Islam in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
is a minority religion in the predominantly
Christian country, with around 10,000 followers as of 2021. Papuan Muslims are largely concentrated
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
and villages situated in the
Highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Albania
* Dukagjin Highlands
Armenia
* Armenian Highlands
Australia
*Sou ...
. Due to
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
nature of the country's constitution,
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
are free to proselytize and build places of worship in the country.
The majority of the Muslims are
Sunni, while a small number are
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
. The majority of Muslims in Papua New Guinea are indigenous Papua New Guineans.
History
16th to 19th century
The history of Islam in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
is obscure due to lack of any historical sources. However, Muslim trading networks operated in and around New Guinea from the 16th to 19th centuries. More direct contact with Muslims occurred somewhere between the 17th and late 18th century when Muslim merchants from
Seram
Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent is ...
arrived in the Papua New Guinea area to conduct trade. During this period, there was much contact with the Seramese Muslims and the peoples of the
Trans-Fly coastal region.
By the middle of the 16th century, knowledge of
ironworking reached
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
, introduced by Muslims from
Maluku. Although trading contacts between the two came more infrequent as time passed, there was a continued presence of Muslim traders in the region as late as the 1870s.
There was a presence of Muslim
Makassar merchants and Muslim laborers in southern Papua New Guinea in the 19th and 20th centuries but little is known of their religious practices or impact on the natives of the area. Despite centuries of contact with Muslims, there seems to have been little Islamic influence in Papua New Guinea except in certain rituals or customs among some native tribes.
20th century
In the 1970s, the Muslim population of Papua New Guinea was estimated to be only 120. Most were expatriate workers from
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
.
In 1982, Islam was officially recognized by the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
.
In 1988, Muslims in Papua New Guinea set up the first Islamic center, with the help of a Malaysia-based Islamic organization and the
Saudi Ministry of Islamic affairs. In 1996, three more Islamic centers were established, with the help of the
Muslim World League
The Muslim World League (MWL; ar, رابطة العالم الاسلامي, Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami, ) is an International Islamic NGO based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate ...
. There are now seven Islamic centers in the nation. The first
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
, known as the Baitul Kareem Mosque, was built in 1988 in
Kimbe, New Britain, by the
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
Muslims.
Present-day
There are pockets of Muslims around
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
, in
Baimuru,
Daru
Daru is the capital of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea and a former Catholic bishopric. Daru town falls under the jurisdiction of Daru Urban LLG.
The township is entirely located on an island that goes by the same name, which is loc ...
, Marshall Lagoon, the Musa Valley and in the islands of
New Britain and
New Ireland. It is in the
Highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Albania
* Dukagjin Highlands
Armenia
* Armenian Highlands
Australia
*Sou ...
that Islam has seen the most growth.
Population
In 2001, there were under 500 Muslims in PNG.
In 2007, the
U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...
estimated that there were about 2,000
Muslims in the country.
International Religious Freedom Report 2007
/ref> In 2008, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
cited that were more than 4,000 Muslims in the country, with "reports of entire villages converting at the same time." In 2012, Scott Flower estimated that there were over 5,000 Muslims, claiming a 500% increase since 2001.
Issues
In the past, the Papuan government were opposed towards formally recognizing Islam and its institutions. To the present day, the government has threatened to ban Islam. Muslims have experienced discrimination and even violence from the Christian majority.
References
Further reading
* Flower, Scott (2016). Islam and Cultural Change in Papua New Guinea. Routledge.
External links
Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea
{{Oceania in topic, Islam in