Antipodean angst: encountering Islam in New Zealand

Abstract

Islam first came to New Zealand with Chinese gold miners in the late nineteenth century. However, it was to be many years before a distinctive Muslim community would emerge with its own forms of organization and purpose-built mosques. This article will review the arrival of Islam and the place of Muslims in New Zealand and discuss the challenges and issues faced by them, as well as considering social responses and perceptions of Islam that have been forged more by external global issues than local factors. Although by no means the full story, it is nevertheless the case that attitudes to the presence of Muslims currently give evidence of a rising diffuse anxiety: Antipodean angst would seem a pervasive feature with respect to the encounter with Islam in this far-flung corner of the globe.

Being-Muslim and Doing-Islam: Narratives that Influence Physical Activity of Muslim Women in New Zealand

“…Islam and Muslims are regarded as a small but accepted part of New Zealand society despite global media popularising the notion of Muslims as terrorists (Dobson 2009;Pratt 2010). Pratt (2010, 402) observes that New Zealanders on the whole are accepting of Muslim women's dress codes, but it is the full facial coverings (niqab) which are 'regarded as vain and unnecessary, and often viewed by the wider public as in some sense threatening and implying an attitude of superiority on the part of the wearer' .…”

Secular New Zealand and Religious Diversity: From Cultural Evolution to Societal Affirmation

“…Furthermore, global tensions and the rise of Islamophobia since the terror attacks of 9/11, as well as subsequent terrorist events, have made of religion and religious diversity an important human rights issue in New Zealand. Significant attention has been paid to the Muslim community (Pratt, 2010a(Pratt, , 2011.…”