Introduction
New Zealand’s Islamic education sector is concentrated in Auckland but extends — often surprisingly — into regions far beyond the main city. With 75,144 Muslims (2023 census) representing the fastest-growing religion in New Zealand, the demand for Islamic education is expanding rapidly. This directory documents Islamic education institutions across New Zealand, drawing on direct research into each centre’s programmes.
Auckland — Full-Time Islamic Schools
Al-Madinah School
8 Westney Road, Māngere, Auckland 2022
Phone: +64 9 275 5195
Email: info@al-madinah.school.nz
Website: al-madinah.school.nz
Al-Madinah School is New Zealand’s oldest and largest Islamic school. Provisionally registered in August 1992, it received full registration as a primary school in December 1992 and added a secondary section in 1995, becoming an area school (Year 1–13). The school was integrated into the state education system in 1996 — making it a state-integrated area school that receives government funding while maintaining its Islamic special character.
Al-Madinah provides full New Zealand Curriculum coverage across all subject areas, from English and Mathematics to Commerce, Technology, and the Arts, alongside a comprehensive Islamic curriculum:
- Religious Education (core Islamic studies subject)
- Islamic Theology (advanced study of Islamic theological sciences)
- Specialised Hifz classes for students wishing to become Huffaz
- Daily Salaat, with Jumuah Salaat on Fridays
- Islamic Festival observances
Al-Madinah uses Edge (Helix SMS) as its school management system, with dedicated student and caregiver portals — indicating a professionally managed digital administration infrastructure. International students can also enrol, with a separate international enrolment form and NCEA results published online (2022 NCEA results are publicly available).
School management tools: Edge (student portal), Office 365, NZQA Portal, Google EDU accounts — a full professional school management suite.
ERO Report: The 2020 ERO report is publicly available on the school website, reflecting the transparency requirements of state integration.
Enrolment capacity is managed through the AMS Enrolment Scheme (zoning document publicly available).
Iqra School
5-9 Hugh Brown Drive, New Lynn, Auckland
Website: (uses IQRA special character)
Iqra School (detailed in previous research) caters for Years 1–8 as a state-integrated school in New Lynn, West Auckland, using the IQRA curriculum framework that integrates Islamic studies directly into secular subject areas. An ERO report was issued in November 2024, documenting current performance.
Zayed College for Girls
44 Westney Road, Māngere, Auckland
(Adjacent to Auckland Airport Mosque, Māngere)
Zayed College for Girls provides Years 7–13 Islamic education for girls as a state-integrated school. Located adjacent to the Auckland Airport Mosque on Westney Road — the same road as Al-Madinah School — the two schools form the core of the Māngere Islamic education cluster serving the large Muslim population in South Auckland.
Auckland — Mosque Madrasahs and Maktabs
Madrasah Uthmaaniyah (Auckland Islamic Trust)
Contact: ait.org.nz
Principal: Moulana Muhammad Ashfaaq Motara
Madrasah Uthmaaniyah is New Zealand’s most well-resourced and systematically organised mosque madrasah. Approximately 200 students attend across multiple faculties:
- Hifdh Faculty — full-time Quran memorisation programme; 5 Huffaz completed Hifdh at the 2020 Jalsah (annual celebration event). Students sacrifice approximately 5 hours daily.
- Weekday Faculty — daily Diniyyat education, Tasheel Series curriculum
- Weekend Faculty — Saturday and Sunday Diniyyat education, Tasheel Series curriculum
- Stepping Stones Faculty — early childhood Islamic education for ages 4–5
The curriculum is the South African Tasheel Series — explicitly noted on the AIT website as initiated by the Ulama of South Africa, with Madrasah Uthmaaniyah being the primary New Zealand institution using this framework. The annual Jalsah (prize-giving / Hifdh completion celebration) is a major community event.
Umar bin Khattab Learning Academy (UKLA) — Mount Roskill
Mount Roskill, Auckland
Mobile: 020 444 60 60
Website: ukla.co.nz (linked from masjideumar.co.nz)
UKLA operates under Masjid e Umar in Mount Roskill, under the leadership of Sheikh Mohamed Patel (Imam of Masjid e Umar), assisted by skilled volunteers. UKLA explicitly positions itself as offering “more than Quran reading” — a signal that it covers comprehensive Diniyyat alongside Quran recitation. It operates under a mutual agreement with the Mount Roskill Islamic Trust.
UKLA uses Airtable as its enrolment management system — one of the few New Zealand madrasahs documented as using a digital enrolment process (via an Airtable form link on its website). This is a positive step toward digital administration, though Airtable is a general-purpose database tool rather than a purpose-built Islamic education management system.
Safura International Learning Academy (SILA) — Auckland (3 centres)
Phone: 022 371 6198
Website: safuraacademy.org.nz
Safura Academy operates across three learning centres in Auckland, offering online and in-person Islamic education at $20 per student. With 150+ enrolled students and 8+ qualified educators, it is one of Auckland’s more rapidly growing Islamic education providers. Courses cover Quranic Studies, Fiqh, Hadith, Aqeedah, Islamic History, and Akhlaq, with Certificates of Completion issued to students who meet course requirements.
Wellington — Madrasahs and Islamic Education
Madrasahtul Islamiyah
7/11 Queens Drive, Kilbirnie, Wellington
Phone: 021-034-3411
Email: info@madrasahtul-islamiyah.co.nz
Website: madrasahtul-islamiyah.co.nz
Wellington’s most organised maktab, Madrasahtul Islamiyah is run as a charitable trust (Madrasahtul Islamiyah NZ Trust / MINT), with IRD tax credit status for donations and a fully structured admissions process. Classes run Monday–Friday, 4:30pm–6:00pm, following the NZ school term calendar (four terms per year, mirroring school dates).
Curriculum: Tasheel Series (South African Deobandi framework), covering Fiqh, Hadith, Tafseer, History, Aqeedah, Akhlaq wal Adaab, and Quran studies. The school notes it is run entirely by volunteers. Its well-developed website (admissions process, calendar, course details, donations) demonstrates institutional maturity unusual in the volunteer-run maktab sector.
The trust is registered and donations qualify for a tax credit under IRD rules — meaning families who donate to support the madrasah can reduce their income tax liability, a significant incentive for community members seeking to support Islamic education financially.
Auckland — Higher Islamic Education
Darul Hidayah lil Banat — Epsom, Auckland
Website: darulhidayah.co.nz
Contact: 020 4140 3600 (WhatsApp)
New Zealand’s first full-time girls Darul Uloom — a residential girls’ Islamic school in Epsom offering higher Islamic education from 2020. Programmes:
Alimah Course — 5-year intensive programme covering Tafseer, Tajweed, Quran translation, Hadith, Fiqh, and Islamic sciences. The course follows the Darul Uloom tradition, aimed at producing qualified female Islamic scholars. Graduates are authorised to teach Islamic sciences.
I’dadiyyah Course — 1-year preparatory course for students new to the Alimiyyah programme, covering basic Islamic teachings and Quran recitation.
Basic Fundamentals — Short course for sisters aged 10–25, covering Aqaid, spirituality, female-specific Islamic law, Tajweed, Du’as, and Hadith.
Facilities: Boarding and lodging available — accommodation, three meals daily, laundry service. This makes Darul Hidayah accessible to students from outside Auckland and from other Pacific nations. Rooms are shared, with bathroom/toilet in each room.
Northland
Northland Islamic Center — Whangārei
11 Porowini Avenue, Morningside, Whangārei 0110
Phone: +64 21 313 786 / +64 21 103 8722
Email: northlandislamiccenter@gmail.com
Website: northlandislamiccenter.co.nz
The Northland Islamic Center in Whangārei provides Madrasah Ta’aleem to Northland’s Muslim community — one of the most geographically isolated Islamic education provisions in New Zealand. The madrasah offers:
- Quranic Education and Tajweed
- Hadith and Islamic Studies
- Character development (Akhlaq)
- Interactive classes with regular progress tracking
- Three-step process: Registration → Assessment and Planning → Learning and Support
The centre’s explicit description of “progress tracking” and “regular evaluations” signals awareness of the administrative dimensions of madrasah management that many similar small centres lack.
Ulul Albab Islamic Institute — Topuni, Kaipara District (Rural Northland)
State Hwy 1, Topuni, Kaipara
Phone: +64 27 519 4475
Email: admin@ululalbabinstitute.co.nz
Website: ululalbabinstitute.co.nz
Director: Dr Mohammed Farid Ali al-Fijawi
Ulul Albab is the most ambitious Islamic education institution outside Auckland in New Zealand — operating from a rural Northland location while delivering nationally via online programmes. Charity registration: CC59261.
Ulul Albab Fardu’l-‘Ayn Madrasah — Online madrasah since 2021, using Google Classroom, serving Muslim children across New Zealand and the Pacific. Curriculum: Qa’idah, Quran, Aqeedah, Fiqh, Tarekh, Sirah, Akhlaq. Two age groups (5–12 and 13–18), with separate male/female teenage streams. Classes Monday–Thursday (individual Quran/Qa’idah slots, 5–8pm) and fortnightly Friday Islamic Studies sessions.
Tahfiz Programme — Residential Quran memorisation programme.
Islamic Studies (‘Alamiyah) in Theology and Humanities — Higher-level Islamic studies programme.
Women, Children and Family Development — Community programmes.
Publications: Quarterly Bulletin on Islam and Muslims (NZ-focused) — documenting Islamic affairs in New Zealand, reaching Issue 4 at time of research.
Summer Camp 2025 — an annual residential camp for youth.
Online-Only (New Zealand Nationwide)
The FastTrack Madrasah (TFT Madrasah)
Website: tftmadrasah.nz
Online Islamic education for New Zealand Muslims, focused on Quran reading and understanding. Tagline: “Learn to Read and Understand the Qur’an.”
Learn Quran and Arabic Centre — (Melbourne-based, NZ delivery)
Website: learn-quran-and-arabic-centre.com.au
Has a dedicated New Zealand service page and serves NZ students via Zoom.
Across New Zealand — Managing the Diversity
What this directory illustrates is the remarkable diversity of New Zealand Islamic education provision — from a state-integrated area school with Edge school management software and NCEA results, to a rural Northland online madrasah with global teachers delivered via Google Classroom, to Wellington’s volunteer-run Tasheel Series maktab with tax-credit donation receipts.
Each institution manages its student data, attendance records, Quran progression, and parent communication in a different way. The most sophisticated (Al-Madinah) uses professional school management systems built for the New Zealand school sector. The most grassroots (community maktabs) may use notebooks and WhatsApp. The gap between these extremes — in data security, parent engagement, and institutional memory — is the fundamental management challenge facing New Zealand Islamic education in 2026.
A purpose-built Islamic education management platform — handling the three-stream Hifdh tracking, the Tasheel Series progression records, the Privacy Act 2020 student data obligations, and the individual parent portal needs of even a 50-student maktab — bridges that gap without requiring each institution to develop its own custom system from scratch.
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