Christchurch mosque shooting: Petitions set up calling for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to be nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Two petitions have been started to get Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her handling of the Christchurch Mosque shooting.

A Change.org petition started four days ago has more than 3000 signatures while a petition on French website AVAAZ.org has just over 1000 signatures.

"Following the tragic events of Christchurch and the adequate, open and peaceful response of New Zealand Premier Jacinda Ardern, we wish to propose her as the recipient of the upcoming Nobel Peace Prize," the French page says.

It is believed the French petition was started by French poet Dr Khal Torabully.

Ardern has been praised around the world for the way she led the country through last week's unprecedented events.

In recognition of her work the Burj Khalifa in Dubai was lit up with an image of her in a hijab hugging a Muslim woman.

A Twitter post from Sheikh Mohammed thanked her for her "sincere empathy and support" and said she had won the respect of the 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.

New Zealand today fell silent in honour of the mosque attacks' martyrs. Thank you PM @jacindaardern and New Zealand for your sincere empathy and support that has won the respect of 1.5 billion Muslims after the terrorist attack that shook the Muslim community around the world. pic.twitter.com/9LDvH0ybhD

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) March 22, 2019

A glowing editorial in the New York Times last night also heaped praise on her.

In the wake of last Friday's terror attack on two mosques which killed 50 people, the actions of Ardern in swiftly moving to ban semi-automatic guns as well as her sympathetic response to the Muslim community has garnered worldwide attention.

The Times editorial titled America Deserves a Leader as Good as Jacinda Ardern' said "the world should learn from the way Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand's prime minister, has responded to the horror".

In particular, Ardern's handling of the issues around gun control have struck a chord with the newspaper's editorial board.

"Ardern listened to her constituents' outrage and declared that within days her government would introduce new controls on the military-style weapons that the Christchurch shooter and many of the mass killers in the United States have used on their rampages," the editorial said. "And she delivered ... 'It's about all of us,' she said, 'it's in the national interest and it's about safety'."