Snapshots of the past

Good Lord, who would have thought it — Kiwi children are dunces when it comes to their knowledge of the Bible. According to a new study, "David and the gient" and "Joseph and the colourful cloak" are just two of the stories Kiwi children think are in the Bible. A University of Exeter study has compared New    Zealand and British children's understanding of the Bible and found that Kiwi children have a    lot to learn when it comes to Christianity. To view the complete article, click here.


   MUSLIM TELLS OF JOURNEY TO ISLAM:   Manawatu Standard, August 11, 2005

He may not be moderate but, judging by last night's speech to Palmerston North Muslims, British convert to Islam Abdur Raheem Green is far from the "insidious threat" one politician has painted him as. Mr Green began a New Zealand speaking tour at Massey University's Japan Lecture Theatre last night amid a hail    of criticism of his views from the Australian media and New Zealand First leader Winston    Peters. To view the complete article, click here.


   'RADICAL' MUSLIM CONVERT TO SPEAK:   Stuff.co.nz, August 10, 2005

A man described by some Australian media as one of Britain's most radical Muslim converts starts a speaking tour today for New Zealand Islamic Awareness Week. Abdur Raheem Greene, who rejects the radical label, had been due to speak at the Auckland University of Technology on Monday but the public lecture    was cancelled because he had to change his flight plans when he was refused entry to    Brisbane for a one-hour stopover. To view the complete article, click here.


   NATIONAL FRONT DENIES LINK:   The Dominion Post, August 6, 2005

A teenager charged with vandalising Auckland mosques was a recent recruit to the National Front but the organisation has denied any involvement. Ross Baumgarten, 18, appeared in Manukau District Court yesterday on seven charges of intentional damage. South African-born Baumgarten, a salesman, of Mairangi    Bay, was remanded on bail till later this month so he could get a lawyer. To view the    complete article, click here.


   NEW MOSQUE SOUGHT FOR CHRISTCHURCH:   The Press, August 5, 2005

A breakaway group of Christchurch Muslims plans to set up a new mosque in the city after an apparent rift over worship and politics. The city's Malaysian Islamic community is hunting for land on which to build the new mosque as an alternative to the existing Deans Avenue Islamic centre. Leading the group is Muslim farmer    and former Malay Club president Ishak Mahyudin... To view the complete article, click here.


   APOLOGY SOUGHT FROM PETERS:   The Press, August 4, 2005

A denial by two Iraqis that they were once Saddam Hussein's henchmen has been written into the parliamentary record. They are also demanding an apology from New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, who made the allegations, but there was no sign last night they would get one. Omar Ali and Amer Salman came to    Parliament yesterday with a petition, signed by 724 people, seeking an apology. To view the    complete article, click here.


   PETERS SILENT ON PLEA FOR APOLOGY:   The Press, August 3, 2005

Two Iraqis who say they were wrongfully accused of being senior officials in Saddam Hussein's regime have won the right to set the record straight but failed to win an apology from their accuser — NZ First leader Winston Peters. Peters used Parliamentary privilege on May 31 to accuse Amer Salman of being a "key    apparatchik" in Saddam's Baath Party and Omar Ali of being a "chief person" in the deposed    dictator's police force. To view the complete article, click here.


   WINSTON PETERS CHIDED:   Yvonne Ridley in The Press, August 2, 2005

As a visiting Muslim to New Zealand, I was appalled by the Islamophobic outburst from Winston Peters on Thursday before a small gathering of his supporters in Kaitaia. I usually ignore such siren calls, but we are living in a dangerous age where hysteria, fear and hate can be whipped up so easily by those    who have their own hidden agendas. To view the complete article, click here.


   PM DISMISSES PETERS' CLAIMS:   Manawatu Standard, August 1, 2005

Prime Minister Helen Clark has dismissed New Zealand First leader Winston Peters' election tactics after he made more claims yesterday of terrorist-linked Muslim extremists in New Zealand. At NZ First's campaign launch yesterday, Mr Peters said that the mother-in-law of one of the bombers involved in the recent    London blasts visited New Zealand last year and had friends in Auckland. To view the    complete article, click here.


   AHMED ZAOUI WANTS HIS FAMILY:   Manawatu Standard, August 1, 2005

Green MP Keith Locke wants Algerian asylum-seeker Ahmed Zaoui's wife and four sons given permission to join him in this country as soon as possible. Mr Locke called on Immigration Minister Paul Swain "to show the true face of Kiwi compassion and allow Leila (Mrs Zaoui) and the boys to join their husband and    father as soon as possible". To view the complete article, click here.