Hugs, tears and applause when proud British Muslim meets Manchester mayor

— -- Hashim Norat stood at the back of the crowd. Tears stained his cheeks from beneath his sunglasses. He and his wife had taken a 90-minute detour from their 25th wedding anniversary to stop today at St. Anne’s Square in Manchester, England, where a makeshift memorial has sprung up, festooned with hundreds of wreaths and candles for the victims of Monday night's bombing at the Manchester Arena.

He wore shorts to “fit in, to look like a tourist” he told ABC News, expecting vitriol from hundreds gathered there to mourn because the suspected suicide bomber "thinks he did this in my religion.” And said he wouldn’t have blamed them.

The bombing sank him into depression earlier this week, he said. But Manchester Mayor Andy Burham’s message of inclusiveness on Tuesday lifted him from the depths.

"I have a lot of faith in humanity ... I love people," he told ABC News. “This is not in my name, this is not in my religion’s name,” he repeated. He is a Muslim, and he is British, and he is deeply proud of being both.

World reactions to Manchester bombing

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The french flag flies at half mast at the Elysee Palace in homage to the victims of terror attack in Manchester, on May 24, 2017, in Paris.

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Twenty-two people were killed in Monday night’s suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena, including a female police officer and an 8-year-old girl. Salman Abedi, 22, the suspected suicide bomber, who had previously worshiped at a mosque, died at the scene of the attack. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Standing stunned at St. Anne’s Square, Norat couldn’t have known that Burham was solemnly addressing the press just feet away. ABC News told the mayor about Norat, and he hustled over.

Again, Norat teared up. He said he’d repeatedly watched a clip of the mayor calling for unity in a time of division. "That video alone gave us the courage to get up and say, 'No, we're gonna fight this,'" Norat told the mayor. "No individual is gonna ruin that."

Norat called the United Kingdom an amazing country, telling the mayor, "My father came here in 1965. He's an imam, 88 years old. Six children. We own properties, we work hard, we pay taxes, we employ people, we run a charity."

"We love people," he told the mayor. "This is Islam. Not what that person did ... 22 beautiful lives lost."

Norat said Burnham's words "gave the country hope." A crowd had begun to gather around the two. First quick-moving photographers, snapping away. Then, people who moments before had been laying wreaths.

"My father always says, 'A sentence can make a difference, positively and very negatively.' ... That positivity is going to go around the world."

Explosion at Ariana Grande concert in Manchester

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A suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on May 22, killed 22 people and wounded more than 100 others. Children and teenagers were among the victims of Salman Abedi’s attack. The 22-year-old British-born man of Libyan descent detonated a device minutes after Grande finished performing. Police and other emergency services are seen near the Manchester Arena after reports of an explosion, May 22, 2017.

Joel Goodman/LNP/REX/Shutterstock

"Don’t hate us. Love us, we are one," Norat said. At that, the mayor, his arm still around Norat’s shoulder, responded, “We couldn’t be more proud of you being part of us.”

And suddenly, unexpected applause and cheers erupted. Total strangers started lining up to shake the men’s hands, to embrace them as they had embraced each other and this reeling community.

"Together ... we will tackle those who are extremists and don't represent anybody," Burnham added.