According to rahyafte (the missionaries and converts website):Nehaad Al-waiz, 27, felt isolated praying five times a day from home, so he got a group together to rent a room in the industrial area of the town on the southern outskirts of Christchurch.
The number of Muslims in the town has tripled between the last two available Censuses, leading the Rolleston Islamic Charitable Trust start dreaming of a mosque of their own. Now they’re determined to turn that dream into a reality.
“When we build something, it will be a masjid, the very first in Selwyn, for everyone.”
Due to specific needs around consents and so as not to disturb anyone, the group will need to raise “anywhere from $1.2 to $2.4 million” for the land alone in either a commercial zone or lifestyle block.
“We need to be able to get to at least $250,000 to make a deposit on either of them.
“We’re [in the] very early stage, but the aim is there, the goal is big and we don’t know how much time we have until someone else purchases these properties we have our eye on.”
After 18 months of renting on Illinois Drive, “the room’s too small for us” with men filling the space and leaving no room for women or children. The group would rather find funds for a permanent location than waste money on a rental that has no long-term security.
Al-waiz estimated there were between 40 and 60 Muslim families, or about 300 people, in the area.
Raising the deposit would help prove their commitment to potential donors – like the United Arab Emirates – with a goal to have purchased land by February next year.
A portable building could then be placed on the land until a mosque could be built – which they have already named Al-Salam Islamic Centre (Mosque of Peace).
“As long as we can get something of our own.”
Al-waiz, who ran a youth group from the age of 18, was keen to have a facility that catered to women and children.
In 2021, Rolleston gained three times as many new residents as Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, according to Stats NZ population estimates.
Last year, while those main centres lost a combined 12,300 residents, Rolleston gained 2330.
Its population last year was an estimated 28,000, almost nine times what it was 20 years ago, when 3230 people lived there.
Sahif Ali and his wife moved to Rolleston from Wellington a month ago, a decision driven by “a lot cheaper” house prices.
He discovered the Muslim trust and quickly joined it to help in the campaign to get a mosque in the area.
“My main driver was getting a bit more stability in getting a foot in the housing market.
“There’s a big buzz around there, all you hear is that it’s the fastest-growing suburb within New Zealand.”
Having a masjid was “future-proofing”, and offering a place for Muslims to support others moving to the country and town.
“It feels like something beneficial for Muslims but adds to the community too.”
His research for the trust in its planning found that in the 2013 Census there were 27 Muslims in Rolleston, and that ballooned to 90 in the town and 255 within 15km, in 2018.
While the latest Census results were not out, he predicted the Muslim population to be more than 300 now.
Source: stuff.co.nz
