Venkat Raman –
The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) has elected Hazim Arafeh to the post of President at its 37th Annual General Meeting held in Wellington on May 23, 2015.
Asif Koya and Steve Ali Akbar were elected to the posts of First and Second Vice-President respectively.
Ibrar Sheikh (President of the South Auckland Muslims Association) is the new Secretary of FIANZ, while Mohammed Faiaz was chosen to the post of Treasurer.
Among the other office-bearers are Abdi Rizak (Assistant Secretary) and Mohammed Abdi Jama (Assistant Treasurer).
Scholar & Scientist
Mr Arafeh has a Graduate Honours (BSc Honours) degree in Plant Science from the University of Jordan. He has been working in the vegetables industry in New Zealand and overseas for more than 22 years.
Employed at Seed & Field Services Limited in Palmerston North, he manages the Lower North Island and Upper South Island region.
He assists growers in choosing varieties, crop production and nutritional programmes. He also runs a robust Variety Trial Programme in conjunction with main seed companies.
More than Gold
While FIANZ was established in its current form only in April 1979, its origins can be traced back to 1950 when migrant Muslims formed the New Zealand Muslim Association in Auckland in 1950.
According to the FIANZ website, these early Muhaijurun (migrants) began to organise themselves and gather in their private homes to observe salaat, Qur’an classes and religious celebrations. As their numbers grew the need for a larger, fixed place of worship and education became more pressing. Thus an ordinary house was bought and converted into Islamic Centre in Auckland in 1957.
FIANZ Origins
The New Zealand Muslim Association was soon followed by other Islamic organisations in other regions – in Wellington in 1962 as the Wellington Muslim Association, which later became the International Muslim Association of New Zealand (IMAN). The choice of this name was a reflection of the situation in Wellington where the majority of Muslims were students on the Colombo Plan, from many different countries. Subsequent associations were established in Christchurch (1980), Hamilton (1981) and Palmerston North in (1982). The most recent, the Otago Muslim Association, was established in Dunedin (1994).
By mid-1970s, Muslim Associations had been set up or were in the process of being formed in every region. These were registered with the Government as Incorporated Societies. The functions performed and services provided by these Associations catered mainly for the immediate needs of the local communities. In most cases, this meant establishing children’s classes for Quran reading and Islamic knowledge, as well as study groups for men and women. Despite the scarcity of educational resource material and adequately trained teachers, these classes filled the need for some form of Islamic education in what was a completely secular environment.
National Body
By the late 1970s it was becoming increasingly apparent that a national body was required to co-ordinate the activities of the regional Associations, increase their efficiency and generally represent the interests of Muslims as a whole, at national and international levels. Thus it was after two years of informal discussions between the various regional Muslim groups and organisations, the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) was formed in April 1979.
Today, the New Zealand Muslim community comprises of over 42 different nationalities. Over the last three decades the number has swelled from approximately 200 in 1950 to around thirty thousand today.
