A group representing New Zealand Muslims has warned violent extremism is now at a level “not seen before”, with young cyber-savvy radicals actively promoting targeted violence.
Abdur Razzaq, chairman of the Federation of Islamic Associations of NZ (FIANZ) Advocacy, made the comments after the Herald revealed the FBI helped police foil a mass stabbing attack by a Hawke’s Bay extremist who wanted to target a mosque or mall.
Razzaq believed it was “sheer good luck” the FBI was able to notify authorities here, and questioned what could have happened if there hadn’t been such an intervention by international partners.
He said the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has a unit dedicated to violent extremism, but staff were overworked and facing cuts amid a “warp-speed rise” in online extremist content.
“Nationally, we only have six staff at DIA who track and trace the global ecosystem for online extremism with nexus to NZ, when the volume of such is that we would expect at least a minimum of 14 staff,” Razzaq said.
A DIA spokeswoman confirmed it had six fulltime staff dedicated to combating the proliferation of terrorist and extremist content, but signalled this number is set to shrink further.
As part of a restructure, the digital violent extremism team and digital messaging teams were being merged under one leader, she said.
She said when the changes are implemented, there would be “the equivalent of five fulltime staff” dedicated to fighting extremist and terror content at the DIA.
Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden told the Herald she had confidence the extremism team could continue to do their job despite the cuts.
“The restructure is aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing costs, while putting in place a more functionally aligned departmental structure. No delivery roles were affected as part of this process,” she said.
The DIA’s latest digital violent extremism report said it flagged 974 different websites for suspected extremist content in 2024 – an increase of 10% on the previous year.
Just last week, Razzaq said his team of online safety volunteers found a “specifically curated” video of the March 15 terror attack which he believed aimed to recruit young gamers into carrying out acts of violence against Muslims.
Razzaq said the post was spotted on Google under the username “Car tarronta” and was swiftly removed by the DIA.
“This was specifically curated for gamers to kill and target Muslims in the context of March 15. I was able to immediately get in touch with authorities, and they took it down,” he said.
He said another modified version of the livestreamed terror attack – featuring images of the victims’ faces superimposed within a game – surfaced online during this year’s anniversary of the massacre.
“It’s no longer a situation where you have extremism in terms of hate statements - now it’s the propensity [to incite] violence,” he said.
Asked about the use of gaming platforms to promote extremism, a NZSIS spokesperson confirmed gaming platforms are used to entice young people into violent extremist narratives.
A 2024 insights paper published by Five Eyes security partners highlighted how online environments provide an avenue for first approaches to minors, including through seemingly innocuous social media and gaming platforms.
The spokesperson said NZ would always need help from overseas partners to keep the country safe and it was “unrealistic” to expect that we can detect all threats to NZ in isolation.
The 21-year-old Hawke’s Bay man arrested after the FBI tip-off had told a United States woman of his plans for a mass attack, including that he’d use a “blade or bayonet” – weapons police then found when they raided the man’s home in September last year.
The NZSIS threat assessment for 2025 assessed an attack by a violent extremist in NZ as being “a realistic possibility” and noted that any attacker would most likely use easily available weapons, like a knife or vehicle.
The assessment also emphasised how exposure to extreme rhetoric had become commonplace online with people who hold extremist views adopting different beliefs to suit their particular grievances.
The report said young people with unfettered access to the internet without any intervention or questions about their activity were particularly vulnerable.
“Teenagers are increasingly coming to the attention of security services around the world. This trend will almost certainly continue, particularly given how exposed young people are to the online world, and the vast amounts of harmful content readily available,” the assessment said.
The Hawke’s Bay extremist, who said he was radicalised at the age of 19, had previously come to the attention of police over the online sexual exploitation of children.
Razzaq said extremists often adopt many ideologies and display a “hodgepodge” of sexually deviant and misogynistic characteristics.
He said the Hawke’s Bay case revealed by the Herald shows there’s no single, straightforward path when determining an extremist’s profile.
“Sexual deviancy and child exploitation have traditionally not been factored into the linear terrorism progression. It gets even more complicated with the increasing threat of generative AI,” he said.
He said there was fantastic co-ordination between agencies like the NZSIS, DIA and police but said the country would benefit from a single national agency focused on intelligence and security.
Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won News Journalist of the Year at the 2025 Voyager Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year at the NZ Television Awards. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald’s video team in July 2024.