Dr Hanlie Booysen and Dr Ayca Arkilic posing in the School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations.

That growing awareness and the absence of an academic platform for Middle East and Islamic studies has prompted two Te Herenga Waka academics to help establish a new cross-university network called Middle East and Islamic Studies Aotearoa (MEISA).

It’s the brainchild of Dr Ayca Arkilic, a lecturer in Comparative Politics in the School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations, and Dr Hanlie Booysen, an adjunct research fellow in the School of Social and Cultural Studies. They have joined forces with Dr Leon Goldsmith and Dr Nadine Kreitmeyr from Otago and Canterbury universities respectively.

The network brings together more than 40 academics and students from different programmes and universities across New Zealand, and promotes research on all facets of the Middle East, as well as the wider Islamic world, from a ‘down under’ perspective.

Group of academics from Middle East and Islamic Studies Aotearoa (MEISA)
Dr Hanlie Booysen and Dr Ayca Arkilic with 'The Journal of the Middle East and Africa' in hand.

“We realised there was a real need to bring together scholars specialising in Middle Eastern studies, so we started to ask around to see if there were others out there,” Ayca explains. “Around the same time, two other Middle East scholars—Dr Goldsmith and Dr Kreitmeyr—had met and were wondering the same thing.

“Out of the blue, I received an email from Dr Kreitmeyr—she was coming to Wellington and suggested we meet up, and from that point, things progressed very quickly,” Ayca says.

The network was offically launched in May this year with a two-day United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization-sponsored event in Wellington involving attendees from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, which includes the National Assessments Bureau, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as prominent guest speakers such as MP Ibrahim Omer.

The group also holds monthly webinars that cover a range of topics related to Islam and the Middle East, such as Turkey’s constitutional transformation, the Iranian elections, and Islamic conversion in New Zealand.

“Our thinking is definitely influenced by what might be topical, interesting, or important in New Zealand,” Ayca says. “Post the Christchurch terror attacks, for example, there has been a focus on Muslim communities here. Within that, the topic of Islamic conversion is very interesting but hasn’t received much attention, so that’s something we’ve explored by hearing from Māori and Pākehā converts, as well as a Kiwi convert who is living in the [Persian] Gulf. It’s been a fascinating discussion.”

Ayca says it’s crucial to conduct research on New Zealand’s Muslim community and to communicate findings in a way that is easy to understand. “We care a lot about public engagement—we are trying to form relationships with the Muslim community here. We want to reach out to Islamic organisations because, while we are very much an academic network, we don’t want to be in an ivory tower that is out of touch with the community.”

Although it’s too early to tell whether MEISA’s establishment has led to greater student interest in Islamic or Middle Eastern studies, Hanlie says as soon as they launched the network they became aware of many others who are interested in the region—and also of a major shortcoming.

“We noted this huge gap: no universities in New Zealand currently offer Arabic language training. It’s actually a major limitation, so planning and advocating for opportunities for Arabic language learning has gone to the top of our list of priorities.”

The two academics have deep expertise in the Middle East, and it’s a region very close to their hearts. Hanlie, who comes from South Africa, is a former diplomat in Palestine, Jordan, and Syria, and Ayca is Turkish and taught Middle Eastern politics in Austin, Texas before coming to New Zealand. They have both taught Middle Eastern politics courses at the University that attract a large number of students.

Ayca says interest in the Middle East within New Zealand has grown exponentially in recent years. “It had long been somewhat far removed, but when New Zealand got a seat on the United Nations Security Council [2015–2016], it was all about Yemen, Syria, Palestine—all those issues that will not disappear any time soon,” she says. “Most of our refugees in recent years have come from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, so even before the Christchurch terror attacks there was a much greater awareness of issues facing the Middle East and the Islamic world.

“There’s no way we can say that Middle Eastern politics doesn’t have an impact on New Zealand,” says Hanlie. “Look, for example, at the Israeli–Palestine conflict, Syria’s reconstruction, and Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations. We need to think about how we, as a nation, engage with these countries. These are all crucial issues that require careful consideration, and our aim is to be able to discuss them—and a range of other issues—as a network with a uniquely New Zealand perspective.”

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