Constable opens heartland mosque

A member of Police staff has led the way in providing a safe place for Muslim travellers to pray in heartland New Zealand.

Constable Saifudin Abu found his was the only Muslim family in Taihape when he transferred to the town in early 2013.

With the nearest mosque a 90-minute drive away in Palmerston North, he says, he would often meet visiting Muslims having to resort to ad hoc places to pray, such as the railway platform.

He realised there was a need for a mosque serving the needs of the Muslims among the thousands of people passing through the town every day, and for Singaporean Muslim soldiers training at Waiouru Military Camp.

Saifudin received endorsement from the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) and set up a trust with other Muslims from Auckland and Te Kuiti to raise money to buy a building. It reached its target within three months.

The Al-Deen Mosque – at 3 Tui Street, opposite Taihape Police Station - was officially opened on Saturday, with members of Police, New Zealand Muslim communities and dignitaries including local MP Ian McKelvie in attendance.

Saifudin says as a police officer he recommends drivers rest on long journeys for safety reasons and that Taihape’s reputation as an ideal stopover will be enhanced by the mosque.

He says the reception from Taihape locals has been “tremendous and heart-warming”.

At the opening ceremony Superintendent Wally Haumaha, head of Police’s Māori, Pacific and Ethnic Services group (MPES), spoke of the partnership between Police and New Zealand’s Muslim communities.

He said the Police Executive fully supported Saifudin’s initiative, which epitomised Police’s new core value of Valuing Diversity.

The mosque is the only one in the Rangitikei district – and, at 440 metres above sea level, is the highest in New Zealand.