On Friday, a gunman opened fire at two central Christchurch mosques, Al Noor and Linwood, killing more than 40 people. 

Muslims and non-Muslims alike gathered on Sunday in Wagga to honour the lives lost and show acts of terrorism have no place in any community. 

Dr Ata Ur Rehman said he had been sent the video of the massacre and could not believe what he was seeing.

"If this attack proves anything, it is that terrorism has no religion," he said. 

"It makes me even more distressed to realise the person who committed this act was an Australian.

"Despite the anti-Muslim sentiments being spread on social media, we will continue to stand as proud Australians." 

Dr Rehman said he had been overwhelmed by the support shown by people from all works of life. 

"A special thanks to the Wagga Police for making sure our places of worship are safe," he said. 

Dr Rehman said an event such as the tragedy in Christchurch shows the dangers of social media.

"We need to work together to remove extreme hate, whether right-wing or ISIS, from social media," he said. 

Azizeh Abbasi said learning about the horrific deaths of her fellow Muslims in New Zealand was heartbreaking. 

"The important thing is to have peace and in my opinion, it doesn't matter what religion you are," she said. 

"Islamophobia was the centre of the attack but in reality, we think everyone should be treated the same. 

"It is so beautiful to see so many people who are gathering in support." 

Ms Abbasi has been living in Wagga for 18 months after fleeing from Afghanistan to Iran and reminds the community, this is not the first time Muslims have been targeted.

"In my country, there is a war every day and many Muslim people are being killed by the Taliban and ISIS," she said. 

Mariam Rehman, a Wagga Muslim, said she was fearful and had not slept properly since news of the massacre emerged.

"When I saw the turnout, my emotions changed because support is not only holding a candle, it means they're saying 'we are your fellow Australians'," she said.

"It hits so close to home when you find out the attacker was Australian and it's your neighbours.

"Before this, I would ignore racism but it is our role to stand up against violence and it shouldn't take more than 40 lives for us to realise what discrimination is."

Mostafa Eslampanah recently escaped Afghanistan and has been living in Wagga for two months. 

"Hearing about what happened, it is upsetting and I hope to never see something like this happen again," he said. 

"One of the best things about Wagga is seeing the people come together now." 

Saira Ali said it was heartbreaking to learn of the lives lost, but the candlelight vigil provided emotional support.

"It is a dark time, but it is good to see so many people here," she said. 

"To my fellow Muslims, we are with you and we pray for you and for all of humanity, not only Muslims, to be protected." 

Kylie Anderson attended the vigil along with her children in a show of support for their friends. 

"We have Muslim friends in our community and we are to support them and New Zealand and to show respect," she said.

"It is so important to show that we are all one community.

"As the kids wrote on their signs, everyone one is equal and we need more love instead of hate." 

Riverina Police District Inspector Adrian Telfer said they attended the vigil and were working closely with the Muslim community to ensure they felt safe. 

Belinda Crain, CEO of the Multicultural Community, said it was beautiful to see so many people attend the candlelight vigil. 

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