Dr Maysoon Salama, ONZM (Additional), of Christchurch, for services to the Muslim community and education
Dr Maysoon Salama, ONZM (Additional), of Christchurch, for services to the Muslim community and education
Dr Maysoon Salama is co-founder and manager of the An-Nur Trust Early Learning and Childcare Centres, New Zealand’s first Muslim early learning service. She chaired the Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand and is Emeritus National Coordinator. She was a spokesperson for the Muslim community following the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, in which her son was killed and husband injured. She has co-written a series of children’s books, including ‘Aya and the Butterfly’, on dealing with loss and grief. She was appointed to the Kāpuia Ministerial Advisory Group and the Collective Impact Board for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Terrorist Attack on Christchurch Majisdain. She is co-founder and Coordinator of the National Islamic Sisterhood Association. Dr Salama has supported students from the Arabian Peninsula to study in Christchurch.