Australia’s Indigenous Peoples and Islam

Abstract

There is a growing scholarly interest in Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ engagement with Islam. This interest has highlighted some significant historical points of contact, such as with the Makassan fishermen, the Afghan cameleers, and the Malay pearl divers. Historical engagements with Islam, such as these, have influenced the contemporary identity formation for some Indigenous peoples, by acknowledging the historical connections without embracing Islam or identifying as a practicing Muslim. That some Indigenous people with no known familial historical engagement with Islam have embraced Islam has raised surprise, concern, and confusion. As it has primarily been historians, sociologists, and anthropologists that have heretofore been attempting to document and understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ engagement with Islam, it is unsurprising that the suggested reasons for such engagement have been historical, sociological, and anthropological. Without dismissing or contradicting the existing research, this article will suggest that current literature does not explicitly account for philosophical and spiritual convergences between the belief structures of Australia’s Indigenous peoples and Islam in the explanation of both historical and contemporary engagements.

Reinvigorating the Role of Spirituality in Patient-Centered Care: Islam as a doorway to increased understanding of patient spirituality

“…The earliest continuous occurrence started prior to the seventeenth century, when Makassans (Muslims from modern day Indonesia) travelled to northern Australian where "these fishermen engaged with a range of Indigenous peoples along the northern coast of Australia" (Cook and Yucel, 2016). Later, as European-Australians opened up trade routes across the country, "the engagement with Islam occurred through the cameleers, camel drivers predominantly from northern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, amongst other regions, from the late 1800s into the early twentieth century" (Cook and Yucel, 2016). On a local note, Broken Hill has a substantial Cameleer heritage, originally sustaining two cameleer camps, each with their own mosque (both buildings now residing at the location of the mosque of the north camel camp).…”

“…On a local note, Broken Hill has a substantial Cameleer heritage, originally sustaining two cameleer camps, each with their own mosque (both buildings now residing at the location of the mosque of the north camel camp). The surviving historical mosque is of particular importance, being the oldest mosque in NSW (Cook and Yucel, 2016;ElSenossi, 2019). As a result of these local and national connections, there is utility in employing Islam as an entry point for students to gain an awareness of other spiritualties and the impact it may have on healthcare provision.…”