Abstract

Emigration from Bosnia-Herzegovina to New Zealand invariably affects, and often undermines, the core religious practices and affiliations of Slavic Muslims. Research suggests that most of these immigrants and refugees have subsumed a key feature of their unique Balkan heritage in order to integrate into mainstream society, the Anglo-European population in this predominantly Protestant-Christian nation in the South Pacific. My study aims to elucidate this historic phenomenon through an exploration of multiple biographies of several working class persons, within the context of the wider picture of Bosnian settlement here. This essay asks: to what degree does personal motivation appear to influence participation in the wider, shared spiritual tradition of Islam in a minority societal context? Predicated on a review of the available literature, my research suggests a complex socio-economic bricolage. Through a case study design my analysis demonstrates that most Bosnian immigrants and refugees over the twentieth century were more concerned with tangible material objectives than theological principles or goals. These results indicate that, overall, religion played less of a role in their private and public lives historically compared to Asian and African immigrants and refugees. On this basis, it is suggested that in future Muslim social and religious organisations based in Bosnia make greater efforts to liaise with their diaspora populations even at these further-most edges of the earth and provide better spiritual leadership. Further research is necessary to identify other aspects that could strengthen Bosnian Muslim culture outside Europe.

Highlights

  • The intention of this essay is to outline a short history of the Bosnian Muslim minority in New Zealand, from the earliest recorded evidence in the 1900s to the present

  • Bosnian Muslims comprise a small minority within the total New Zealand Muslim congregation, their significance for a fuller comprehension of Islam in New Zealand is greater than their numbers suggest

  • Overall the New Zealand Muslim minority is exceptionally diverse in character, ethnicity, employment, education and geographic spread – making succinct generalisations about the evolving associations and relationships, and

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Summary

Introduction

The intention of this essay is to outline a short history of the Bosnian Muslim minority in New Zealand, from the earliest recorded evidence in the 1900s to the present. Bosnian Muslims comprise a small minority within the total New Zealand Muslim congregation, their significance for a fuller comprehension of Islam in New Zealand is greater than their numbers suggest. It is possible that some scholars will note that it is near to impossible to write a compressive history of the Bosnian Muslims here because there are so few. According to this logict, there is insufficient material available to reveal anything truly profound or to make useful insights about the wider Muslim community because the Slavic Muslims (as physiological Europeans) are un-typical of the racial or ethnic minority experience of Islam in this land. The term ‘Bosnian Muslim’ is a broad term I will use broadly here to cover Slavic Muslims from Bosnia, Herzegovina, and the Sandžak of Novi Pazar (a distinctive former Ottoman district currently divided between Serbia and Montenegro), and all territories often referred to as the former lands of Yugoslavia excluding Macedonia. Unless otherwise indicated, I will use the term Bosnia to include both the lands of both Bosnia and Herzegovina (for more see: Malcom, 1994; Morrison and Roberts, 2013; Pačariz, 2016)

Background
MS Goya
Second Wave of Migrants

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