People across New Zealand are observing the Muslim call to prayer as the nation reflects on the moment one week ago when 50 people were slaughtered at two mosques.
Among them were boxers Anthony Mundine, from Blakehurst, and Billy Dib, formerly of Engadine, who greeted community leaders outside the Al Noor mosque earlier in the day.
On Thursday Mundine had visited in hospital some of the 50 people injured in the March 15 attack.
On Twitter and Facebook yesterday he said he was honoured to be visiting ''these beautiful brothers and sisters who survived the horrific atrocities in Christchurch''.
"May Allah give them the strength to get through this terrible experience and heal their pain,'' Mundine said.
''They are all amazing and very brave humans. Please keep them in your prayers.''
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and thousands of others congregated in leafy Hagley Park opposite the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch to observe the call to prayer early Friday afternoon.
Thousands more were listening in on the radio or watching on television as the event was broadcast live. The prayer was followed by two minutes of silence.
Police and contractors had raced to complete crime scene investigations and restore the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in time for the Islamic ritual. But it's now expected they will be handed over on Saturday, rather than on the one-week anniversary of the shootings.
"We will be praying outside Al Noor," Linwood mosque Imam Lateef Alabi said of the plan for Friday.
Fahim Imam, 33, of Auckland, flew in Friday morning from New Zealand's largest city for the service. He was born and grew up in Christchurch but moved away three years ago.
"It's just amazing to see how the country and the community have come together - blows my mind, actually," Imam said before the event.
"As soon as I got off the plane, I saw a sign someone was holding that said 'jenaza,' denoting Muslim funeral prayer. Others were offering free rides to and from the prayer service," Imam said.
"The moment I landed in Christchurch, I could feel the love here. I've never felt more proud to be a Muslim, or a Kiwi for that matter. It makes me really happy to be able to say that I'm a New Zealander," he added.
He called it surreal to see the mosque where he used to pray surrounded by flowers.
At 1.30pm, the Islamic Call to Prayer was broadcast on television and radio across New Zealand, followed by a two-minute silence for the dead and the injured.
"We appreciate the support that the people of New Zealand have given to us at this time, and the opportunity to do this," community leader and head of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, Mustafa Farouk, said.
"We are so happy that this prayer will be broadcast to the entire world so that everyone can be a part of it."
Later on Friday, a mass burial will be held after police confirmed on Thursday all of the dead had been formally identified and their bodies ready for release to the families.
Up to 27 bodies have been washed in preparation for the burial at the city's Memorial Park Cemetery.
Among them is the youngest victim, three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim who was at the Al Moor mosque with his father and big brother.
More than a dozen victims were buried on Wednesday and Thursday.
AAP
