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The Growing Muslim Minority Community in PapuaNew Guinea

SCOTT FLOWER

Abstract

Since 2001 the Muslim population of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has increasedfrom a modest 479 to over 5000 (approximately 500%) mainly as a result of aspike in conversions to Islam by indigenous Papua New Guineans. The evidencesuggests that the recent growth of the Muslim minority in PNG is likely to continuein the future. Nevertheless, for the foreseeable future, Muslims in PNG will remain asmall religious minority in a predominantly Christian country. Based on extensivefieldwork undertaken among this growing Muslim minority community in PNG,this paper discusses statistics, patterns and trends of conversion to Islam in aMuslim-minority country that borders Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslimmajority country. It provides a brief but important empirical contribution to thestudy of an emerging Muslim minority that appears representative of a broadertrend of global Muslim population growth through religious conversion.

Introduction

Since 2001 the minority Muslim population of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has increasedby over 500% from 479 to over 5000, predominantly as a result of religious conversions toIslam by indigenous Papua New Guineans. The spike in Islamic conversions in thislargely Christian nation has coincided with a period of increased Islamic missionaryactivity and a rise in local media coverage on Muslims and Islam following the terroristattacks by Islamic extremists on 11 September 2001.The data presented in this article are based on 6 months of fieldwork conducted in

2007 during which I lived among Muslim communities in urban and rural regions ofPNG; and also based on ongoing communications with the Head Imam of PNG sincethat time. The article does not attempt to examine the causes and processes of Islamicconversion growth in PNG. This more detailed task is undertaken in a forthcomingbook to be published by the University of Hawaii Press. A brief history of the establish-ment and institutionalisation of Islam in PNG can be found in an earlier work by theauthor published in the Journal of Pacific History.1

This article details the demographic aspects of PNG’s growing Muslim populationincluding the rate of growth and geographic spread and the regional context of thisgrowth. To provide perspective, the broader context of religious change underway atthe global and regional levels is also discussed, along with the growth of the Muslim com-munity relative to the growth of other religions in PNG.

Global and Regional Patterns of Islamic Conversion Growth

The development and spread of Islam has been dynamic in nature since its inception andin many respects the religion’s philosophy and followers have viewed global growth as the

Journal of Muslim Minority AffairsVol. 32, No. 3, September 2012, 359–371

ISSN 1360-2004 print/ISSN 1469-9591 online/12/030359-13 © 2012 Institute of Muslim Minority Affairshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13602004.2012.727295

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religion’s destiny (qadar).2 As a growing global religion, the boundaries of Islam have“remained permeable and have shifted and interacted with other religions over time aspeople moved”.3 However, the demographic centre for Muslims has shifted predomi-nantly eastward over the past 1400 years from its birthplace in present day SaudiArabia, with the largest national Muslim populations today being in South and SoutheastAsia.4

The relatively recent growth of Islam in PNG and elsewhere in the Southwest Pacific ispart of a global trend of increasing Islamic conversions in addition to demographicgrowth; a trend described as “striking” in its scale, attracting “millions of converts…in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America”.5 Thus, the rate of conversion adds to theMuslim population growth rate.6 The other religious groups growing as fast as Islamglobally are Evangelical and Pentecostal (EP) sects of Christianity.7

The growth of Islam in the wider Pacific region is also contributing to the global growthin the Muslim population. However, the growth of Islam in PNG, Vanuatu and theSolomon Islands (SI) is different from the growth of Muslim communities in other Mel-anesian nations in the Pacific because it is growing mainly through conversions of indi-genous citizens and not through migration and high birth rates.

In Fiji and New Caledonia, Muslims are almost exclusively descendants of immigrantlabourers. In Fiji, Muslims are predominantly from the Indian sub-continent,8 and inNew Caledonia from Algeria and Java; with growth in both countries being stable andin line with Muslim birth and mortality rates.9 In the Indonesian (yet culturally Melane-sian) province of West Papua, the growth of the Muslim population has climbed rapidlyto over 30% of the population; however, growth is largely due to the deliberate relocationpolicies of the Indonesian state which encourages Javanese Muslims to migrate.10 PNG,Vanuatu and the Solomons are therefore quite unique and share similarities with eachother in that there is significant conversion growth in each country occurring overroughly the same period of time.

The first Solomon Islander to convert to Islam was Abdus Samad who converted inPNG’s capital, Port Moresby, in 1989.11 In 1991, Tahir Berg, a Sunni Muslim expatriatefrom Fiji based in Honiara, witnessed the first three conversions of indigenous locals inthe Solomons and supported their endeavours to convert family members and establishthe local Muslim League.12 It is likely that Berg was also responsible for requesting theRegional Islamic Da’wah Council for Southeast Asia and the Pacific and the WorldAssembly of Muslim Youth to send Sunni missionaries, which occurred in 1995, whena small Tablighi Jamaat visited.13 When the Head Imam of PNG, Mikail Abdul Aziz,toured SI in 1997, he reported there were 143 Muslims in the country.14 This numberconflicts with official SI government census figures from 1998, which reported only“twelve Muslims to be in the country”.15

The organisation representing the Sunni Muslim minority is formally known as theSolomon Islands Muslim League,16 and recently it claimed close to 2000 SunniMuslim converts in three main areas: the Malaitan dominated area of the capital,Honiara (east and central) and the islands of Malaita and small Malaita.17 Despite theIslamic community increasing tenfold from its very small population base in 1997,Muslims remain a small minority in a Christian dominated country of less than half amillion citizens.18

Vanuatu has also seen a recent rise in its Muslim population since 2001, although thegrowth is numerically much less and at a slower rate than in the Solomons and PNG. Formany years the population of the Muslim community in Vanuatu remained static andconcentrated only in the village of Mele on the Island of Efate. However, increased

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foreign assistance for Vanuatu’s Muslim minority over the last 8 years has lead to a sig-nificant increase in conversions. Sunni Islam in Vanuatu arrived in 1978 with Hussein(John Henry) Nabanga of Mele village near Vanuatu’s capital, Port Vila. He had travelledto India in 1973 to undertake a course in scriptural translation and after 5 years of resi-dence there he converted to Islam prior to returning home to Mele.19

In a short period of time most of Nabanga’s immediate family also converted to Islamand by 1987 most of his extended family also converted.20 Following his death in 1993,Islam continued to grow in other parts of Vanuatu though the Muslim community inMele remains quite small, with around 120 Muslims.21 By 2004, Ahmadu andShuaibu claim that Islam had spread to all of Vanuatu’s main islands, although theyprovide no exact locations or figures of converts.22 During fieldwork in 2007, I wastold by a convert in Port Moresby that there were over 500 Muslims in Vanuatu, withthe majority of growth occurring on the islands of Malekula and Tanna, with followersin Middlebush (Tanna) numbering over 100.23

Zocca has mentioned that the major problem in assessing the growth of Islam inVanuatu is that followers of non-Christian religions are not being recorded by thecensus; however he mentions that Muslim minorities appear to be growing and poten-tially “could dramatically change the future picture of the religious scene in thecountry”.24

Although the growth of Islam in Melanesia is uneven, with growth occurring for differ-ent reasons, the growth of Muslim minorities in PNG, Vanuatu and the Solomons is aresult of conversion rather than of migration. Of the three countries in the region,PNG has experienced the greatest growth numerically and in terms of geographicalspread. With a shared history of colonialism and Christianisation, and similarities inculture, the study of Islam in PNG is potentially a vital test case for understandinghow Islam might spread in the SI and Vanuatu.

The Growth of Islam in PNG

Based on fieldwork conducted in 2007, ongoing communications with the IslamicSociety of PNG (ISPNG) and the available data, I have estimated the current populationof Muslim converts in PNG in 2010 to be approximately 5000 and growing. This sectionexamines conversion growth, clarifies the concept of conversion growth, and discussesthe issues affecting the accuracy of statistics on conversion growth in PNG. It detailsthe scale of Islamic conversions over time and highlights the major features and patternsof growth. By growth I am referring to the increasing number of Islamic conversions byPNG nationals only and not growth by Muslim migration (immigrant Muslims withPNG residency). In PNG the latter has been relatively flat over time apart from arecent slight increase in the number of Muslims arriving in the country as illegal immi-grants and temporary workers.25 In considering conversion growth I am also excludinggrowth that is based on birth rate which is referred to as “expansion”.26 Expansion is cer-tainly also occurring in PNG as evidenced by four converts (8%) interviewed having chil-dren whom they referred to as “born Muslim”.27 Growth in this sense is best understoodusing Tippet’s definitions of denominational growth in Melanesia, which divides growthinto the following three types:

(1) “Conversion growth” those who convert from other religions such asanimism or Christianity (or more likely from a syncretic combination ofthe two).

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(2) “Organic growth” when a religious community develops without externalmission support and becomes an indigenous body.28

(3) “Quality growth” referred to as a deepening of religiosity or “growing ingrace” of the convert.29

The first two types of growth are captured in this article while “quality growth” is assessedin the forthcoming book by the author by the University of Hawaii Press.30 My estimate ofover 5000 converts includes those who have, to use convert’s words, “fallen back” or“backslid” to their old faith after declaring the shahada/kalima. There is no reliabledata on the number of converts in PNG that leave Islam (and become apostates); yetbased on anecdotal evidence (interview data and observations in the field) I have esti-mated that between 10% and 20% of all converts “fall back” or “back slide”. “Backslid-ing” is a problem long recognised by the ISPNG who have described the situationpreviously as “the misfortune of new reverts just disappearing… as an initial result ofcommunity pressures”.31

Evidence of Conversion Growth

Exact statistics on the number of indigenous converts are unavailable. The Head Imam ofPNG keeps a formal register of converts; however, it is very unlikely that this register cap-tures all of the conversions occurring in the rural highland provinces where substantialorganic growth has occurred.32 There are a number of practical and political reasonswhy convert statistics are inaccurate; some of the practical problems are outlined in thefollowing statement by the late Saddiq Sandbach of the ISPNG:

We do not and cannot keep accurate records. People move from place to placequite frequently and use a number of different names, often adopting a newname when they arrive at a new location. Muslim names are accepted by indi-viduals but rarely used.33

Based on my review of the ISPNG archives, the statistics provided by the ISPNG toforeign Islamic organisations (governments and NGOs) often appear inflated, potentiallyfor the purpose of obtaining greater outside support. When comparing ISPNG archiveswith PNG news media archives in Port Moresby (post courier and the national newspa-pers), it was clear that over time some of the figures given to PNG media by the ISPNGappear to be deliberately underestimated to minimise disturbing Christian opponents toIslam in the country. Estimates of annual convert figures are generally reported inthe ISPNG annual general meeting (AGM) minutes however there have been anumber of years for which the ISPNG executives decided not to report the numbers ofconverts.34

The following examples represent common inaccuracies in the publicly available stat-istics on Islamic conversion in PNG. A report filed with the International Islamic NewsAgency by the ISPNG states that the convert population in PNG had grown to 2000 inthe year 2000.35 A 2005 report on international religious freedom published by the USState Department (which purports to be citing PNG census data) estimates theMuslim population of PNG was between 1000 and 2000 in the year 2000.36 Thecensus conducted by the PNG government in 2000 actually states the total Muslim popu-lation of the country was 756 and comprised 280 expatriate Muslims and 476 Indigenousconverts.37 In 2004, an Indonesian media report claimed that “over two thousand PapuaNew Guinean’s have reportedly converted to Islam”;38 yet a year later, local PNG media

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reported only 1000 members.39 The growth figures clearly demand further detailedexamination given the extent of erroneous reporting.The growth statistics estimated in this section are predominantly based on the archival

records and correspondence held by the ISPNG in PortMoresby, in conjunction with field-work observations and interviews conducted in 2007.Where possible, other sources such asPNG census data and independent media reports have been used as a cross-reference.The Muslim population in PNG at the time of political independence in 1976 was very

small (120) and consisted exclusively of expatriate workers and remained relatively stablefor the next 10 years.40 In line with ISPNG records, PNG census data shows that from1986, when the first conversions of PNG nationals occurred, till the year 2000, thenumber of converts increased slowly but steadily so that by the year 2000, there were280 expatriate “born Muslims” and 476 indigenous converts.41

The conversions during the 1986–2000 phase are relatively well documented byISPNG annual reports, with the trends within the period best described in the wordsof an ISPNG President from that era: growth started “slowly in 1986, gradually gatheredmomentum reached a peak six or seven years later and then faltered… until 1997 whenall by itself as it were, it had taken off again”.42 By the end of 1986, “twenty Papua NewGuinean’s, including four families had embraced Islam”,43 with the population growingto 34 converts (including women and children) 18 months later.44 ISPNGAGMminutesshow that for the years 1990, 1991 and 1992 there were 23, 27 and 31 conversionsrespectively, bringing total conversions by 1992 to 115.45

In 1993, 22 people converted to Islam,46 followed by “just under 10 nationals whoembraced Islam” in 1994 bringing the total that year to 147.47 Given that expatriateMuslim numbers remained relatively static, two separate media reports in 1994 appearto confirm yet confuse ISPNG figures. On 8 August 1994, a local Muslim convertthen working for the National newspaper claimed 350 Muslims lived in PNG,48 whilstan editorial a week later stated Islam has “300 PNG citizens as its followers”.49 It wasduring 1994 that the first Highlands conversions occurred with approximately 20 conver-sions in Karilmaril in the Chimbu province.50

In the 2 years that followed (1995 and 1996) “about 100 people embraced Islam in PortMoresby and Chimbu”51 with the first conversions inWaingar taking place in 1996, bringingthe total number of converts “who have undertaken Islam as their path to salvation to about200 locals”.52 In line with Sandbach’s observation mentioned earlier, the period between1997 and 2000 saw a small growth spurt. In late 1997 there were 22 conversions in Safia(Oro province) which were followed by another 140 in 1998 with “just less than 100 reverts… registered” in Port Moresby between 1999 and 2000,53 and 20 conversions in Lae.54 Amedia report released inAugust 2000was relatively accurate, claiming that theMuslim popu-lation included “500PNGnationals and 400 expatriates”.55Whilst thismedia report conflictswith PNG census data of that year cited earlier, the report’s estimate of PNG converts is onlygreater by 24, with the larger overestimation (120) being for expatriate “born Muslims”.Since 2001, the rate of conversion has increased significantly and with it has come a

reduction in accurate recording. The ISPNG appears to have stopped providing infor-mation to the public and media on the number of converts/reverts in PNG to minimisethe potential for scare campaigns to be conducted by local fundamentalist Christiangroups. My own estimates from fieldwork in 2007 are in line with later media reportsciting ISPNG sources that the number of converts exceeded 4000 by 2008,56 and wereover 4500 by 2009.57 Although this equates to more than a 500% increase in 8 years,the Muslim population is still very small relative to the total PNG population, currentlyestimated to be more than six and a half million, of which 96% are Christian.58

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Conversion growth has also spread geographically since 2001. In late 1997, the places ofMuslim presence were listed as “a core in Port Moresby and Karilmaril and Waingar(Chimbu)” with “some in Baimaru, Daru, Marshall Lagoon, Safia in the Musa Valley,with small pockets in New Britain and New Ireland”.59 By 2007 a greater number ofIslamic centres had been established in rural provincial areas to cater to the growingMuslim population with mosque construction and refurbishment work in Waingar andYobei (Chimbu), Safia (Oro), and Mendi (Southern Highlands) during 2006–2007.60

Close to 2000Muslim converts are based in PortMoresby,61 whilst approximately 2179 con-verts live in Islamic communities of various sizes in the following provinces and villages:62

. Chimbu: Kundiawa (50), Waingar (300), Karilmaril (250), Yobei (200), Karl-manger (30), Ouna (35) and Ulu (17), Murdomna (100), Kumbi (150),Wandi (70), Kujip, Mangil, Munma (150), Wara Simbu and Gumine[approximate combined provincial total equals 1352].

. Western highlands: Mt Hagen (15), Banz (40), Minj (50), Angar (20), Dirty-water (20) [approximate combined provincial total equals 145].

. Southern highlands: Mendi was the first to see a rise in conversions in 2005with more recent conversions in Tari, bringing the approximate combinedprovincial total to 100.63

. Milne Bay: Alotau (6); Western Province: Daru (5)

. Oro/northern: Safia, Musa, Marshall Lagoon and Poppondetta (approximatecombined provincial total equals 500).

. East Sepik: Wewak (3); Maprik (near Yongaro) (10)

. Lae (50); and Eastern Highlands: Goroka (13)

Geographic locations of Muslim Convert Populations in PNG

Source: Australian National University maps.

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Patterns and Features of Growth

This section outlines a number of patterns and features of Islamic conversion growth inthe data which are relevant to future analyses of conversion in PNG. The two geographicareas of greatest growth are Port Moresby, which is experiencing rapid urban change/development, and the remote rural highlands areas of PNG’s main island (these twoareas are shaded in the map above). Growth is almost non-existent in the southern(Papuan) and northern (New Guinea) coastal areas of the island, as well as in thesmaller PNG islands (i.e. New Britain, Manus and Bougainville).Conversion growth in PNG has experienced a kind of “multiplier effect” as a result of

familial and tribal power relations. Of the 52 converts interviewed, 10 respondents (19%)said that all of their immediate family converted shortly after their own conversion eitheras a result of their own proselytising effort or because they were a leader and/or respectedin their family. Group conversions of whole clans or tribes are having an even greatereffect on growth.Whilst there were only four cases (8%) in which whole clans converted following the

initial conversion of an individual belonging to the group, the number of conversions fol-lowing these four individual conversions had a disproportionally large impact on overallpopulation growth. The group conversions captured in the data occurred in Karilmariland Waingar (Chimbu), Safia in the Musa valley (Oro/northern province), and in thetown of Minj (Western Highlands Province). For example, in Safia, 22 familymembers converted immediately after the first member converted and in the weeksthat followed a further 140 clan members converted. In Minj a leading Muslim stated,“My whole extended family, 80% are Muslim. As we go in the next 30–40 years 100%will be Muslim. We regard it as our own clans’ religion”. The qualitative nature ofgroup conversion needs a more detailed examination and falls beyond the scope of thisarticle; however, the implications of group conversions in PNG for the growth of Islamare likely to be significant. Given the background behind these group conversions andthe prevalence of this type of conversion, it is likely to be a conversion trend that persists,which will increasingly lead to compound conversion growth over time.The data collected during fieldwork highlight a clear gender bias towards males. Using

mosque attendance for the Friday ( jummah) congregational prayer and the sermon(khutba) in Port Moresby and in Chimbu centres as a rough guide suggests the ratio ofmale to female converts is approximately 50:1, if not greater. In my sample of intervie-wees a majority of males were unmarried. All women converts I interviewed did notconvert independently (i.e. before their husband), which confirms numerous statementsfrommale converts that “more men have embraced Islam andmen embrace first followedby their women”.64 In the sample the average age of male converts at the time of theirconversion is 27 years, while the average age of female converts at the time of conversionis 31 years.65

In respect to conversion growth through marriages, expatriate male Muslims residingin PNG domarry non-Muslim PNGwomen but the occurrence of these marriages is verylimited.66 While conducting this research I came across only four confirmed cases inwhich women converted to marry Muslim men, and every one of these took place inPort Moresby.67 I learned that Muslim expatriates occasionally frequented the PortMoresby netball centre in order to find suitable local women to propose to, with mar-riages being conducted by the local imam (cleric) in Hohola.In terms of socio-economic indicators of conversion, fieldwork observations correlate

with the sample of those interviewed in that the majority of converts have limited edu-

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cation and are predominantly unemployed. The educational breakdown of the sampleshows that while 16 converts (30%) have tertiary or professional qualifications (2 post-graduates, 7 undergraduates and 7 trade-skilled); the majority 54% of converts (28 con-verts) have completed secondary school to year 10 level, and 8 (15%) have onlycompleted primary school. The economic background of converts is best representedby their employment status at the time of their conversion of which 16 (30%) had pro-fessional or skilled employment, 27 (51%) were unemployed and 9 (17%) were unskilledfarmers. Converts attracted to Islam post 9/11 differ from converts pre-9/11. The post 9/11 cohort generally have a lower standard of education and are generally unemployed,whereas the majority of converts in the smaller pre 9/11 cohort are employed and/orhave some form of post-secondary education (vocational or university).

In her early research on religious and social change in PNG, Paula Brown mentionedtwo key differentiating factors between a short-term “cargo cult” (which are famous inPNG) and a new religious movement that is likely to persist.68 These factors are thescale and geographic spread of conversions, and whether they persist for more than afew years.69 Given that the number of conversions to Islam has persisted over time,that growth is organic and that geographic spread of conversion is across ethnic lines(tribal/clan groups). One can assume that Islam has established itself in PNG perma-nently and will grow in the future, although the scale of future growth is difficult topredict.

Converts’ perspectives on the growth of Islam in the country provide some insight intothe patterns of growth they have observed to date and what they predict or expect tohappen in the future. Of 52 converts interviewed, 44% (23 converts) believed Islamwas growing very fast. Ten converts (19%) thought Islam was growing, but slowly andin a cycle of boom then plateau: “Yes it is growing but I would not say fast. In every devel-opment we see that there is a problem cycle. We do have problems, in some things we arelacking but generally we are growing and people are accepting Islam and it will continueto grow. I firmly believe that it will grow. In the Highlands spreading Islam is easy”.Seventeen converts (31%) thought Islam was growing but were unsure as to how fast,and two converts (4%) said Islam was not growing.

Interestingly, regardless of converts’ differing perspectives and observations on growth,to date almost all converts expressed a sense that it was only a matter of time before Islamwould grow significantly. For one convert interviewed, the public perception that Islamwas growing fast actually provided a reason to expect greater growth because to be seen asgrowing in popularity encouraged further conversions: “Islam is growing in PNG. I heardthe news from other provinces… I hear that Islam is growing in PNG. People like itbecause it’s fast growing… so more people will accept Islam”.

Given the recent volatility in conversion growth, it is difficult to accurately predict aspecific growth trajectory. What is clear from the fieldwork data is that internationalevents and influences play a role in Islamic conversion growth in PNG. These issuesare beyond the scope of this article but will be examined in detail in forthcoming publi-cations. Whilst predictions of future growth by converts themselves would appear ambi-tious and unlikely based on current trends, converts’ expectations of growth areinterestingly shared by a number of non-Muslims in PNG.

The following two statements from the PNG press reflect the views of a growingnumber of non-Muslims in PNG who believe that Islam will grow significantly in theircountry, to the point of the religion becoming a destabilising influence: “I believe thatif the government does not act quickly [to stop the growth of Islam] there is a threatthat in twenty years Muslims will take control of this nation”;70 and “… our citizens

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can be easily influenced which increases the probability of Islam finding many recruitshere… Islam does not allow separation of powers between religion and state, thereforeif our population of Muslims were to increase they would begin to demand that weadopt Islamic laws and progress to Islamic statehood and this will lead to fighting andbloodshed”.71 At a seminar I gave at the Australian National University, a SeventhDay Adventist (SDA) Pastor from Enga Province claimed that: “in the next 30 yearsall of the PNG highlands will become Muslim because our culture is Islamic”.72

Based on the degree of opposition to Islam in PNG and the current decrease in externalsupport relative to growth/Muslim population, the reality is that growth rates are morelikely to remain at their current levels. If this conservative estimate is applied, theMuslim population of PNG is likely to barely exceed 10,000 by 2020.

Growth of Islam in Relation to Other Religions

Whilst it is true that Islam has seen rapid conversion growth of some 500% since 2001,one needs to consider Islam’s growth relative to the growth of other religions in thecountry to see overall growth in perspective. Over the last 40 years there has been aclear and growing trend of changing religious affiliation in PNG. As can be seen inTable 1, PNG census data for years 1966, 1980, 1990 and 2000 show the growthtrend of “first wave” or “mainline” Christian churches (Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran,Uniting Churches) has declined in real terms. The four major churches in this period

TABLE 1. Religious affiliation of PNG citizens, 1966–2000.

Population by religion 1966 1990 2000 Growth (%) (1966–2000)

Anglican 104,336 141,802 166,046 159Lutheran (1) 592,936 831,598 1,001,005 169Catholic 619,814 1,012,091 1,391,033 224United (2) 301,897 455,689 591,458 196Salvation Army 417 7441 10,377 2478SDA 64,545 289,446 520,098 805Other Christian (3) 229,165 721,230 1,275,222 556Total Christian population 1,913,110 3,458,577 4,934,098 258Other (non-Christian) religions 165,450 123,756 237,450 143Total PNG population 2,078,560 3,582,333 5,171,548 246

Notes: Includes Evangelical and Gutnius Lutheran’s. Also includes Methodists, Papua Ekalesia andUnited Church. Evangelical Alliance, Baptist, Pentecostal, Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon’s, Brethren,Presbyterian.Source: Philip Gibbs, “Papua NewGuinea”, inGlobalization and the Re-Shaping of Christianity in the PacificIslands, ed. Manfred Ernst, Suva: Pacific Theological College, 2006, p. 97.

TABLE 2. Populations of “mainline” and “other” Christian churches, 1966–2000.

Churches 1966 1980 1990 2000

Mainline (%) 77.8 74.8 68.1 61.2Other (%) 14.2 18.2 27.8 35.0Total % of PNG population who are Christian 92.0 93.0 95.9 96.2

Source: Philip Gibbs, “Papua NewGuinea”, inGlobalization and the Re-Shaping of Christianity in the PacificIslands, ed. Manfred Ernst, Suva: Pacific Theological College, 2006, p. 98.

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have been growing between 160% and 220% over the period which equals a rate that isless than the expansion growth/population rate of their existing congregations (250%).

The Christian sects growing fastest are the more fundamentalist EP churches, whichare growing more than twice as fast as their population growth (556%). The fastestgrowth has been from the strict Salvation Army churches which are growing at 10times their population growth rate; and the SDAs with a growth rate greater than threetimes their population growth rate (805%). SDA growth is of particular interest as a com-parison to Islam given that, like Islam, SDA conversion requires converts to abandon pigsand alcohol.

Table 2 shows that as a percentage of the total PNG population, mainline churchpatronage has declined 16.6% from 77.8% in 1966 to 61.2% in the year 2000. On theother hand, over the same period, those belonging to EP Christian churches haveincreased by 20.8% from 14.2% in 1966 to 35% of the total population by the year 2000.

Based on my estimates of conversion growth for the Muslim population, the recentgrowth of Islam is double that of PNG population growth. The scale of Islam’s growthis in line with the growth of popular fundamentalist Christian religious alternatives (EPsects) and is growing more than three times faster than the four mainline Christianchurches. This trend suggests some degree of disillusionment or dissatisfaction withthe original first churches in PNG, although the Western influence of individualistic life-style choices is believed by Gibbs (a Catholic priest) to be the most likely cause of shiftingallegiances.73

Conclusion

The growth of Islam in PNG is part of a wider global and regional phenomenon of con-version to Islamic faith. Despite problems regarding the accuracy and availability of stat-istics on population growth, available data demonstrate that the growth of Islam in PNGbegan relatively slowly from the time the religion arrived in 1976 until 2000. The bulk ofgrowth in this period occurred in two spurts, 1986–1987 and 1997–2000, and averaged31 conversions a year. Since 2001, conversion growth has increased significantly by over500% with a concomitant increase in geographic spread covering two specific zones, PortMoresby and the Highlands.74 The impact of group conversions to Islam in rural areas issignificant as these conversions have a multiplier effect on growth rates. However, themajority of conversions (particularly in Port Moresby) are individual by nature. Thegrowth of Islam in PNG is not an aberration in terms of the changing religious scenein the country. It is in line with the growth of other religious alternatives to mainlineChristian churches in PNG such as the fundamentalist EP sects of Christianity.

NOTES

1. Scott Flower, “The Struggle to Establish Islam in Papua NewGuinea (1976–1983)”, Journal of PacificHistory, Vol. 44, No. 3, 2009, pp. 241–260.

2. Thomas Walker Arnold, The Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith,Lahore: Shirkat-i-Qualam, 1956; and Nehemia Levtzion, ed., Conversion to Islam, New York:Holmes & Meier, 1977.

3. Mark Juergensmeyer, ed., Global Religions, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003, p. 5.4. Paul Coatalen, “The Coming of Islam to S.E. Asia: A Critical Review of Some Extant Theories”, The

Islamic Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 3, 1981, pp. 100–121.5. Lewis R. Rambo, “Anthropology and the Study of Conversion”, in The Anthropology of Religious Con-

version, ed. Andrew Buckser and Stephen D. Glazier, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers,2003, pp. 211–222

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6. BeckyHsu, Amy Reynolds, ConradHackett, and James Gibbon, “Estimating the Religious CompositionofAllNations:AnEmpiricalAssessmentof theWorldChristianDatabase”, Journal for the Scientific Study ofReligion, Vol. 47, No. 4, 2008, pp. 678–693. Although increased conversions are a significant factor, thebulk of global growth in theMuslimpopulation overall remains the result of high fertility rates and low con-traception use in Muslim majority countries, see Farzaneh Roudi-Fahimi, Islam and Family Planning,Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau, 2004.

7. Joel Robbins, “The Globalization of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity”, Annual Review ofAnthropology, Vol. 33, 2004, pp. 117–143; and William L. Wagner, How Islam Plans to Change theWorld, Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2004.

8. Tom Kington, “Muslims displace Catholics at the top”, in The Age, Melbourne, http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/muslims-displace-catholics-at-the-top/2008/03/31/1206850807560.html(accessed March 3, 2010).

9. Jan Ali, “Islam and Muslims in Fiji”, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 24, No. 1, 2004,pp. 141–154.

10. Franco Zocca, “New Caledonia”, in Globalization and the Re-Shaping of Christianity in the PacificIslands, ed. Manfred Ernst, Suva: Pacific Theological College, pp. 265–316; and Franco Zocca,“Vanuatu”, in ibid., pp. 205–264.

11. Charles E. Farhadian, Christianity, Islam, and Nationalism in Indonesia, New York: Routledge, 2005,pp. 72–78.

12. Mikhail Abdul Aziz, “Report on Imam Mikail Abdul Aziz’s Da’wah Trip to the Solomon Islands”,Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, 1997.

13. Ibid.14. Sandy Sandbach, “Supporting Imam’s Visit to the Solomon Islands”, Ahmed R. Rashid, Director of

the Muslim World League, based in Mecca. Port Moresby: Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea,1997, 3 pp.

15. Mikhail Abdul Aziz, “Report on Imam Mikail Abdul Aziz’s Da’wah Trip”, op. cit., 1997.16. Department of State, Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2005, Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office, p. 225.17. Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation, “Islamic Society Pioneer Denies Knowledge about

Recruitment Plans by Islamic Extremist Groups”, broadcast 8 July 2005 (1529 hours), Honiara.18. Scott Flower, “Muslims in Melanesia: Putting Security Issues in Perspective”, Australian Journal of

International Affairs, Vol. 62, No. 3, 2008, pp. 408–429; and Arthur Wate, “Muslims in SI”,Solomon Star Newspaper, August 11, 2005, Honiara, p. 13.

19. Manfred Ernst, “Solomon Islands”, op. cit., p. 172.20. Muhammad L. Ahmadu and Zainab M. Shuaibu, A Short Introduction to Islam and Muslims in Vanuatu,

Kuala Lumpur: Regional Islamic Da’wah Council of South East Asia and the Pacific (RISEAP), 2004,p. 22.

21. Ibid., pp. 22–23.22. Scott Flower, Fieldwork Notebook, Canberra: Australian National University, 2007, p. 143.23. Muhammad L. Ahmadu and Zainab M. Shuaibu, A Short Introduction to Islam, op. cit., p. 23.24. This convert was a reliable informant who at the time was the General-Secretary of the Islamic Society

of PNG and had personally travelled to Vanuatu with the Tablighi Jamaat in 2005 to conduct Da’wah.Even if the figure of over 500 converts provided by this convert is correct, the Muslim minority inVanuatu is still numerically small compared with the total population (212,000) of all religionsbased on 2004 statistics; Franco Zocca, “Vanuatu”, op. cit., p. 232.

25. Ibid., p. 233.26. Based on discussions with expatriate Muslims in Port Moresby, there could be anywhere between 200

and 300 illegal Muslim immigrants, who not being citizens of PNG, are unlikely to be captured by thenational census. There has been a steady increase in the number of temporary workers (Muslims)from Malaysia and Indonesia who are mostly associated with the forestry industry; however, both theDepartment of Immigration and theDepartment of Labour refused to provide statistics onMuslim tem-porary workers in PNG during my fieldwork visits to their respective offices in Port Moresby.

27. Lewis R. Rambo, Understanding Religious Conversion, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993, p. 68.28. One PNG Muslim youth interviewed, who was not born to Muslim parents but became Muslim at a

young age, gave the following description of expansion growth and why he did not have to convert asthe result of being born a “natural Muslim”:

When I was five years old I came with my elder brother, who was aMuslim, and we used to cometo the centre. My brother said to Imam that he wanted me to embrace but Imam said it’s ok as I

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was a natural Muslim. At that stage I was too young. Then from grades three to five I learnedmore about Islam and by grade seven I realized that Islam is a true religion.

29. Alan R. Tippett, Solomon Islands Christianity: A Study of Growth and Obstruction, London: LutterworthPress, 1967, pp. 30–33.

30. The book is entitled Conversion to Islam in Papua New Guinea: Cultural and Religious Change in thePacific. It is due to be released by University of Hawaii Press in late 2012.

31. Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea,Minutes of the 15th Annual General Meeting of the Islamic Societyof Papua New Guinea, April 14, 1996, p. 3.

32. The Head Imam’s book used for recording details of converts was not made available for analysis.33. Sandy Sandbach, Events in Papua New Guinea, London: Islamic Human Rights Commission, 1997,

http://www.ihrc.org.uk/show.php?id=119 (accessed September 14, 2006).34. Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea, Annual General Meeting Minutes, 1996, 12 pp.35. Muslim Population Worldwide, Papua New Guinea Muslims (Report), http://www.islamicpopulation.

com/papuanewguinea_muslim.html (accessed September 18, 2006).36. Department of State, Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2005, op. cit., p. 212.37. National Statistical Office of PapuaNewGuinea, PapuaNewGuinea 2000 Census National Report, Port

Moresby: National Statistical Office of Papua New Guinea, 2003, p. 26.38. S.S. Adhes, “Masjid Al-Hikmah dan Masjid Port Moresby—Yam Punya Andil Menghimpun Dana”,

in Amanah Online, http://www.aminah.or.id/cetakartikel.php?id=152 (accessed October 2, 2006).39. Barnabus Orere, “Muslims Dedicate Prayer at Hohola”, in Post Courier, January 3, 2005. Port

Moresby, p. 3.40. Ashfaq Ahmad, Papua New Guinea and the Muslim World, personal letter to Br. Shafiqur Rahman

Khan Abdullah, dated 5 December 1980.41. Philip Gibbs, “Papua New Guinea”, in Globalization and the Re-Shaping of Christianity in the Pacific

Islands, ed. Manfred Ernst, Suva: Pacific Theological College, 2006, pp. 81–158.42. Sandbach, Events in Papua New Guinea, op. cit. Based on interviews it appears that Sandbach’s 1997

assessment that Islam grows in cycles (growth/plateau/more growth) in PNG remains correct today.For example, one convert stated to me during fieldwork that, “after being Muslim for four years, Isee it growing but sometimes it comes to a stop and then starts growing again”.

43. Mohammad Yusut, Report on the State of Islam in PNG to MuslimWorld League, Port Moresby: ISPNGLibrary, 1994, p. 2.

44. Barrah Islam, The Emergence of Islam in Papua New Guinea: Report to the RISEAP 1988 General Assem-bly Meeting, Port Moresby: Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea, 1988, p. 2.

45. This figure which is from page four of the ISPNG1994 annual report appears reliable and correspondswith the memoirs of Mohammad Afzal Choudry, a founder of Islam in PNG, who states that “on the20th of April 1992 when I left Papua New Guinea for good, a hundred people belonging to the localpopulation had reverted to Islam”, Mohammad A. Choudry, My Memories of Islam in PNG, 2007.

46. Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea, Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea Annual Report 1993–94,Port Moresby: Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea, 1994.

47. Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea, ISPNG Annual Report 1994–1995, Port Moresby: IslamicSociety of Papua New Guinea, 1995, p. 2.

48. Muhammad Bashir, “PNG’s First Mosque to Be Sited in Hohola”, in The National, August 8, 1994,Port Moresby.

49. The National, “Does Islam Have a Place in PNG?”, in The National, August 16, 1994, Port Moresby,p. 14.

50. Flower, Fieldwork Notebook, op. cit., pp. 76, 132, 315.51. Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea,Minutes of the 15th Annual General Meeting of the Islamic Society

of Papua New Guinea, April 14, 1996, Port Moresby, 1997, p. 3.52. Mohammad Chowdhury, 1996 General-Secretary’s Report, Port Moresby: Islamic Society of Papua

New Guinea, 1996, p. 1.53. Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea, Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea Annual Report 1999–2000,

Port Moresby, 2000, p. 2.54. Ahmed Saudie, Lae AGM Report 1999–2000, Lae: Morobe Branch, Islamic Society of Papua New

Guinea, 2000, p. 1.55. Thomas Ame, “It Is the Same God Almighty That We Worship”, in The National, August 23, 2000,

Port Moresby, p. 7.

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56. Steve Marshall, “Growing Numbers Convert to Islam in PNG”, ABC News, November 17, 2008,Australian Broadcasting Commission, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/17/242225.htm(accessed November 18, 2008).

57. Fanou Filali, “Papua New Guinea: The Rise of Islam”, in The Week in Asia, France 24, July 14, 2009,http://www.france24.com/en/20090329-week-asia-afghanistan-moderate-taliban-fundamental-rethink-US-obama (accessed July 14, 2009).

58. National Statistical Office of Papua NewGuinea, ed., Papua New Guinea 2000 Census National Report,Port Moresby, 2003, 22 pp.

59. Sandy Sandbach, Events in Papua New Guinea, op. cit., p. 1. Report to the Islamic Society of PapuaNew Guinea.

60. Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea, Annual Report 2006–07, Port Moresby, 2007, p. 4.61. The fact that conversions are occurring at higher rates in Port Moresby should not be surprising given

that Tippet noted over 40 years ago that the detribalized people in Melanesia’s urban environs are“especially predisposed to conversion”, see Alan R. Tippett, op. cit., pp. 57, 333.

62. The names of locations where Islam has spread and the number of converts in each location are pre-dominantly based on my own observations in the field. Where possible, other sources (interviews andIslamic Society of PNG records) were used as a cross-reference with independent media reports refer-enced where they relate to a specific location. Numbers in parentheses after the location name indicatethe verified number of converts in the specific location. Where figures were not able to be confirmedby site visit or were not from reliable sources, the number of converts has not been included.

63. Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea, Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Islamic Society ofPapua New Guinea for 2005/06, Port Moresby, 2006, p. 2.

64. Flower, Fieldwork Notebook, op. cit., p. 67.65. This average was derived by eliminating six extreme outliers from the sample. Three outliers were

extremely young at the time of conversion (and less than 15 years old) while the other three outlierswere at the other end of the age continuum being 71, 73, and 75 years of age.

66. For an analysis of contemporary Islamic conversion and marriage see Kate Zebiri, British MuslimConverts: Choosing Alternative Lives, Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2008, pp. 224–227.

67. Flower, Fieldwork Notebook, op. cit.68. The concept of the cargo cult and the many varied forms of them in PNG has a long history in aca-

demic research on religious change in the country. Whilst such movements are not of direct interest tothis research, literature on cargo cults must be considered as part of examining Islamic conversion andreligious change, particularly in relation to potential material dimensions of conversion. A compre-hensive outline of cargo cults themselves can be found in Rolf Gerritsen, Ron J. May, and MichaelA.H.B. Walter, Road Belong Development: Cargo Cults, Community Groups and Self-Help Movementsin Papua New Guinea, Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies 1981; AndrewLattas, Cultures of Secrecy: Reinventing Race in Bush Kaliai Cargo Cults, Madison: University of Wiscon-sin Press, 1998; and John G. Strelan, Search for Salvation: Studies in the History and Theology of CargoCults, Adelaide: Lutheran Publishing House, 1977.

69. Paula Brown, “Social Change and Social Movements”, in New Guinea on the Threshold: Aspects ofSocial, Political and Economic Development, ed. Ernest K. Fisk, Canberra: Australian National Univer-sity Press, 1966, pp. 149–165.

70. D. Kay, “Don’t Allow Muslims in Our Country”, in Post Courier, October 12, 2001, Port Moresby,p. 9.

71. A. Birrel, “Let’s Address the Islam Issue Seriously”, in Post Courier, October 30, 2001, Port Moresby,p. 12.

72. The Pastor explained that his view was based on his observations of Islam’s recent growth in the high-lands of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the reasons for its appeal. The Pastor was attending a pres-entation I gave on Islam in PNG to the State Society and Governance in Melanesia programme at theResearch School of Pacific and Asian Studies, the Australian National University on 21 May 2009.

73. Ibid., p. 99.74. A number of hypotheses explain why Islamic conversion growth is greatest in Port Moresby and the

Highlands provinces and these hypotheses are tested in my forthcoming book by University of HawaiiPress For the sake of illustration here, some of the main reasons for growth are: the influence of globalmedia; greater familial/social dislocation of people in urban areas; a higher rate of Islamic missionaryactivity in these areas; resistance against colonialism/neo-colonialism; and weaker penetration of, andadherence to Christianity in the Highlands (compared to coastal areas) and the greater connectionbetween Islamic beliefs and practices and traditional practices, values and beliefs than with Christianity.

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