New Zealand is one of the unique countries of the world. According to the Global Peace Index 2018 produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace, New Zealand is the 2nd most peaceful country in the world after Iceland and as per the World Happiness Report 2018, it is the 8th happiest country in the world.
The country is generally not in news, but it was in news when the country witnessed two consecutive terrorist attacks at Mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday, 15th March 2019, during the Friday Prayer. The attack went on to kill 51 Muslims. The event shook the nation and shocked the people across the globe. But, how did Muslims reach New Zealand is the question which needs to be answered.
The first documented Muslims came to New Zealand in the year 1769, the same time as British arrivals. The earlier arrivals were from colonial India, described as Mohammadans or Mussulmans. Many were male sailors or labourers in the ship. The first two persons on record were Mahmood and Nasrin.
In the early 1800 some men jumped ship and settled down in New Zealand by marrying the women. The early 1850 marked the beginning of family migration. In 1854 a man Sir John Wilson, who was born in India, brought over a dozen of Indian families on a ship called Akbar and settled in the south of Christchurch. New Zealand respected different faiths.
When the servant of Sir John Wilson was involved in a court case and it was out in the newspapers, he was allowed to swear by the Qur’an, rather than the Bible. A similar report of an Arab sailor named Mubarak from Oman took his employee to court for physically abusing him. The British was caught, convicted and fined.
In 1984, a father and son from Turkmenistan named Sultan Muhammad and Salah arrived in Southland and worked as street venders before settling down in Christchurch. Later Salah opened an ice cream shot at Christchurch and was liked by his friendly personality and became known as Ice Cream Charlie.
More Muslims started arriving in New Zealand in the early 20th century, including three Gujarati men who opened small shops and brought their children over between 1906 and 1920. Their grandchildren went on to become community leaders. The first Muslim organisation was created in New Zealand in the year 1950. The New Zealand Muslim Association was started when there were only around 200 Muslims in the country; most of them were South Asian.
In 1951, thousands of Eastern European Refugees arrived. A small minority of Muslims from Albania, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union arrived. In 1979, one of these refugees Mazhar Krasniqi was elected first president of the first national Muslim organisation, the Federation of Islamic Association of New Zealand. Today, Muslims make up just 1% which is 46,149 (as per a survey) of New Zealand’s 4.7 million population, but despite these small numbers, the Muslims are just much as part of New Zealand’s history as European Christians.
After the attack, a woman came to Masjid Ibrahim in Beeston with gifts to show sympathy and respect to the Muslims. In the Masjid she met a few brothers who were having something to eat. They invited her to sit down with them and have something to eat and drink. While she was drinking, the brothers were giving her Dawah and she was listening very closely. After the conversation, she took her Shahada and accepted Islam.
The population of the country not only grew due to migration but also because many people accepted Islam. A New Zealand rugby player Ofa Tu’ungafasi became a Muslim. The all black player originally from Tonga, visited victims of the Christchurch terrorist attack in hospital with fellow player Sonny Bill Williams, a Muslim convert. He described them as an inspiration and prayed for their speedy recovery.
Allah says, “And the disbelievers planned, but Allah planned. And Allah is the best of planners” (Qur’an 3:54). In another place, Allah says, “And (remember, O Muhammad), when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you (from Makkah). But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners” (Qur’an 8:30). The enemies of Islam will plan to demean Islam and would work towards it, but from the ayah we can learn that Allah also plans and Allah is the best planner, so Allah’s plan will be successful and the plan made by the disbelieves is bound to fail.
Everything people have tried to harm Islam; it has always worked in favour of Islam. We as true Muslims should never be afraid of any kind of situation. We need to remember that everything happens with the will of Allah. Allah is not going to ask us about things which are not in our control but will surely ask us about things which were within our scope. Today, one of the biggest challenges before Muslims is Islamophobia and we should strive towards overcoming this problem. We should just have a strong faith in Allah and strive in His way.