The country's location and the number of Muslims in New Zealand are among the most curious following a Christian terror attack on two mosques during Muslims were performing Friday prayer.

New Zealand comes up with a Christian terror attack on two mosques and the death of 50 Muslims. After 48 Muslims were wounded in the attack on two mosques on Friday, the eyes of the world's Muslims were turned into New Zealand.

What everyone was curious about is where this country is and how many Muslims live.

New Zealand, which is about 20 hours away by plane from Turkey, recently draws attention to the growing Muslim population and the rapid spread of Islam across the country.

Muslims immigrating to New Zealand, especially from Southeast Asia and many European countries have rapidly spread Islam in the country.

The geographic location of New Zealand

In the Southern Hemisphere, about 1,500 kilometers south of Australia, New Zealand consists of two major islands, North Island and South Island and many smaller islands. Its capital is Wellington. New Zealand, a country with snow-covered mountain views, has no land connection to any country. The largest city is Auckland, which has the largest Muslim population in the country.

Maoris, the native of the country, call the country "Aotearoa" [long white cloud country] in their language. It was named New Zealand by the British explorer James Cook who visited the country four times between 1769-1779. In 1840, New Zealand has declared the colony of England under the Waitangi Treaty.

When did Islam go to New Zealand?

The first records of Muslims in New Zealand belong to 1874. The first Muslims to come to New Zealand are estimated to be Chinese Muslims working in gold deposits in the south of the country.

However, today, the first core of the Muslim community in the country is the Gujarat Indians, who settled in the southern towns of Auckland in 1907.

At the same time, there was a significant increase in the number of Muslims, especially Muslim immigrants and visitors from South Asia.

The New Zealand government, which, over time, perceived the increasing number of Muslim migrants as a danger, prevented Asian immigrants from entering the country by implementing the immigration law enacted in 1920.

There was no significant increase in Muslim population in the country from 1920 to 1950 due to the barriers brought by the immigration law.

After the Second World War, when the government opened its doors to immigrants from other countries, Muslims from Turkiye and the Balkan countries settled in Auckland and became instrumental in both the spread of Islam and the proliferation of Muslim populations.

According to the population census conducted in the 1950s, there were around 200 Muslims in the country, while in 1986 the number reached 2 thousand 500.

According to the 2013 census, the number of Muslims in New Zealand rose 28 percent to 46,000 compared to the numbers in 2006, while 4000 of them are Maoris who are indigenous to the island.

About 24 percent of Muslims living in the country today were born in this country. According to the general population of the country, Muslims have a younger population. Muslims from around 40 different ethnic groups from different countries live in New Zealand.

Especially recent rapid in the spread of Islam across the country, the local people's orientation towards Islam, worries both the government and the anti-Islamic Christian terror.

The first Muslim association in New Zealand was founded in 1950

In 1950, Muslims established the New Zealand Muslim Association in Auckland, the largest city in the country, where Muslims live extensively in order to live in their own values and culture, as a result of increasing Muslim population in the country and the rapid spread of Islam.

Muslims from Turkiye and the Balkans began to become members of this association, which was formed by Muslims of Gujarat origin. Seven associations established by Muslims since 1970 have been gathered under the umbrella of the Federation of the Islamic Associations of New Zealand. After 1976, work was initiated for the construction of Masjid.

Mosques and foundations in New Zealand

In 1989, a group of New Zealand Muslim Associations formed an organization called the South Auckland Muslim Association. The organization built a large mosque and opened it to worship in 2003.

The mosque built by the New Zealand Muslim Union opened at the end of the same year. Mount Roskill Islamic center, known as Masjid Omar, has been operating since 1989.

There are also some small centers available: Among these are the Al-Iqra Islamic Foundation, the Al-Faruqi center, the East Auckland Islamic Center Masjid Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, which was founded in the 1990s, founded in 2001 - the Taqwa Foundation in Manukau, and the Abu Hurairah Islamic Center in Kelston, which was opened in 2003.

Christian terror does not digest the rapid spread of Islam in the West

In order to reflect its activities to the world public opinion, Muslims publish three or four times a year a newsletter called Al-Mujaddid.

The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand [FIANZ] that carry out their Islamic activities through the distribution of many conferences and books held in the country, have been in close contact with international organizations such as the world Muslim Union, the World Muslim Youth Organization, the Islamic Development Bank and the Organization of Islamic Conference.

The attacks of racist groups increased in parallel with the rapid spread of Islam.

A mosque, built in Hamilton in 1998 was burned and destroyed six months after its opening as a result of an arson attack.

Christian terror, which cannot digest the spread of Islam in the country, attacks Muslims and Muslims' mosques at every opportunity. The most recent attack was on March 15, 2019, that left 50 Muslims martyrs and wounded 48 others. (ILKHA)