Issue 20 | August 13,2012 | critic.co.nz

othErs
20
The World’s southernmost
Muslim community
The Dunedin Muslim community is much larger, with around
1000 members. Although Muslims first arrived in Otago during
the gold rushes of the 1870s, it was not until the 1980s, when
Muslim students began coming to Dunedin from all over the
world, that the community really began to develop. Today the
Muslim community gathers regularly for prayer and various
cultural events at the Al Huda Mosque on Clyde Street, which
is the world’s southernmost mosque.
Sharik Hussein is a lot stricter in his religion than Shrimpton,
and explains that Muslims follow the “Five Pillars of Islam”,
which lay the framework for their lives. Muslims are expected
to pray five times a day, and Hussein finds prayer very beneficial
at university, as it provides a structure for his day.
Hussein doesn’t find it too difficult being a Muslim in Dunedin,
or at university, as there is a large community to engage with,
though he recalls some interesting experiences. “When I pray
in public people ask ‘Are you alright? Are you sick?’ as I’m
down on the ground, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m just praying.’”
You may have recently noticed a few faint-looking Muslim
students on campus, enviously eying you chowing down
your lunch. Well, that is because it is currently the month of
Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims all around the world
fast from sunrise until sunset. It is a time for reflection and
to practice self-discipline and self-control, as well as to feel
empathy for those less fortunate.
While any member of the public is welcome to come along to
the Mosque in the evening as they break their fast together, I
was lucky enough to be invited by Hussein, so avoided looking
like a typical student rocking up for the free feed.
Al Huda Mosque is nestled into the not-so-pious Clyde Street.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony of it being across the
road from Starters Bar, though when I shared this observation
with Hussein, he laughed and mentioned the view you get on
a weekend there is enough to turn anybody into a teetotaller.
I agreed sheepishly, mentioning the “stories” I’d heard, but
obviously keeping the previous weekend’s activities to myself.
Even though I had never been to the Mosque before, it was
amazing the way my presence was accepted. Everybody
smiled and greeted me with “salaam” (peace) as a “brother”.
I briefly spoke with the Imam, who could not have been more
welcoming, and was very pleased that I had come to observe
the Muslim culture and religion. Overall it was a very cool
experience, plus the delicious meal was a welcome break from
the flatting varieties.
critic.co.nz
With a little help From
My Friends
Here in Dunedin there is an amazing sense of interfaith
togetherness, which contrasts with the images and messages
we receive from the Middle East. Hughson explains
that following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, “A lot of Muslim
students were feeling quite vulnerable, with some threats
against them for what had happened in New York. People
were generalising about Islam being a violent religion,
out of ignorance really. There were some cases of women
being sworn at in the streets, and hate mail to the Mosque.”
Hughson continues, “Out of that we formed the Dunedin Abrahamic
Interfaith Group, which has brought together Christian,
Jewish, and Muslim people to work together for peace.” Mai
Tamimi, a Muslim PhD student who is also secretary of the
Interfaith Group, spends a lot of time going around schools
with a Christian and Jewish speaker, talking to children about
Islam and answering any questions they have.
Tamimi believes that “When you live in a multicultural community
like Dunedin, it is important that people learn more
about each other and how to interact with each other.” She
delights in the naïveté of the questions she is asked at schools,
with many “about fasting, hijabs, whether we go out and meet
people, basically whether we live normal lives!”
The most common questions tend to be about the position
of women in Islam. Tamimi explains “We [women] receive
our education, we travel, we work, earn money, there is no
oppression… If you come to pure Islam, women are given their
rights; they are in no way oppressed. But if they are oppressed,
in one way or another, it is because of the practices and the
people who oppress them, not Islam as a religion, or the
teaching of Islam.”
Dunedin: a Model for
the Two-state solution?
Unless you spent the last few years under a rock, or maybe
just in the North Dunedin bubble, you have probably heard
of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Without going into too much
detail, as I do not possess the patience or the word-count,
let’s just say that it is rather complicated.
Basically, Israel is a Holy Land for both Jews and Muslims,
especially the city of Jerusalem. These dynamics feed into the
conflict, as they both have a religious connection to the land.
As the Israelis are predominantly Jewish and the Palestinians