Last Friday, 50 people were killed, and 50 more wounded during a shooting at a mosque in Christchurch. On Friday afternoon, several hundred people came to mourn at the University of New England's mosque.
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UNE Acting Vice Chancellor Todd Walker and President of the UNE Mosque Hussein Megahed hosted the remembrance ceremony.
They decided the best response was to bring all the community together in a sign of solidarity.
"There was only one objective: to break down any form of prejudice or stereotypes, and for us to come together and show solidarity in light of what happened last week," Professor Walker said. "This is a community that respects and celebrates diversity of culture and faith."
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About 350 people turned up: Armidale Regional councillors and staff, including Debra O'Brien, Peter Bailey, and Susan Law; schoolchildren; police; UNE students and staff; ordinary citizens; and the wider Muslim community. They lined up for more than an hour and a half to sign a condolences book.
Organiser Zahoor Ahmed, a former Pakistani army officer and diplomat, and UNE PhD student, thanked the university for holding the event, and the community for turning out in such large numbers.
"It means a lot to us," he said. "They have won our hearts and souls.
"We have met hundreds of people in our neighbourhood, in our house, in our workplaces, and we have seen just one thing: solidarity, support, encouragement," Mr Ahmed said.
"I have seen people crying with me, hugging me, and shedding tears for those they would not have met ever in their lives."
The Muslim community's initial thoughts after the atrocity were of devastation and insecurity, Mr Ahmed said, but two good things happened.
"Calling this an act of terrorism reassured us that we are on the same page; there won't be any discrimination. People came in hundreds to us expressing their sorrows and grief. That is the best part of humanity, I would say."
"It's like a real breakthrough," Armidale resident Gaynor McGrath said. "There's been such a separation between the Muslims and the non-Muslims; but it's terrible that it had to come through the massacre in Christchurch."
UNE and the mosque will hold more events like this to bring the community together, particularly during Ramadan next month.
"When there's greater awareness of each other in the communities, there's greater acceptance and tolerance of those communities," Professor Walker said.