Human dignity is being assailed by extremists, fanatics and power grabbers, Jordan's Crown Prince believes.
Prince El Hassan bin Talal prayed at a New Zealand mosque targeted in last week's terror attack as it re-opened to small groups on Saturday morning.
Four Jordanians were killed and a number remain in hospital after the attacks on Christchurch's Masjid al Noor and Linwood Masjid.
"This is a moment of deep anguish for all of us, all of humanity where we stand together proud of our commitment to peace in this beautiful country of New Zealand, which has so much to teach us in terms of the solidarity and the human love and compassion that has been so manifest," he said after prayers at al Noor, alongside his daughter and grandson.
"I have lived in a part of the world where every 10 years we have seen a war, every 10 years we have seen refugees, and to feel that this form of violence and cruelty is visited on you living in this idyllic part of the world is deeply moving."
He spoke of his gratitude for the doctors, nurses and emergency staff who helped the victims, including a four-year-old girl who was flown to Auckland's children's hospital after the shooting.
He hugged mourners outside the Al Noor mosque on Saturday after visiting four people in hospital in the morning.
Two Jordanians shot in the attack were among them, as well as a Syrian boy who had lived in Jordan and a woman who suffered a heart attack the day after her Jordanian husband was killed.
A four-year-old girl remains in Auckland's children's hospital, and he hopes to speak with her family when he travels there next.
A delegation from the United Arab Emirates also visited Masjid al Noor on Saturday.
They were among the first allowed to re-enter the mosque after police handed it back to the local Muslim community in the morning.
Thirty foreign dignitaries attended prayers and a memorial service opposite the al Noor mosque on Friday to mark one week since the tragedy.
Australian Associated Press
