group+18+page+3

**What things in Canterbury make it easier to adjust?**
Muslim students are provided rooms to prayer in in most Universities. The Canterbury University has a mosque very close in proximity. The university has a prayer room on the premises. New Zealand makes it easy to get visas here with them being available at the airports whereas other countries you have to apply for them and wait three or four months for the outcome which at times can be refusal. It is easy to open a bank account and transfer monies from Saudi Arabia, making it easier to manage their lives. There isnt a lot of travelling in Canterbury with everything in close proximity. The community at the mosque is the same as in Saudi Arabia reminding of home. The mail system in New Zealand is very good making it easy to send a letter compared to Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia there are many step to posting a letter. In New Zealand you just put a stamp on it and put it in the box. Its easy to buy a car and make the necessary changes in New Zealand whereas in Saudi Arabia you need to go to the police and go through many other steps in the process.
 * Interview with Muslim Student**

About 80 per cent of sheep and 50 per cent of cattle in New Zealand are slaughtered ‘halal’, in accordance with the shariah laws of Islam. This figure may seem surprising to some readers but viewed from an economic perspective, it is not hard to see why halal foods are extremely crucial for New Zealand. The Middle East is now an essential market for major exporters of New Zealand meat and dairy products (Buang, 2001), with the growth in halal food exports testimony to the importance of Muslim customers’ demands. The tourism sector in New Zealand has also recently taken an interest in the demand for halal food. Since Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) began marketing in the Middle East, they have become more aware of the needs and sensitivities of Muslim travellers (Sulaiman, 2001).

Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive, George Hickton, believes that New Zealand can be promoted as an attractive destination for Muslim travellers due to the high volume of meat that is slaughtered halal in the country (Sulaiman, 2001).

The **Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ)** was set up in April 1979 by [|Mazhar Krasniqi] and other [|Muslim] community leaders to draw together the regional [|Islam] organisations of [|Auckland], [|Wellington] and [|Canterbury] into one centralised [|New Zealand]-wide body.  Sheikh Airot, [|Imam] of [|Ponsonby] [|Mosque] ([|Auckland], New Zealand) and [|Mazhar Krasniqi], Q.S.M. Venue - Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ), 16 November 2005, Parliament House, [|Wellington], [|New Zealand].

[[|edit]] Overview
In 1981 [|Sheikh Khalid Hafiz] was appointed [|Imam] of [|Wellington], a post he held until his death in 1999, and employed as such by the International Muslim Association of New Zealand. Soon after his arrival he was appointed senior religious advisor to the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand. In June 1984, the Federation signed the first annual contract with the New Zealand Meat Producers Board (later the Meat Industry Association) to provide [|Halal] certification services in exchange for a modest remuneration. The first contract was for $60,000 in 1984. Currently the figure is closer to half a million dollars and helps subsidise much of the Islamic activities across New Zealand. In November 2005, the Federation celebrated its 25th anniversary (a year late) and Eid al Fitr in Parliament House, [|Wellington]. The event was attended by the current FIANZ president Muhammed Javed (Zaved) Iqbal Khan, the inaugural president [|Mazhar Krasniqi], and a former president Dr Hajji Muhammed [|Ashraf Choudhary].

__Back to home page__