Māori Muslims in New Zealand: a marginalised minority within a minority
February, 2022
Usman Afzali, PhD Candidate
Research Assistant, Victoria University of Wellington - Te Herenga Waka
Muslims constitute about 1.3% of New Zealand population based on the 2018 census. About one quarter of New Zealand Muslims are born in New Zealand and the rest have migrated from other countries[1]. Many New Zealanders have embraced Islam during the past few decades. Being the tangata whenua, Māori also have a fair share of converted Muslims within. Some estimates show that New Zealand has 1300 to 1500 Māori Muslims[2].
When it comes to the perception of Muslims, there is a notable distinction between Muslims who have migrated from other countries and Muslims who have chosen Islam later in their lives, converting from their own belief or no-belief systems. Although New Zealand is generally a liberal society, there is a chance that those who change their beliefs, especially who embrace Islam, might be perceived negatively.
Tony Green (aka Jamal Green within the Muslim community) a Christchurch-based Muslim convert, writer, and advocate, believes that the way Māori are perceived in New Zealand might be similar to the way other Muslims are perceived. That being, lesser warmth toward Muslims compared to other minorities[3], an association between attitude toward Muslim and the perceived terrorism anxiety[4], and greater perceived threat from Muslims compared to other religious groups[5]. The latter could perhaps be due to the negative media portrayal of Muslims, and Muslims being less accepting of Western values compared to other religious groups[6],[7].
Nonetheless, the reality is that the perception of Māori Muslims is more complicated than Muslims in general: Māori Muslims report tough scrutiny by the security agencies, from public, from their whanau, and from the Māori[8], besides being victims of historical trauma due to the institutionalised racism.
Some Māori report being made fun of due to their faith, while others recall being yelled upon racial slurs, mocked for the way they dress, and called on to go back to their own country – an experience faced by many ethnic and religious minorities. So, Māori face both Islamophobia and racism. And they face it from Māori too.
In a recent conversation that I had with a Māori Muslim (Mr. J), he recalled similar, and even worse treatment than the Stuff story mentioned above. He mentioned that since Māori males often have gang and prison backgrounds, and Muslims are perceived as terrorists, security agencies might think that it “makes sense” for Māori to enter Islam. He recalls police taking special interest in him and many of his Muslim Māori friends after they stopped all wrongdoings, that they used to do, as a result of becoming Muslim. “It is like you are a Muslim now, so we’d want to see if you are not becoming a terrorist”, he says. Such treatment makes him feel horrible and indignant because he is being criticised for stopping his criminal activities.
This type of treatment could be a result of the threat being felt by the West from Western Muslims in general, or it might be due to involvement of some convert Muslims in extremist activities (e.g., Daryl Jones and Christopher Harvard, Yemeni drone victims), or as a result of the Māori identity (e.g., “I find one lies in wait to shoot Māoris without any approach to an angry feeling — it is a sort of scientific duty”[9]. This might as well be the result of interaction between any or all of these factors.
Politically and historically, New Zealand did not use to be as inclusive to Muslims[10]. However, many Muslims, due to coming from collectivist cultures, share similar tikanga with Māori. Both these groups live in a collectivist way, live in families, have well-defined connections with spirituality, etc. This has probably prompted many Māori to embrace Islam and to make families with migrant Muslims[11]. Mr. J says the same. According to him, there is more similarity between the Māori religious beliefs and Islam than the Māori beliefs and Christianity.
Muslims in New Zealand generally faced more scrutiny following the 2014 events of Yemeni drone victims[12],[13]. Many Al-Noor Mosque attendees, including myself, felt being watched all those years, leading up to March 15, 2019.
The March 15 Christchurch Attacks changed the course of history in New Zealand to an extent that if, for the World, it is before and after 9/11, for many in New Zealand, it is before and after 15 March. The New Zealand government took substantial measures including, but not limited to: The Christchurch Call, The Royal Commission of Inquiry, Gun Laws changes, etc[14]. Not to forget, the support and aroha from everyday New Zealanders in any way possible have been exemplary and beyond comparison[15].
All steps taken by the government are admirable. However, no special attention has been paid to the needs of Māori Muslims, neither before, nor after March 15. Whereas Māori Muslims grieve equally as others, they have been marginalised considerably more than the general Muslim population in New Zealand.
Mr Green believes that working with Māori is extremely important. He adds: “We cannot realistically talk about social cohesion if we don’t solve social cohesion with Māori”. He says that the social issue with Muslims can be solved in a better way if Māori happens to be a partner in the process, as per Te Tiriti of Waitangi.
Given that Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington draws deeply on the values enriched by Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the challenges faced by Māori Muslims provide opportunities for CACR to include Māori Muslims so the “cross-cultural similarities and differences” can be understood. Māori Muslims, with this dual identity can be accepted as a “cultural diversity”. “Effective strategies” can be developed to improve intra-cultural communication between Māori and Muslim Māori, Muslim Māori and Pakeha, etc. This would help “enhance intercultural relations for the benefit of” Māori, Māori Muslims, the Muslim community, and New Zealand in general.
Māori Muslims represent both, the values of tangata whenua and Islamic values. Seeking Māori partnership in developing social cohesion would not only affirm their partnership as tangata whenua but would also help Māori and Muslims in general.
References
[1] NZ Census (2018)
[3] Sibley, C. G., Afzali, M. U., Satherley, N., Ejova, A., Stronge, S., Yogeeswaran, K., … Bulbulia, J. (2020). Prejudice toward Muslims in New Zealand: Insights from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 49(1), 48–72.
[4] Hawi, D., Osborne, D., Bulbulia, J., & Sibley, C. G. (2019). Terrorism anxiety and attitudes toward Muslims. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 48.
[5] Greaves, L. M., Rasheed, A., D’Souza, S., Shackleton, N., Oldfield, L. D., Sibley, C. G., ... & Bulbulia, J. (2020). Comparative study of attitudes to religious groups in New Zealand reveals Muslim-specific prejudice. Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, 15(2), 260-279.
[6] Shaver, J. H., Sibley, C. G., Osborne, D., & Bulbulia, J. (2017). News exposure predicts anti-Muslim prejudice. PLOS ONE, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0174606
[7] https://theconversation.com/is-islam-incompatible-with-modernity-48727
[9] https://e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-analysis/the-connection-between-white-supremacy
[10] https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/cacr/research/identity/muslims-in-new-zealand
[12] https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/10125382/Yemeni-drone-victim-had-escaped-to-Chch
[13] https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/radical-took-refuge-in-nz/7GS4WVUHK47DIVUBDDPYKIVGLY
[14] https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/next-steps-government’s-ongoing-work-march-15-survivors
[15] https://e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-analysis/the-connection-between-white-supremacy