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March 22 (UPI) -- New Zealand is heartbroken by the deaths of 50 people killed during a terrorist attack last week in Christchurch, but New Zealand is not broken, Imam Gamal Founda said Friday during a commemorative service to mark a week since the shooting. "We are broken-hearted but we are not broken," he said to the thousands gathered at Christchurch's Hagley Park after the Muslim Call to Prayer and two minutes of silence were observed.
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"We are alive. We are together. We are determined to not let anyone divide us," said Founda, who survived the shooting at Al Noor mosque, one of two mosques targeted in the attack last week.
He said those who died did not die in vain, that their deaths "have watered the seeds of hope."
"They are not just martyrs of Islam, they are martyrs of this nation, New Zealand," he said.
The Muslim community's loss is a gain for New Zealand's unity and strength, he said, adding that their deaths have been an "awakening" for all humanity.
"Our assembly here, with all the shades of our diversity, is a testament of our joint humanity," he said. "We are here in our hundreds and thousands unified for one purpose, that hate will be undone and love will redeem us."
Founda also thanked Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who was in attendance, for her compassion, words and tears.
"Thank you for your leadership," he said. "It has been a lesson for the world's leaders."
The ceremony, which was broadcast nationwide, was followed by a mass funeral at Memorial Park for 26 of the victims. A man who died in a car accident after grieving was buried with them, the New Zealand Herald reported.
The ceremony comes a day after Ardern announced a sweeping firearms ban on the guns used during last week's shooting.
Australian Brent Tarrant, 28, has been charged with one count of murder in connection to the terrorist attack.
More charges are expected.
