How New Zealanders observed Friday’s prayers A week after heinous attack

Armed police guard the Al Door mosque ahead of Friday prayers at Hagley Park in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 22, 2019. In a day without precedent in New Zealand, people across the country were planning to observe the Muslim call to prayer as the nation reflected on the moment one week ago when 50 people were slaughtered at two mosques. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Armed police guard the Al Door mosque ahead of Friday prayers at Hagley Park in Christchurch, New Zealand

New Zealanders on Friday observed the Muslim call to prayer in reflecting on the moment a week ago when 50 worshippers at two Christchurch mosques were slain.

A presiding imam told the crowd of thousands that the barbaric act had left the country broken-hearted but not broken.

On Friday sorrowful multitudes including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, gathered in leafy Hagley Park opposite the Al Noor mosque, where 42 people died.

The call to prayer was observed at 1:30 p.m. and followed by two minutes of silence. Hundreds of Muslim men at the park sat in socks or bare feet.

Later in the day, a mass funeral was held to bury 26 of the victims at a cemetery where more than a dozen already have been laid to rest.

Family members took turns passing around shovels and wheelbarrows to bury their loved ones.

The Al Noor mosque’s imam said workers have been toiling feverishly to repair the destruction, some of whom offered their services for free. Fouda expects the mosque to reopen by next week.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had promised to change New Zealand’s gun laws after the Christchurch mass shooting and within 72 hours the law was passed.

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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

The observance comes the day after the government announced a ban on “military-style” semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines like the weapons that were used in last Friday’s attacks at the Al Noor and nearby Linwood mosques.

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Women all over New Zealand wore headscarves in solidarity with the Christchurch victims.

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