ESSENTIALISING ISLAM: MULTICULTURALISM AND ISLAMIC POLITICS IN NEW ZEALAND

Abstract

Over the last two years a number of incidents have brought the attention of the general public to the existence of a small but significant Muslim community in New Zealand. Disputes among Muslims concerning appropriate practice of their religion in New Zealand and the control of Islamic institutions have spilled over into the popular media, indicating a degree of concern with these issues beyond the borders of the Muslim community. An argument over the control of the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch led to warnings in the popular press of alleged links to terrorism and Islamic extremism among some factions within the Muslim community (The Christchurch Press, 24 October 2003, ‘Terror Link Warning’, p.A1). More recently an ongoing dispute concerning halal certification for New Zealand’s lucrative trade in meat with the Middle East has again seen internal wrangling among the Muslim community become a matter for wider popular concern (The Christchurch Press, 15 September 2004, ‘Mosque and Meat Divided Muslims’, p. A15). Debate over the opinions of New Zealand Muslims and those who claimed to represent them rose to the fore in discussion over the voting record of New Zealand’s only Muslim MP on two controversial pieces of legislation, the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 and The Civil Union Act 2004 (The New Zealand Herald, 9 July 2004, ‘Muslim MP Explains his No-vote to Community’).2 The appropriate degree of engagement between government institutions and Muslims was also vigorously contested during a dispute concerning the establishment of a prayer room (frequently referred to in the