Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) condemned the mass shootings at two New Zealand mosques Friday that left at least 49 people dead and dozens injured.

The veteran Democratic lawmaker said society can’t “sow seeds of hatred and division” following Friday’s attack.

“If we are to build a society at peace with itself, we cannot sow seeds of hatred and division. Hate is too heavy a burden to bear, love is the only way,” Lewis wrote on Twitter Friday evening.

If we are to build a society at peace with itself, we cannot sow seeds of hatred and division. Hate is too heavy a burden to bear, love is the only way.

— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 15, 2019

Lewis wrote that he was “overwhelmed by sadness” in a separate post following the massacre.

I am overwhelmed by sadness at the murder of 49 souls in Christchurch, New Zealand. There is no room in our society for hate, especially on the basis of religion. I pray for our Muslim brothers and sisters and hope that the world community will come to see love as the better way.

— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 15, 2019

The civil rights leader previously served as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s and led a voting rights march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

{mosads}Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were quick to condemn Friday’s shooting, which has been dubbed one of the deadliest shooting attacks in decades.

The apparent hate crime in New Zealand sent shockwaves across the globe and put many mosques on high alert, with a number of them adding heightened security for Friday prayers.

The suspect in the attack wrote in a lengthy manifesto that he supported President Trump “as a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose” but not as a “policy maker and leader.”

Officials say the suspected shooter has been charged with murder.