Māori Muslims

Māori Muslims are a small minority community in New Zealand.

Growth

Census figures show the number of Māori Muslims increased from 99 to 708 in the 10 years to 2001, and to 1,074 by 2006^{[1] [2]} Traditional beliefs form the background of most Māori religious thought, with others belonging to one of several Christian churches, or syncretic churches such as Ratana.

The AMMA, the most influential Māori Muslim movement, has roots in the Hawke's Bay Region. They view tino rangatiratanga as a form of jihad and Islam the perfect vehicle for Māori nationalism.  Māori converts are sometimes being drawn to the faith through anti-colonisation or anti-Establishment sentiment and a fascination with radical chic of Black Muslim icons such as Malcolm X.^[3] The leader of the AMMA, Sheikh Eshaq Te Amorangi Morgan Kireka-Whaanga was recently identified among the top 500 most influential Muslims.^[4][5] They point out that Islam with its strict rules and self discipline is a positive force in Māori development.^[6]

In 1990 the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand organised the first official meeting between Māori and immigrant Muslims at a Wellington Marae. In 2003 the Muslim Association of Canterbury arranged a "National Māori Muslim Day" event at both the Canterbury Mosque and the Ngā Hau e Whā National Marae in Aranui.

Māori Quran translation

In April 2010 a Māori language Quran - the Kuranu Tapu - was published.^[7][8] The translation was authored by Shakil Monir of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

The Quran was also presented to King Tuheitia at a marae outside Hamilton, which gave Mr Monir an opportunity to address a large group of Maori in their language, he said. It was so nice, the people cheered after I'd finished.

Literature

• Drury, Abdullah, Islam in New Zealand: The First Mosque (Christchurch, 2007) ISBN 978-0-473-12249-2
• Drury, Abdullah, Treaty compatible with Islamic philosophy in The Press (6 February 2009), page 6.
• Yvonne Tahana, Koran's message of unity shared in te reo translation in The New Zealand Herald (15 April 2010), page.A11.
• Ruth Berry, Peters claims Muslim group funding radical in The New Zealand Herald (11 August 2005)
• Muslim barred from court because of scarf in The Dominion-Post (2 September 2009)
• "The 500 Most Influential Muslims - 2010" by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (Amman, 2010)

References

See also

• Islam in New Zealand
• Lists of Muslims