Louisa Steyl/Stuff
Sharlene Ryan (left) took the opportunity to “Meet a Muslim” and had a chat with Imams Mustenser Qamar, middle, and Sabah Al-Zafar during their visit to Invercargill on Sunday.
Imam Mustenser Qamar says studies show those who have negative perceptions of Muslims, generally have not met one.
So to change the narrative, he is leading a team of young Muslims who will be visiting every city in New Zealand under the banner of True Islam NZ, to give Kiwis a chance to have informal, face-to-face yarns with fellow Kiwis who happened to be Muslim.
The group from the North Island were in Invercargill on Sunday – the second stop on the tour – after only making it as far as Christchurch last year, before Covid-19 restrictions kicked in.