New Zealand: Muslims take to the streets to find out what NZers think about Islam

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When playing a word association game one person related the word "Muslim" with the word "extremists" – a response the group were very shocked by.

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: Stuff.co.nz
By Ruwade Bryant | July 5 2016

A Muslim imam and missionary has taken to Auckland's streets to gauge what New Zealanders think about Islamic culture, and to try and change perceptions.

Mustenser Qamar and a group of friends used a white board displaying the text, "I am a Muslim so that makes me..." to invite members of the public to share their views on Muslim culture.

The group, who call themselves Meet a Muslim NZ, said their main objective was to show New Zealanders that Muslims are the same as anybody else in the world.

Group member Anas Raheem said: "We just wanted to get out there, gauge what the public thinks about Muslims and kind of say, 'you know what, we are just like you guys, come have a conversation with us'."

The experiment gained mixed responses; negative, positive, and also humorous, Qamar said.

In response to the question, one person wrote, 'Middle Eastern', another wrote 'a brother', one even wrote 'allergic to shaving'.

Raheem said New Zealand was very accommodating for other cultures. "Compared to communities around the world, I think we're a more accepting nation, a more open minded nation."

However, there were still those who felt threatened by Islam culture due to the criminal acts committed by terrorist groups.

When playing a word association game, Qamar said one person related the word "Muslim" with the word "extremists" – a response the group were very shocked by.

Meet a Muslim NZ members said it was attitudes like this that prompted the group to start the experiment – they said the group wanted to make New Zealanders aware that these terrorists groups have no association with Muslims.

Qamar said, "they are not religious at all – they don't follow their faith, they drink, they take drugs and all these things. It's just defaming our religion.

"We love this country. It's part of our faith to love the country that we live in."






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