NZ Muslims 'don't need to lose their identity'

Integration is not assimilation, New Zealand's first national Muslim convention heard at the weekend.

About 400 people from the country's 50,000-strong Muslim community gathered in Auckland for two days of activities and discussions about "building strong New Zealand Muslim families".

Javed Khan, vice-president of the Federation of Islamic Associations in New Zealand, said the convention had been organised to help families become Muslims "of" - rather than "in" - New Zealand.

"Those who have come here 50 years ago have no problems. They're totally integrated.

"But for those who have come in the past five to 10 years, there's a little bit of fine- tuning to be done."

Mr Khan said the Muslim community in NZ was young and looked at communities overseas for ideas on how to fit in better.

But it was important Muslims did not lose their distinct character even as they became part of a Western society, he added.

One of the key speeches during the weekend was "Integration is not assimilation: How Muslim families can become a part of New Zealand society without losing their faith", by Hamilton teacher Aliya Danzeisen.

Said Mr Khan: "There are lots of people who get this misconception that if you try to integrate into a community you have to assimilate. We're saying that's not the case."

The Muslim community in New Zealand represented almost 50 different cultures, and diverse cultural practices were often mixed up with Islamic ones.

Wearing a burqa or even female circumcision were sometimes confused as Islamic concepts, he said. Burqas were common among Middle Eastern Muslims but not for those from Asia.

Mr Khan said he hoped the national Muslim convention would become an annual event. Similar gatherings overseas attracted as many as 50,000 Muslims every year.

Nazreen Haniff, national co-ordinator of the Islamic Women's Council of New Zealand, said women had shared their experiences about raising children here.

Building strong Muslim families required teaching children good values, she said.

"Every different religion teaches the same value system. It's good to tell children about these values from an early age."

Ethnic Affairs Minister Pansy Wong and Opposition Leader Phil Goff attended the opening on Saturday.