Kiwi way of life soothes likely Muslim zealots

New Zealand Muslims do not believe there are radicals quietly living among them, but some admit disquiet that the Leeds' suicide bombers were never picked as potential terrorists.

Faruk Khan, president of the South Auckland Muslim Association, said while it seemed unlikely New Zealand would harbour Muslims that would support the use of violence for political ends, there was no surety of that any more.

He said the identity of the British suicide bombers appeared to have shocked their families and friends.

"We can't be complacent because of what has happened in London."

"To be honest it has come to the stage where we don't know. We can't be relaxed."

Aucklander Amjad Ali, a Muslim school teacher, agreed the situation in Britain was of concern. After nearly 30 years of living here he doubted Muslims in New Zealand would support violence.

Like other Muslims contacted by the Herald yesterday Mr Ali said there would be local discussions about the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, with a range of views and strong feelings.

"But migrants who come here love New Zealand. The foreign policy is such that I don't think New Zealand would be a target."

Javed Khan, president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, did not believe its members would support suicide bombings.

Mr Khan said the suicide bombers in Britain would have been indoctrinated, which was unlikely in New Zealand.

Muslims mainly came here to get away from such situations, he said.

An adviser to the association, Dr Anwar Ghani, said violent action was more to do with geo-political situations than religion.

Second or third-generation Muslims in Britain might have visited Middle East countries and become sympathetic to their causes, he said.

An Anglican member of the Council of Christians and Muslims, Dr George Armstrong, said he had come across fervent young Muslim men who could be quite angry although it was never expressed in violent terms.

Sameer Youssef, of the Auckland University Islamic Society, said some young teenage Muslims at times espoused radical views but they grew out of it.

"These 13 or 14-year-old kids are generally rebellious, but mellow out as they become more mature. It's more about attention seeking."

Aucklander Nasreen Hannif said Muslims here were always on the look out for potential trouble in the relatively small community, and kept a check on internet messages.

Labour list MP Dr Ashraf Choudhary said the good living conditions and reasonable employment situation in New Zealand helped protect it from restless youth with "empty minds".

Dr Choudhary said Muslims here were more concerned about their own safety and after the London bombings were keeping their heads down or going out in a group rather than individually.

Mohammed Moses, secretary to the Mt Roskill mosque that was vandalised in the weekend, said, "You have to to be more wary about who is around you".

Many other Muslims did not feel at risk, although Aucklander Maan Alzaher said there were possible long-term problems.

"We need to keep informing the general public what Islam is about."

Muslims in NZ

* There are about 40,000 Muslims in New Zealand, about 25,000 of whom live in Auckland.
* Historically New Zealand's Muslim community has its roots in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Fiji - but more recently has included Malaysians, Indonesians, Iranians, Somalis, Afghanis and people from the Balkans.