CHRISTCHURCH, March 23 -- Muslims prayed at Christchurch's main mosque on Saturday for the first time since a white supremacist massacred worshippers there as New Zealand sought to return to normality after the tragedy.

The Al Noor mosque was taken over by police for investigations and security reasons after alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant attacked Muslims gathered there and at a smaller mosque for Friday prayers on March 15, killing 50 people.

But Al Noor was handed back to the local Muslim community on Saturday and began allowing small groups onto its grounds around midday.

"We are allowing 15 people at a time, just to get some normality," said Saiyad Hassen, a volunteer at Al Noor, adding that there was as yet no known plan to fully ...