Exhibition Shows What Challenges Asian Muslims Face in New Zealand
It is not unusual for Muslims living in Western countries to face prejudice, misunderstanding and isolation.
Western media portrayal of Muslims, particularly in the immediate post-9/11 period, has sometimes vilified and marginalized Islam, in turn, leaving many Muslims feeling alienated from their Western contemporaries.
A photographic exhibition documenting the stories of Asian Muslims in New Zealand debuted at Jakarta’s State Islamic University (UIN) on Tuesday morning. The exhibition, sponsored by the Asia New Zealand Foundation, tells a more optimistic narrative of struggle, tolerance, acceptance, and hope for improved understandings of Islam for non-Muslims.
The exhibition, titled “The Crescent Moon: The Asian Face of Islam in New Zealand,” displays 26 photographs and personal stories of Muslims living in New Zealand — including two documenting the experiences of Indonesian Muslims in the country.
New Zealand writer Adrienne Jansen and documentary photographer Ans Westra spent six months traveling the country to capture the stories of a diverse group of Muslims of Asian ancestry. Those profiled range from computer trainers, professors and lawyers to butchers, farmers and students. While some are fourth-generation New Zealanders, others are new immigrants from Asia.
At the opening, Jansen spoke of her motivation behind the project to “put right some misconceptions and stereotypes that have grown up about Islam, especially since 2001, and often that the media have added to.”
Having toured New Zealand from 2009 to 2011, this is the first time the exhibition has been showcased outside the country.
Sony Ambudi, an Indonesian Muslim, moved to New Zealand in 1999 for his wife to take up a scholarship to study in Auckland. A qualified doctor, Sony used to work at the Health Ministry in Indonesia, but now works as a massage therapist for a disabled center.
Although “every day is interesting and rewarding,” Sony believes he can more positively contribute to New Zealand society in the public health field, which he hopes to return to.
Frisnadi Sunaryanto, the other Indonesian Muslim profiled, has had less success in transferring the skills he developed as an architect in Indonesia, to the workforce of his adopted homeland. Despite believing the move from Indonesia will be good for his children, he has described feelings of isolation in New Zealand society that motivated him to engage in the country’s Indonesian community, which “makes us stronger, and not so lonely.”
According to New Zealand’s 2006 census, the country of approximately four million people had 36,000 Muslims. Although religiously diverse, Christianity is prevalent in the Pacific nation.
Member of Parliament Maurice Williamson, who is in Jakarta leading a New Zealand trade delegation of 52 business people, said this number has been growing. He remarked that New Zealand is becoming increasingly diverse in terms of religion, and is “an incredibly tolerable place … [where] there is no discrimination.”
But the accounts by some of those quoted in the book contradict this, claiming Muslims have been subjected to varying degrees of discrimination in New Zealand. This ranges from struggles to find employment while wearing a hijab, to being labeled by their religion above their other qualities.
Educating New Zealand society about Islam is key to developing a more respectful and engaging relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims, Jansen said.
“This is a project about conversations. We [in New Zealand] can’t afford to be so uneducated [about Islam].”
The exhibition will open until Thursday in the Diorama Room at UIN and entry is free to the public.
Source: The Jakarta Globe
A photographic exhibition documenting the stories of Asian Muslims in New Zealand debuted at Jakarta’s State Islamic University (UIN) on Tuesday morning. The exhibition, sponsored by the Asia New Zealand Foundation, tells a more optimistic narrative of struggle, tolerance, acceptance, and hope for improved understandings of Islam for non-Muslims.
The exhibition, titled “The Crescent Moon: The Asian Face of Islam in New Zealand,” displays 26 photographs and personal stories of Muslims living in New Zealand — including two documenting the experiences of Indonesian Muslims in the country.
New Zealand writer Adrienne Jansen and documentary photographer Ans Westra spent six months traveling the country to capture the stories of a diverse group of Muslims of Asian ancestry. Those profiled range from computer trainers, professors and lawyers to butchers, farmers and students. While some are fourth-generation New Zealanders, others are new immigrants from Asia.
At the opening, Jansen spoke of her motivation behind the project to “put right some misconceptions and stereotypes that have grown up about Islam, especially since 2001, and often that the media have added to.”
Having toured New Zealand from 2009 to 2011, this is the first time the exhibition has been showcased outside the country.
Sony Ambudi, an Indonesian Muslim, moved to New Zealand in 1999 for his wife to take up a scholarship to study in Auckland. A qualified doctor, Sony used to work at the Health Ministry in Indonesia, but now works as a massage therapist for a disabled center.
Although “every day is interesting and rewarding,” Sony believes he can more positively contribute to New Zealand society in the public health field, which he hopes to return to.
Frisnadi Sunaryanto, the other Indonesian Muslim profiled, has had less success in transferring the skills he developed as an architect in Indonesia, to the workforce of his adopted homeland. Despite believing the move from Indonesia will be good for his children, he has described feelings of isolation in New Zealand society that motivated him to engage in the country’s Indonesian community, which “makes us stronger, and not so lonely.”
According to New Zealand’s 2006 census, the country of approximately four million people had 36,000 Muslims. Although religiously diverse, Christianity is prevalent in the Pacific nation.
Member of Parliament Maurice Williamson, who is in Jakarta leading a New Zealand trade delegation of 52 business people, said this number has been growing. He remarked that New Zealand is becoming increasingly diverse in terms of religion, and is “an incredibly tolerable place … [where] there is no discrimination.”
But the accounts by some of those quoted in the book contradict this, claiming Muslims have been subjected to varying degrees of discrimination in New Zealand. This ranges from struggles to find employment while wearing a hijab, to being labeled by their religion above their other qualities.
Educating New Zealand society about Islam is key to developing a more respectful and engaging relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims, Jansen said.
“This is a project about conversations. We [in New Zealand] can’t afford to be so uneducated [about Islam].”
The exhibition will open until Thursday in the Diorama Room at UIN and entry is free to the public.
Source: The Jakarta Globe
