Wellington: A maverick nationalist politician has criticised New Zealand's first Muslim lawmaker, Indian-born Ashraf Choudhary, for planning to swear his Parliamentary oath of allegiance on the Quran.

New Zealand First party leader Winston Peters said new Labour party legislator Ashraf Choudhary was breaking a "centuries-old tradition" by not swearing the oath on the Bible.

But Choudhary rejected Peter's criticism on August 21 and said Peters should brush up on his New Zealand history.

Choudhary said 19th Century Prime Minister Julius Vogel, a Jew had sworn allegiance on the Torah.

"The precedent was broken back in the 1870s by Vogel," Choudhary said.

Choudhary and the other 119 lawmakers elected at last month's election will be sworn in at Wellington's Parliament House on August 22.