Emotional Friday prayer marks return to Linwood Mosque three weeks after Christchurch terror attack

Friday prayer returned to the Linwood Mosque today for the first time since the March 15 mass shooting where seven worshippers were shot dead. Photo / Kurt Bayer

A powerful and emotional Friday prayer service back inside Linwood Mosque for the first time since the March 15 terror attack has remembered the seven murdered "martyrs".

Thirty worshippers returned to the refurbished masjid in the eastern Christchurch suburb of Linwood this afternoon, just hours after the 28-year-old alleged mosque killer made a second appearance in court.

The Herald was given permission to attend today's service, which included a sermon by a visiting Australian Islamic scholar.

After the congregation performed their two Friday prayers, they turned to each other and embraced. Some wiped away tears.

"My older brother next to me, I could feel him shaking," said one member afterwards.

Ali Elliot Marshall Dawson, who survived the attack by hiding in the washroom, said today was an important step in the recovery process.

"It feels good to be back," he said.

Linwood Mosque's leader, Imam Alabi Lateef Zirullah, told the gathering that the mosque was open for all.

"There is no reason for us to run away," he said.

Zirullah urged his members to pray for the alleged mosque shooter whose intention was to divide the community.

But instead, he has "brought us closer together".

The small wooden building has undergone renovation work since the attacks.

Today, worshippers prayed on soft, new carpet, while the smashed woodwork has been patched up and shattered windows, blown out by deadly gunshots that killed prayer-goers inside, replaced. Security cameras have been installed at the front and rear of the back-section property.

Imam Rabih Baytie from Al Noor Mosque in Melbourne gave the Friday prayer this afternoon, calling on peace and unity.

The Muslim community and the world shares the pain of those grieving the seven "martyrs", he said, and called for a united front against Islamophobia and hate speech.

"The biggest enemy to us is to be divided," Baytie said.

"We will not change. We will live in Islam."

The support from across New Zealand, including the Government, has been overwhelming, Zirullah says.

Every day, flowers, cakes, vouchers, and thousands of cards and letters flood the previously little-known mosque.

For Zirullah, who also survived the massacre, it's given him strength.

"It's a big tragedy, and it will take time for people to get over it, but things are getting back on track," says the Pakistan and Malaysia-educated imam and father-of-one.

"The whole world can learn from New Zealand and the way we have all reacted. People can learn from us and we can stop all this killing. And it works the other way round too – those brainwashed by Isis and all this … it only brings shame and pain."