Mazhar Krasniqi

Mazhar Shukri Krasniqi (1931-2019) was a New Zealand Muslim community leader of Kosovar Albanian descent.[1] He was the first president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) from 1979 to 1981 and a human rights activist.

Mazhar Krasniqi
Krasniqi, 16 November 2005, Parliament House, Wellington, New Zealand.
Personal details
Born
Mazhar Shukri Krasniqi

Pristina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Died8 August 2019(2019-08-08) (aged 87)
NationalityNew Zealander (Formerly Yugoslavian)

Overview

Mazhar Shukri Krasniqi was born in 1931 in Prishtina, Kosova. In 1950 he fled Yugoslavia and he arrived penniless in Wellington on 1 May 1951 on board the SS Goya with little more than the shirt on his back. Krasniqi worked at a variety of jobs throughout the decade including farming in Southland, and steam drilling around the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions.[2][3]

On 1 January 1956 he attended the “1st Moslem Congress” organised by the nascent New Zealand Muslim Association and became an active member of the Executive Committee up to his retirement in 1992. He served as president twice, in 1975 and again over 1987 and 1988. In 1960 Krasniqi set up a restaurant named the “Albania” in Panmure where he became a businessman.[4]

In 1965 Krasniqi attended an international conference in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, as the NZMA delegate over 17 to 24 April (15 to 22 Zul Hijjah 1384), performed the Umrah and even brought back with him a 38 page document entitled the “Resolutions by General Islamic Conference; Second Session” as a souvenir. He extended his stay and made contact with a number of Arabs and expatriate Albanians there who were keen on importing Halal meat from New Zealand.[5]

In the 1970s Krasniqi made contact with Muslim embassies in Wellington and Canberra, and continued to attend overseas conferences and events on behalf of the New Zealand Muslim community. He was also present at the foundation stone laying ceremony for New Zealand’s first mosque on 30th March 1979. The Mosque Committee members - Mazhar Krasniqi, Abdul Rahim Rasheed, Said Alvi, Mohammed Yakub Patel and Mohammed Hussein Sahib - all mortgaged their own houses to raise the necessary cash to complete the financial commitment needed by the builder. Further construction work for the hall extension was started in 1987 when Krasniqi was president of the NZMA.[6][7]

In a media interview in 1979, Krasniqi observed the increasing number of conversions to Islam :

"Most of them are people who have come into contact with Islam while travelling in the Middle East. We seem to be getting new members almost every week. If it goes on like this, we will soon be outnumbered by Kiwi Muslims. Seriously, though, this is one good reason why we urgently need a mosque – so we can have proper facilities for these new converts."[8]

During the 1992 AGM of the New Zealand Muslim Association, Krasniqi was appointed Patron. The following year he retired from communal politics, both the NZMA and FIANZ. However during the 1999 Kosova crisis, Krasniqi was able to personally persuade the New Zealand government to accept 650 into this country immediately and on 1 April 1999 the Albanian Civic League, of which Krasniqi was president, organised a march and demonstration in central Auckland to express their support for the US led NATO bombing of Serbia.[9][10]

On 31 December 2002 the Governor-General of New Zealand bestowed the Queens Service Medal (QSM) for public service on Krasniqi for his community service to both the Albanian and wider Muslim communities. The investiture ceremony occurred on 4 April 2003 at Government House in Wellington.[11]

References:

  1. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12260562
  2. ‘Mazhar Krazniqi passes away’, Rocket Science (September 2019), pp.11-12.
  3. https://gallery.mailchimp.com/5da298da9e1148ff3ef6223fe/files/4aec6f3d-ac6f-44a9-9601-072248291411/Rocket_Science_Sep_2019.pdf
  4. Drury, Abdullah, 'Mazharbeg: An Albanian in Exile’, Waikato Islamic Studies Review June 2020, Vol 6, No 1, pp.4-20.
  5. Drury, Abdullah, 'Mazharbeg: An Albanian in Exile’, Waikato Islamic Studies Review June 2020, Vol 6, No 1, pp.4-20.
  6. Beyer, Kurt, ‘Kaumatua’ of Muslims in NZ dies aged 87’, New Zealand Herald,22 August 2019, p.A19.
  7. https://www.waikato.ac.nz/fass/UWISG/Waikato-Islamic-Studies-Review-Vol-6-No-1.pdf
  8. Trickett, Peter. “Minarets in Ponsonby”. New Zealand Listener (21 April 1979), pp.18.
  9. Thomson, Ainsley. “Mazhar Krasniqi”. New Zealand Herald (31 December 2002), p.A6.
  10. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3049303
  11. New Zealand Gazette (10 January 2003), Issue No.2., p. 83.

Bibliography


  • Abdyli, Sabit R. Bijtë e shqipesnёtokën e revetëbardha (Auckland: Universal Print & Management, 2010), pp.96-97.
  • Berryman, Warren, and Draper, John. “Meat exporters resist costly Islamic crusade”. National Business Review (May 1979), Volume 9, No.16 (Issue 333), p. 1.
  • Beyer, Kurt, ‘Kaumatua’ of Muslims in NZ dies aged 87’, New Zealand Herald,22 August 2019, p.A19.
  • Bishop, Martin C. '“A History of the Muslim Community in New Zealand to 1980”, thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of M.A. in history at the University of Waikato' (Waikato University, 1997).
  • “Growing Support For Queen St Protest March”. Auckland Star(26 August 1968), p. 3.
  • "3000 stage city protest”. Auckland Star (28 August 1968), p. 1.
  • “City Mosque For Muslims”. New Zealand Herald (28 March 1979), p. 1.
  • De Graaf, Peter. “The Kiwi Kosovars”. Metro (June 2001), pp. 89–93.
  • Drury, Abdullah. “A Short History of the Ponsonby Mosque, New Zealand”. Al-Nahdah (Malaysia), Vol.19, No.3, pp. 36–38.
  • Drury, Abdullah. “A Short History: New Zealand’s First Mosque”. Muslim World League Journal (Dhul-Qa‘adah 1421 – February 2001), Vol.28, No.11, pp. 45–48.
  • Drury, Abdullah. “A Short History of the Ponsonby Mosque, Auckland”. Da’wah Highlights (Rabi-ul Awwal 1422 – June 2001), Vol.XII, Issue 6, pp. 43–50.
  • Drury, Abdullah. “A Tribute to the Illyrian Pioneers”. Al Mujaddid (March 2002 – Muharram 1423), Vol.1, No.16, p. 10.
  • Drury, Abdullah, Islam in New Zealand: The First Mosque (Christchurch, 2007) ISBN 978-0-473-12249-2
  • Drury, Abdullah. “Mazhar Krasniqi Now QSM”. Al Mujaddid (20 March 2003 – Muharram 1424), p. 16.
  • Drury, Abdullah. “Mazharbeg”. Al Mujaddid (21 June 2003 – Rabiul Thani 1424), Vol.1, p. 14.
  • Drury, Abdullah, 'Mazharbeg: An Albanian in Exile’, Waikato Islamic Studies Review June 2020, Vol 6, No 1, pp.4-20.
  • Drury, Abdullah "Once Were Mahometans: Muslims in the South Island of New Zealand, mid-19th to late 20th century, with special reference to Canterbury" (University of Waikato, MPhil, 2016), Hamilton.
  • Drury, Abdullah "Mahometans on the Edge of Colonial Empire: Antipodean Experiences" in Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, Volume 29, Issue 1, pp. 71–87.
  • “Eastern Dome For Skyline”. New Zealand Herald (7 April 1980), p. 2.
  • “Islamic Meat Trade”. Otago Daily Times (12 March 1979), p. 1.
  • Middleton, Julie, "NZ Muslim leader honoured."The New Zealand Herald (22 August 2005), p. 10.
  • “Muslims Raising Meat Deal Snags”. Evening Post (4 August 1979), p. 8.
  • Thomson, Ainsley. “Mazhar Krasniqi”. New Zealand Herald (31 December 2002), p.A6.
  • Trickett, Peter. “Minarets in Ponsonby”. New Zealand Listener (21 April 1979), pp. 18–19.
  • Waja, Ismail. “50 Years Celebrations”.Al Mujaddid (July 2001), p. 1–2, 7.
  • New Zealand Gazette (10 January 2003), Issue No.2., p. 83.
  • 'We belong to Allah and to Allah we shall return.' Community Connect, Issue 3 (September 2019), p.3.
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