looking forward to his graduation ceremony when she last saw his smiling face.

“Little did I know that the next time I would see him the body and soul would not be together,” she said.

“Little did I know that the darkest day in New Zealand’s history had dawned. That day my heart broke into a thousand pieces, just like the hearts of the 50 other families.”

Temel Atacocugu, who survived being shot nine times during the attack on the Al Noor mosque, said the slaughter was caused by racism and ignorance.

“They were attacks on all of humanity,” he said.

He said the survivors would never be able to erase the pain in their hearts and would never be the same.

“However, the future is in our hands,” he said. “We will go on and we will be positive together.”

In the March 15, 2019, attacks, Australian Brenton Tarrant killed 44 people at the Al Noor mosque during Friday prayers before driving to the Linwood mosque, where he killed seven more.

Last year Tarrant, 30, pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism, He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

After the attacks, New Zealand quickly passed new laws banning the deadliest types of semiautomatic weapons.

During the service, the names of each of the 51 people who were killed were read out. The efforts of first responders, including police and medics, were also acknowledged.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the crowd that when preparing her speech, she had been at a loss for what to say because words would never change what happened.

“But while words cannot perform miracles, they do have the power to heal,” she said.

The Muslim community had experienced hatred and racism even before the attacks, she said, and words should be used for change.

“There will be an unquestionable legacy from March 15,” Ms Ardern said.

“Much of it will be heartbreaking. But it is never too early or too late for the legacy to be a more inclusive nation.”

Read more: William’s emotional speech to Christchurch mosque survivors

Donned in eye-patches and a spaghetti bridal headdress, two New Zealanders have celebrated the first legally recognised ‘Pastafarian’ marriage on board a pirate ship, in a milestone of recognition for the bizarre global ‘religion’.

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, whose stated beliefs are in a god made of spaghetti, have amassed followers around the world.

The group initially formed as a sarcastic criticism of Christian creationist teachings at schools in the United States.

“We decided to do a pirate wedding mainly because it shows respect to the Pastafarian faith. Pastafariansm believes that all humans are decendants of pirates,” groom Toby Ricketts said alongside bride Marianna Fenn.

Followers who wear colanders on their heads and revere pirates insist that they are not a spoof church and that their beliefs are genuine. The group also celebrates holidays such as ‘Talk like a pirate day’.

New Zealand’s government earlier this month agreed to an application from member Karen Martyn to become a legal marriage celebrant after the group was deemed to comply with the country’s regulations.

“Does ye take this feisty wench to be yah lawfully wedded best mate? Does yea promise to stay at the helm even when seas are rough?” Karen Martyn, and self-declared ‘Ministeroni’ asked the couple.

Martyn told reporters that many more Pastafarian weddings were being planned.