According to a Reuters report, carrying placards with signs such as 'He wanted to divide us, he only made us stronger', 'Muslims welcome, racists not', and 'Kia Kaha' - Maori for ‘stay strong’, people walked mostly in silence or softly sang a Maori hymn of peace.
The event was one of several such gatherings in New Zealand.
The two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch where a gunman killed 50 worshippers last week reopened their doors on Saturday, with many survivors among the first to walk in and pray for those who killed.
At the Al Noor mosque, where more than 40 of the victims were killed by a suspected white supremacist, prayers resumed with armed police on site, but no graphic reminders of the mass shooting, New Zealand’s worst.
Aden Diriye, who lost his 3-year-old son, Mucad Ibrahim, in the attack, came back to the mosque with his friends.
“I am very happy,” he said after praying. “Allah is great to us. I was back as soon as we rebuilt, to pray.”
New Zealand has been under heightened security alert since the attack with prime minister Jacinda Ardern moving quickly with a new tough law banning some of the guns used in the March 15 shooting spree.
Ashif Shaikh, who was in the Al Noor mosque on the day of the massacre in which two of his housemates were killed, came back on Saturday and stressed that he would not be deterred.
“It is the place where we pray, where we meet, we’ll be back, yeah,” he said.
On Friday, the Muslim call to prayer was broadcast nationwide on television and radio and about 20,000 people attended a prayer service in the park opposite Al Noor mosque in a show of solidarity.
Many non-Muslim women have also donned headscarves to show their support.
One week after a terrorist attack that killed more than 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, mourners who came from around the world honoured the dead Friday by sharing the Muslim call to prayer and two minutes of silence. 208/104
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