messages were plastered on the Queenstown Islamic Centre, which had opened on 11 December. The Mayor of Queenstown-Lakes Jim Boult condemned the attack and apologised on behalf of Queenstown to the Muslim community. An 18-year-old teenager was subsequently arrested in connection to the attack and also charged with possessing a knife. Notable New Zealand Muslim figures Abdul Rahim Rasheed, activist. Ahmed Bhamji, politician and businessman. Anjum Rahman, community leader and human rights activist. Ashraf Choudhary, politician. Atta Elayyan, futsal player, businessman, entrepreneur. Ibrahim Omer, politician. Joel Hayward, scholar, writer and poet. Kirkus Reviews said that Hayward "is undeniably one of academia’s most visible Islamic thinkers". The National newspaper called Hayward "eminent' and a "distinguished historian of warfare and military strategy". He is considered to be one of "the world’s five hundred most influential Muslims," with his listing in the 2023 edition of The Muslim 500 stating that "he weaves together classical Islamic knowledge and methodologies and the source-critical Western historical method to make innovative yet carefully reasoned sense of complex historical issues that are still important in today’s world." Mazhar Krasniqi was a New Zealand Muslim and Albanian community leader of Kosovar Albanian descent, businessman and human rights activist. He was both the first president of the New Zealand Albanian Civic League and Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ). Naila Hassan, police officer. Ofa Tu'ungafasi, rugby player. Sonny Bill Williams, rugby player. See also Islam by country Religion in New Zealand References Further reading Drury, Abdullah. "Mahometans on the Edge of Colonial Empire: Antipodean Experiences," Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, Volume 29, 2018 - Issue 1, pp. 71–87. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09596410.2017.1384230) External links Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand International Muslim Association of New Zealand