Syncretic Spirituality: Islam in Indigenous Australia

Far from being an exclusively present-day, let alone post-9/11, phenomenon, Islam in Indigenous Australia has a set of historical precedents. Focusing on three early waves of Muslim sojourners and immigrants, the article begins with an overview of the long and complex history of Indigenous engagemen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
Main Author: Stephenson, Peta (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis [2013]
In: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
RelBib Classification:AX Inter-religious relations
BJ Islam
BT Religions of Oceania
KBS Australia; Oceania
TK Recent history
Further subjects:B Muslims
B Islam
B Religious Conversion
B Indigenous Australians
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:Far from being an exclusively present-day, let alone post-9/11, phenomenon, Islam in Indigenous Australia has a set of historical precedents. Focusing on three early waves of Muslim sojourners and immigrants, the article begins with an overview of the long and complex history of Indigenous engagement with Islam. Introducing readers to a broad spectrum of Indigenous identification with Islam, it examines the kin-based or informal absorption of Islamic values that occurs particularly among those with Muslim forbears (a process termed “kinversion”). The article then turns from the primarily historical material to an investigation of the contemporary experience of Islam in Indigenous Australian lives. As Islam is among the fastest growing religions in the world today, an increased rate of conversion to Islam among Indigenous communities might simply be a sign of the times. This is not, however, the case. There are uniquely Australian circumstances that inform it, and for some Indigenous people an identification with Islam has provided an alternative route back to their Indigenous roots.
ISSN:1469-9311
Contains:Enthalten in: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2013.816015