'Meet a Muslim' comes to Whanganui to break down anti-Islamic views

Sabah Al-Zafar (left) sharing Islamic books on their last "Meet a Muslim" tour. Photo / Supplied

A collective coming to Whanganui this Saturday hopes to break down negative sentiments about Muslims and Islam.

The initiative, called "Meet a Muslim", was started in 2017 by Ahmadiyya Muslim Community collective.

Collective member Sabah Al-Zafar said the idea was to build bridges and remove misunderstanding.

To do this, they set up a tent at markets around the country where anyone can ask the collective members questions.

"There's no such thing as a controversial question, you can ask us anything," Al-Zafar said.

"We hope that by being approachable and acceptable with this campaign it could give some the opportunity to ask questions and, hopefully, any misunderstandings could be removed."

Last time the collective visited Whanganui with the campaign they experienced racism in the form of comments relating to the Christchurch terrorist attack.

It was during their 21-day "Meet a Muslim" tour around New Zealand in 2021, around the time of the anniversary of the terrorist attack, and the comments were made in front of other members of the public at the Whanganui River Markets.

Al-Zafar said Whanganui and Raglan were the only places they experienced outward racism during the tour.

"So there is this undercurrent of negative sentiments that some people still hold. Of course in the majority of places, this didn't happen," he said.

"That's in the past. We are looking forward to coming back."

As part of the campaign, the tent displays informative material about the teachings of Islam to try to educate non-Muslims about the true teachings of Islam around peace and unity.

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community member Mirza Sarfaraz outside the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama tent. Photo / Supplied

The collective, based in Hamilton and Auckland, is currently on a four-day tour with the campaign, visiting Turangi, Feilding, New Plymouth and Whanganui.

They will be at the Whanganui River Markets between 8.30am and 1pm on Saturday, July 2.