New Zealand PM Jacinda lauded for showing solidarity to Muslims by donning hijab

CHRISTCHURCH: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is being immensely lauded for standing beside the Muslim community in her country, especially after she visited Christchurch personally, where an Australian far-right extremist attacked two mosques killing at least 49 people on Friday.

A tearful Ardern said she brought messages of love, support and grief on behalf of all New Zealanders to the crowd gathered at Canterbury Refugee Resettlement and Resources Centre.

"New Zealand is united in grief," she said. 

The premier has been garnering ample praises from the international community for paying a visit to the families who were attacked in the horrific incident rooted in extreme racial as well as religious hatred.

Ardern on Friday tended to the affected families, with her hair covered in a headscarf, and extended condolences to those who lost their loves ones in the wake of the terror attack. She has been lauded for displaying compassion and sympathy towards the Muslim community of New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Ardern has also been commended for being the first person to identify the massacre as a 'terror attack' targeting Muslims and 'an extraordinary act of unprecedented violence'.