Conversion to Islam in Papua New Guinea

Preserving Traditional Culture against Modernity’s Cargo-Cult Mentality

Scott Flower

ABSTRACT: Papua New Guinea is famous for its religious diversity, innovation, and role as the intellectual home of the ‘‘cargo-cult.’’ Contrary to the dominant contemporary trend toward localized and syncretized forms of Christianity, one of the fastest-growing new religious movements in Papua New Guinea is the not so ‘‘new’’ religion of Islam. From 2000–2012, the Muslim convert population grew more than 1,000 percent, and data from fieldwork between 2007 and 2011 suggests that globalization factors, especially missionaries and media, are contributing to increased conversion rates. Transition from traditional life to modernity is sparking a range of social and personal crises leading people to search for new religions more closely aligned with traditional, local,

cultural and material dimensions. This makes future conversion growth in Papua New Guinea likely.

KEYWORDS: Islam, religious conversion, globalization, cargo cult, kastom

Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, Volume 18, Issue 4, pages 55–82. ISSN 1092-6690 (print), 1541-8480. (electronic).  2015 by The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press’s Rights and Permissions website, at http://www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintinfo.asp. DOI: 10.1525/nr.2015.18.4.55.

Nova Religio apua New Guinea (PNG) in many respects is a country ideally

P standings of their world and facilitated interest in religious alternatives.

suited to new religious movements. The effects of globalization 1 since colonization have destabilized individual and group under-

PNG is famous for its proliferating new religious movements, which are ‘‘transitional in nature’’ and often referred to as ‘‘cargoist, revitalizing, nativist or just plain new.’’ 2

The recent growth of Islam in PNG is unique when compared to that of other Pacific countries. Unlike in Fiji, New Caledonia or Indonesian Papua, the growth of the PNG Muslim population is not linked to mass migration of born Muslims. Rather, the conversion to Islam by indigenous Papua New Guineans has led to an approximate 1,000 percent increase in the PNG Muslim population, from 476 at the beginning of the new millennium to more than 5,000 by 2012. 3

Two globalization factors—missionaries and media—have strongly influenced Islamic growth in PNG. Media coverage appears to have had the greater effect by raising local awareness of an alternative to Christianity. The rapid growth of Islam correlates strongly with the spike in media reporting on Islam and Muslims in PNG following the 11 September 2001 (‘‘9/11’’) attacks on the United States along with a significant increase in the number of foreign Muslim missionaries visiting the

country. 4 Conversions, however, usually are cemented through person-to- person Islamic missionary efforts. In fact, 75 percent of the 73 converts

I interviewed between 2007 and 2011 5 claimed that interactions with missionaries were among the most influential reasons for their conversion. Missionaries in PNG are exclusively Sunni and belong to the trans- national Islamic revivalist group known as the Tablighi Jamaat, or Jamaat al-Tablighi. These missionaries are residents or citizens of Australia, predominantly from Sydney and Melbourne, and mostly of Pakistani, Indian or Bangladeshi origin. 6

There is a general consensus that dramatic religious change in PNG is underway partly as a response to a range of crises resulting from globalization. 7 The scale of religious change in PNG is large. The most notable trend is the declining popularity of mainline Christian churches (Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and United Church), dominant during the colonial period but now declining in real terms. Over the same period (1996–2000), conversions to more fundamentalist Pentecostal,

evangelical and charismatic Christian churches 8 have increased from

14.2 percent to over 35 percent, and other revivalist forms of syncretized religion such as cargo cults have grown as well. 9 Papua New Guineans often publicly declare theirs to be a Christian country, which seems reasonable: available statistics show over 96 percent of the total popula-

tion is affiliated with a Christian sect. 10 This effectively pits Christianity against any other religion. In the past, the government opposed formal recognition of Islam and the religion’s institutionalization. 11 Today,

Flower: Conversion to Islam in Papua New Guinea despite the government threatening to ban Islam and a range of preju-

dice and even violence against new Muslim converts, 12 indications suggest that Islamic conversion growth rates will persist. All the fieldwork participants discussed in this article are indigenous Papua New Guineans and converts to Sunni Islam (no Shia Muslims were discovered). They were interviewed using a standardized pre-set questionnaire to enable analysis of response variation. Interviews fol- lowed a verbal information and consent process, with most held in pri- vate rooms at local Islamic centers in Port Moresby and Lae, as well as in rural centers. Interviewees were self-selecting in that they requested to

be interviewed following my formal introduction as a researcher by local senior Muslims. There are two predominant themes among the narratives of indigenous converts to Islam presented here. First, all 73 converts I interviewed stated that Muslim beliefs and practices were closer to their traditional custom (kastom) than Christianity, and this was the main reason for conversion to Islam. A large number also believed that their ancestors must have been Muslim prior to colonization and the adoption of Christianity; and, in alignment with research by Aloysius Pieris and Dornal Dorr, they based this assertion on the claim that traditional religious perspectives were much closer in similarity to Islam despite Christianity sharing some similarities with traditional religion. 13 Second, they viewed Islam as a well-established global religion that provides a means of countering the failure of Christianity and cargo cults to deliver material or social prosperity.

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW, AND BACK TO THE OLD

Papua New Guinea has a population of more than 6.5 million and is predominantly comprised of people of Melanesian descent, with a small minority having Micronesian or Polynesian heritage. PNG is a highly fractioned country with more than 800 known indigenous languages and three official languages—English, Tok Pisin (Pidgin) and Hiri Motu. Approximately 85 percent of the population continues to live traditional, village-based lives dependent on subsistence and small cash-crop agriculture. The remaining 15 percent live relatively modern urban lives in Port Moresby, Lae, Madang, Wewak, Goroka, Mount Hagen and Kokopo. 14

The eastern half of the island was effectively undisturbed by European intrusion until 1884, which commenced a ninety-year period of colonial influence starting with Germans and British in the northern and southern coastal areas respectively. Australia was handed the terri- tory of British Papua by Britain in 1906 and took possession of the

Nova Religio German colony of New Guinea using military force at the outset of

World War I. Japan and the United States took part of the country during World War II. In 1946 the United Nations approved Australia’s administration of the island, which continued into the early 1960s. Between 1962 and 1973 there was an incremental transition from direct colonial rule to representative self-government, with the country finally becoming independent on 16 September 1975.

Inventing Kastom

A congruence of belief, value, symbol and ritual in PNG traditional religions facilitated Papua New Guineans’ conversion to Christianity, suggesting cultural congruence was a major factor leading to conversions to Islam in PNG today. This view assumes that religious concepts and emotions are more difficult to relate to when a convert lacks specific

religious tradition or cultural conditioning. 15 Knowledge of traditional religion and a strong familiarity with Christian religious concepts is more likely to facilitate conversion to Islam. Particularly important is a convert’s comparison of Christianity—shared reverence for God’s Word in holy books (the Old Testament and Gospels), prophets (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, on through to Jesus), and religious messages and similar historical narratives in Christianity and Islam. This finding is not surprising given that converts to fundamentalist Christian sects in Melanesia often have good knowledge of the Christian Bible, with many people able to cite numerous passages directly. 16

These factors immediately legitimize Islam as a religious alternative but, unlike mainline Christianity, Islam has clear and explicit social practices similar to traditional religion and culture in PNG, and congruence in these aspects is particularly important. There are similarities between each of the four religious orientations discussed here—traditional, mainline/colonizing Christianity, Pentecostal/Evangelical Christianity, and Islam. The differences among them, however, are more

important, 17 including their systematic ordering of power, and the iden- tification and moral relevance of power in managing both the beneficial and dangerous aspects of human life. 18

Importantly for theory, and in support of the view of Clifford Geertz, 19 Islamic conversion in PNG involves people from particular antecedent religious cultures thinking about imported ideas that a religion such as Islam brings. The PNG case also supports Robin W. G Horton’s view that conversions occur within a dynamic contextual superstructure of religious change that can be understood only in terms of existing tendencies in

a specific changing society. 20 Muslim converts’ expectations of their new religion parallel the expectations of their old religion, 21 and in this light

a statement from 32-year-old convert Imran highlights the importance of

Flower: Conversion to Islam in Papua New Guinea cultural congruence: ‘‘The difference is that Islam brings us back to

our traditional values like our forefathers, and [Muslims] practice with respect for customs and traditions, and this is what makes me become Muslim.’’ 22

While religious and cultural congruence cannot be over-emphasized,

a degree of caution must be exercised in generalizing about the variety of religious beliefs and cultural practices deeply ingrained through orally transmitted traditions in Papua New Guinea—kastom—that shape religious meaning, ritual and conversion. Many researchers argue that conversion will not occur unless it corresponds with the convert’s preexisting ideas about truth or meaning, with new beliefs being under-

stood through the old. 23 In this sense continuity is a central referent of tradition. 24 Joel Robbins has argued that the issue of continuity in religious belief and practice is under-theorized in respect to Christianity; however, the importance of tradition and continuity of practice referred to as sunna is much stronger in Islam, reflected in the greater volume of research on traditions within Islam. 25

The body of literature on religion and culture in PNG is large, diverse and highly complex, and retrospective analyses of kastom risk romanti- cizing the traditional past. 26 Without descending into a comprehensive treatment of PNG religion and culture, I examine only those elements of congruence in the religious and cultural literature relevant to understanding Islamic conversion. 27

For many years, scholars of PNG constructed an ideal type of traditional religion that failed to represent the diversity of religious practice and belief during colonization. 28 Despite the need to recognize irregu- larities in PNG religious patterns, however, many ritual forms are con- sistently present throughout most of PNG, such as strict relational prohibitions (men/women, kin, marriage), funerary practices, and behavioral regulations (food, hunting and other social mores). Although changes to traditional religions occurred prior to colonization, the more distinctive features of existing traditional religions per-

sist. 29 Research continues to show many common themes across tribal religions in PNG, including some aspects of tribal law, initiatory rituals, and cyclical celebrations. 30 I argue that these general features—more congruent with Islam than with Christianity—appear to be facilitating contemporary conversions to Islam.

LESSONS FROM THE DISSEMINATION OF CHRISTIANITY IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Many share the view that traditional religion in PNG changed its outward appearance under the influence of Christianity but retained many of its original beliefs by adaptation and transformation. 31

Nova Religio Though the practice of most traditional rituals ceased with the arrival of

Christianity and some new beliefs were adopted, most analysts see the underlying spirituality of Christianity as rooted in the primal cosmology 32

associated with traditional religion. 33 A cosmology is not pulled out of the air to suit the convenience of a community but rather is conditioned by its unique history of social and psychological dimensions. 34 To understand this situation and why Islam is attracting converts, one must examine the way that locals took up Christianity and how Christian missionaries promoted it.

Apart from material influences discussed below, Christianity was received with enthusiasm because it was seen by many indigenous converts as a name for the religion they already knew. 35 People viewed Christian knowledge as having belonged to their own ancient traditions handed down before the arrival of Europeans. 36

The colonization of PNG, while confronting for locals, was reasonably limited in scale. Apart from coastal areas, colonial rule inland was relatively shallow, and many highland regions were only formally colo- nized in the 1930s and 1940s. From the late-nineteenth century, Christian missions played a major role in pacifying and influencing the indigenous peoples. Colonial officials ruled in ways that often were personal and violent rather than bureaucratic, but their power and territo- rial reach was relatively limited. 37

Christian missionaries were not in a position, and did not aim, to remove or destroy the entire traditional religious culture; rather, they endowed ‘‘preexisting traditions with Christian meaning,’’ colloquially referred to as ‘‘grafting the new vine to old, well established roots and

stumps.’’ 38 Christian churches simultaneously and deliberately put a stop to many traditional religious rituals, but they drew selectively from traditional religious beliefs and concepts to enhance their own evangeliz-

ing, particularly among highland cultures. 39 Christian missionaries were advised to make greater use of the Old Testament as being more relevant to the cycle of seasons for Melanesians, who lived close to the soil. 40 Missionaries in Melanesia continue to integrate Christian beliefs into traditional cosmologies. 41

Religious and Cultural Congruence Islam and Christianity share certain beliefs (monotheism, heaven

and hell, a coming Endtime), but they differ on crucial doctrinal issues. Converts see some Islamic beliefs and practices as more congruent with traditional social and religious practices, especially Islam’s requirement for daily practice of custom and ritual as against simply living by faith.

Flower: Conversion to Islam in Papua New Guinea This makes Islam particularly attractive in the context of widespread

confusion about religion and social chaos in PNG. Traditional religions in Papua New Guinea were not centered on issues such as how to come to terms with the sinful nature of human beings. Rather, salvation was seen as fulfillment in every aspect of life— health, success, fertility, respect, honor or influence over others. Ultimately, salvation was the absence of negative forces including sickness,

death, defeat, infertility or poverty. 42 In Islam, more than in Christianity, ‘‘the quality of the relationship with God depends on fulfillment of duties by the follower, and the practice of ritual, the following of Islamic custom,

and the observance of Islamic law (Sharia).’’ 43 If mainline churches continue to be perceived as failures in delivering social order and prosperity, the greater congruence of Islam with kastom may lead to increased conversions to Islam. This prediction fits the broader religious trend in PNG for people to move to stricter Pentecostal and evangelical forms of Christianity.

In the interviews converts mentioned many aspects of congruence between Islam and kastom in Papua New Guinea. The most strongly evi- dent included: belief in a monotheistic God, religion as an integrated element of life, and strict rules of law and justice. The most overarching similarity was that Islam, like kastom, was a ‘‘complete way of life’’ with detailed rules governing religious and social conduct. According to Saeed,

a 24-year-old male: ‘‘Islam gives perfect guidelines for life, like if I want to get married and how I should raise my kids up. Everything is there; it’s like

a manual to human beings. All that we need is there in Islam.’’ 44 Islamic scholarship and the Qur’an verify the similarities claimed to exist between Islam and kastom. 45 Figure 1 shows the aspects of religious and cultural practices in order of most frequent mention in the interviews as being closer to Islam, and/or not promoted, accepted or approved by Christianity or Western ways:

Belief in one God Strict laws on punishment, conflict (i.e. ‘‘payback’’) Food, fasting, feasts and sacrifices Rules of gender segregation, marriage (including polygamy) Worship and prayer Status symbols such as beards, circumcision Familial dimensions (roles, responsibilities and respect for family, parents,

elders, clan)

Figure 1. Religious and Cultural Aspects of Congruence.

Nova Religio

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL CRISES FACILITATING CONVERSION

History provides numerous examples of how religion can influence members of a society to adhere to values, principles and rules deemed appropriate for a specific social entity. 46 In societies where religion and culture are more unified, evidence suggests that criminal and deviant behavior is significantly lower despite (in many cases) a lack of Western

institutions such as police and courts. 47 In this sense, it appears rational and logical that PNG converts believe that conversion to a strong religion such as Islam is a means of returning to previous religious values and attaining order.

Importantly, most ‘‘Papua New Guineans don’t necessarily want

a merciful god . . . they want a powerful god who has the power to secure happiness for the follower on earth.’’ 48 Islam possesses a defined and strict approach to life and promotes salat (prayer) five times daily to ‘‘prevent the commitment’’ of evil, ‘‘prohibit obscenity, wickedness and evil,’’ and help followers ‘‘be free from all diseases’’ and make them

‘‘healthy and strong.’’ 49 This view is supported to a degree by empirical evidence suggesting that rates of violence and overall crime are lower where larger proportions of the population are actively religious and apply religious moral values that deter followers from engaging in deviant behavior. 50

Weak laws and, more specifically, weak law enforcement in PNG are stimulating widespread public demands for the introduction of stricter laws with more severe punishments. This sentiment, based on the cultural tradition of ‘‘payback,’’ is leading even non-Muslims to call for Islamic law. Speaking in Parliament in 2007, Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare pointed to rapidly increasing problems maintaining law and order:

Our societies are now deteriorating and attitudes of the people are changing. For those people who pack rape [gang rape], we should bring in the legislation to impose mandatory corporal punishment of public flogging. Muslims are doing it and it works. We pretend to go for church services with our Bibles but we still tell lies. I think it is time we got tough. Capital punishment and public flogging should be exercised now or we should give life sentences to serious lawbreakers. Thieves should have their hands chopped off. 51

PNG newspapers occasionally run stories about alleged Islamic punishments meted out in countries where sharia is applied to serious offenses. Sharia takes many forms, and ulama (Islamic scholars) frequently do not oversee the most extreme manifestations. Papua New Guineans calling for sharia enforcement for non-Muslims want stricter punishments, which they believe characterize Islamic countries (regardless of whether such punishments are actually Islamic, meaning based on Qur’an and

Flower: Conversion to Islam in Papua New Guinea sharia). Numerous letters to editors of national newspapers I have read in

archives in Papua New Guinea suggest that awareness of and support for strict Islamic laws in PNG appear to be reasonably widespread among both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Some in PNG specifically request Mosaic laws while others call for sharia laws, both of which are straightforward and demand compliance.

One letter to the editor suggested, ‘‘six Saudis should be brought to PNG to mete out the punishments.’’ 52 This general view was shared by most Muslim converts I interviewed, including Yusuf, a 48-year-old male:

In PNG the law is very weak. Killing is there, raping is there, adultery is there but they don’t impose the laws. Under Islamic law you know everything will improve. The country will be peaceful because if somebody steals they cut off his hand. The people will know that if I steal I will lose my hand so the stealing will stop. 53

In May 2013 the PNG government responded to public support for harsher punishments by reinstating the death penalty. 54 Some Muslim converts believe that increasing crime and social chaos are the result of political crisis resulting from external influences. The need for religion to resolve this crisis was clearly expressed by 24-year-old convert Abu Bakr:

Australia came here and brought their law. The law was written by Australians themselves because at the time we didn’t have any lawyers. ... They came in and said, Somare, you’re going to be signing and be the first Prime Minister. Our laws were designed by somebody from outside, so we have problems. I look at Islamic sharia and as I studied sharia and looked at Muslim countries and I discovered that it’s different. For example here in PNG, we have the political integrity bill but this doesn’t really work. It just protects the interests of political leaders. Sharia will not just protect the interests of any leader. Everybody . . . is equal in sharia. It is the lawful court of Allah himself. Because when people make laws for the country, they do it in the interests of their leader. 55

Another form of social crisis prompting conversions is the loss of respect for parents and elders. For many years, tribal leaders have spo- ken of deteriorating cooperation and social control of youth. 56 Islam has very strict rules on how one should treat parents, relatives, elders, dis- tinguished persons and even non-Muslims. 57 According to Saeed: ‘‘In The Ideal Muslim [a book distributed by missionaries] it makes clear that your neighbor has rights over you, your wife has rights over you, your kinsman has rights over you. You have to balance this in life.’’ 58

The perceived degradation of tradition is also apparent with regard to gender equality. Prior to colonization, all PNG tribal groups practiced strict gender segregation. Women had distinct roles with limited agency in family and social groups, especially in the strongly patriarchal highlands. Bride price and polygyny were common, and women, who were

Nova Religio seen as chattel to be owned by men, came third in importance to men

after pigs and land. Christian promotion of women’s equality (i.e. changes to marriage law, polygyny, and gender segregation) has disor- iented traditional gender relations and is seen by many male converts as

a major cause of social problems such as increased promiscuity, premar- ital sex, rape, increased sexual disease and domestic violence. According to Mikail, a 36-year-old male:

In our kastom the girl stays with the parents and family and we give them a man to marry. They don’t go to disco or public places and that’s why our traditional customs are important. Before, a woman had to be a virgin before she got married but today this doesn’t happen. It’s a sad story. Now we have babies with no father, unmarried sex and an AIDS epidemic because we have been weakened by the Western missionaries. 59

All female converts I interviewed saw the removal of gender segregation as a negative effect of Christianity and Western values. For female converts, Islam provides the means to redress this perceived problem, for example for Musinah, a 40-year-old female: ‘‘Wearing hijab can protect women. From my point of view, women’s body is sensitive to men. If men get bad thoughts of woman because of their dressing then it’s not good.’’ 60 Women’s involvement in religion and religious ritual, particularly among

fundamentalist churches, also accentuates this gender crisis. 61 According to 34-year old-Nadia:

I see the job of a woman is different from the men. It’s washing clothes and cooking food and sweeping and cleaning the house, nursing chil- dren. These are all a woman’s job. I cannot go and do man’s work like breaking firewood or building a house or digging a drain, cutting bushes or building house. All these are a man’s job. 62

The Christian emphasis on monogamy in PNG has also damaged the traditional practice of polygyny. Today, men continue to take multiple wives in order to secure cheap labor, extend networks, strengthen inter-group alliances, raise sons to replace them, grow the population, and attain social status. The practice is widespread in the Highlands, and in the Western Highlands province more than 50

percent of all men are polygynists. 63 Half of all converts I interviewed said this contributed to their conversion to Islam. Most churches (particularly Pentecostals, evangelicals and Seventh-day Adventists) insist that only monogamists can join and attend church, although some have a policy of accepting men who already have multiple wives

with the caveat that the men cannot progress to baptism. 64 Despite Christian opposition, polygyny continues to increase in the Highlands

Flower: Conversion to Islam in Papua New Guinea (especially among tribal/clan leaders) and is claimed to be the way of

Highlands ‘‘big-men.’’ Christian opposition to polygyny and its associated guilt and stigma contribute to Islamic conversion for a number of reasons. Denial of having multiple wives limits men’s ability to improve their political and economic position via traditional means, and denying baptism effectively denies followers a path to salvation. Male convert Wassim, age 22, put it this way:

The Christian principle is one-to-one, so [men] can have no more than one [wife] and they oppose polygamy. This is a problem to us, because when you see some places women outnumbered the men and it’s a problem. Nowadays we realize that when Christians avoid women from getting married in polygamy, these women go out and become sexual objects with money, becoming prostitute and lots of problems are related to this. Actually polygamy was already practiced by our ancestors and was a very important part of society. Sexual relations is a right given by almighty God, and our ancestors were well organized and they knew the importance of this by controlling marriage and having polygamy in society it was very peaceful. Sex is a desire like eating, drinking or sleeping. Sex for every adult is a must that needs to be fulfilled so it’s no problem [in Islam]. So when the Christians say you can only marry one wife, lots of problems come now. 65

Personal crises also are significant motivators to conversion. Sixty-nine percent (two women and 34 men) of the Muslim converts I interviewed experienced one or more types of personal crisis prior to conversion, most commonly involving alcohol, drugs and violence. This finding generally aligns with the literature suggesting that most individuals experience

some type of personal turmoil prior to religious conversion. 66 Each form of personal crisis was related in some way to the wider context and appeared to be exacerbated for urban converts in Port Moresby and Lae. For converts in PNG, conversion to Islam helps relieve or manage these personal crises.

According to Ali, age 28: ‘‘I was involved with alcohol and gambling and womanizing, and this creates a lot of problems that I don’t want. This is one reason why I become Muslim.’’ 67 Likewise for Hussein, age

25: ‘‘I was into alcohol and drugs, mostly marijuana. I would stop cars and pull the drivers out. I used to get guns and do bad things.’’ 68 And 35-year-old Ruqaiya explained:

In PNG we are known for domestic violence, and my husband and I used to have domestic violence before. After embracing Islam we changed totally because every day we are praying five times a day and so we don’t do those things. Now my husband never drinks. He used to get angry quickly but now he does not. 69

Nova Religio The Same, But Different

For the converts I interviewed, prior knowledge of Christianity was by far the largest factor in their conversion. A detailed knowledge of Christian theology, doctrine and the Bible meant they already had a con- ceptual framework for understanding Islam, encountering Islamic literature or interacting with Muslims. This influence of religious knowledge was greatest among the nine Muslims who had received formal religious training in Christian churches. Deeper or more detailed knowledge of Christianity heightened their concern and anxiety about Christianity and enabled them to see more theological contradictions or illogical doctrines, further reducing their belief that Christianity was the true religion.

Converts often discussed similarities between the Qur’an and the Bible, such as the prophets, content of the Old Testament, and religious values and principles. As explained by 32-year-old Ibrahim:

When I was young I was [Seventh-day Adventist]. I learned a lot about the Bible, everything SDAs do Bible comes first. . . . When I looked back through the Old Testament I was thinking, Islam is saying this, that there is one true God and nobody can be a partner to God. This is the greatest sin that people do this. A human or anything else should not get the same respect as God himself. . . . It’s the greatest sin but people say Jesus is the one. So I read many books and found out that Islam is true. God gave the Ten Commandments and said put no other god before me as the first one and if there was meant to be other gods then he would have mentioned it in the Ten Commandments, but there is nothing else. 70

Another significant factor was the absence of time constraints. Among the sample population, 70 percent were either unemployed or under-employed at the time of their conversion, meaning they had free time to pursue a new religious option.

MORAL, NOT MATERIAL, PURSUITS: ISLAM AS COUNTER-CARGO CULT

When Europeans arrived in PNG with material and technological wealth, many Papua New Guineans believed either that the new arrivals were their dead ancestors or possessed special religious devotions that gave white people their goods and power. Conversions at the time pri-

marily stemmed from people’s search for material equality. 71 During colonial occupation by the Germans, British and Australians, the people of PNG came into contact with the forces of modernity through Christian missionaries and their provision of schools, hospitals and

churches. 72 This influence during the period of global colonization is

Flower: Conversion to Islam in Papua New Guinea not unique to PNG and Melanesia; the pattern of missions and money

has also been identified as a cause of conversions in much of Africa and Southeast Asia. 73 Accordingly, some argue that locals viewed conversion to Christianity simply as the rot bilong kago 74 (road to cargo or new goods) and converted less for theological reasons than for practical purposes. 75 Based on the literature, some degree of material influence should be expected in all conversions in PNG. Certainly, the rise in Pentecostal popularity in PNG is related partly to the focus on material

wealth and the prosperity gospel. 76 However, it is incorrect to conclude that conversions to Christianity and now Islam are simply opportunistic attempts to obtain cargo. Indeed, for many years scholars have emphasized that PNG new religious movements are not always (or only) cargo- cultist. 77

Materialism, however, holds great attraction for Papua New Guineans, 78 and the relationship between wealth and religion is embed- ded in PNG traditional religious ontology, which sees religion as unified, with no partition between material and spiritual. Traditional lifeways accentuated the importance of religious belief and practice to deliver people from trouble and provide wealth and health ‘‘in the present as

well as in the hereafter.’’ 79 Consequently, many argue that PNG new religious movements should be seen as salvation movements following the responses of traditional cultural and religious sentiments to chang-

ing social, cultural and/or religious environments. 80 In PNG, particularly, conversion to Islam must be examined through this wider lens. Christian churches provide most of the social welfare services in PNG, thus it is reasonable to assume that it would be difficult for people to leave Christianity if these services are accessible only to Christians. Offering material goods as an incentive to convert to a new religion is not an artifact of earlier times. Seventh-day Adventism, the fastest growing Christian denomination in PNG today, draws converts by ‘‘promising

or giving them clothing and money.’’ 81 Over the last twenty years, however, government subsidies to churches have diminished, resulting in

a significant contraction—and in some cases closure—of Christian- operated social welfare services (kago), particularly in provinces (such as Chimbu and Oro) in which Islam is seeing strong growth. 82 This reduction has occurred within the broader context of PNG welfare cut- backs from the late 1990s into early 2000. 83 This coincides with the period leading up to the surge in conversions to Islam that commenced in late 2001. It might be hypothesized that if Muslim groups provide social welfare as part of their proselytizing strategy, conversions to Islam may be likely. My observations of PNG Muslim converts’ socio- economic position confirm that, at least initially, material influences are present.

The range of welfare items that converts seek (and, to a limited degree, receive) includes short-term accommodation, food, cash,

Nova Religio subsidized school fees, potential to travel overseas for Islamic education

or conferences, and very limited healthcare assistance. When I asked converts whether they were converting to Islam for kago, most denied material reasons, even giving the impression that conversions based on material desires carried negative connotations. Yet, comments throughout the interviews (combined with socio-economic backgrounds) suggested that material factors were initially at play. Half of the converts interviewed said material concerns might be a reason why some people convert. Three converts did confess they had converted to Islam for material things—two for food and a place to sleep, and the other for education. Interestingly, all three said that once they converted they realized that material opportunities were limited but decided to remain Muslim because of the teachings and doctrines. This aligns with the view of some PNG converts that the material and spiritual aspects of life are united.

Converts’ family and tribal members reportedly are also intrigued by material aspects and often ask converts what material things Islam provides. During an informal discussion with a group of female converts,

I was told that the provision of social welfare by the Islamic Society of Papua New Guinea was needed (though not yet provided) for converts to practice their dı¯n (religion) effectively.

Despite the initial importance of material factors, for most converts interviewed this motivation declined over time and gave way to an inter- esting paradox. Islam appears to become a coping strategy for many converts through its promotion of material simplicity, economic inde- pendence and self-sufficiency, themes that resonated strongly with converts disappointed in Christians’ ability to meet their material and spiritual expectations. Islam is promoted on the basis that one must work hard to obtain material comfort in the physical world, and that moral concerns are the most important for salvation. In the words of 27-year- old male convert Asad:

I want to live a simple life, just stay simple and do my salat. I must work hard and struggle in order to live. In the hadiths it says you do not stay for nothing. One of the Sahaba [the ‘‘companions’’ who were the first followers of the prophet Muhammad] told a story about a poor man. The Prophet Muhammad gave him money and said buy an axe. When he did the man started chopping firewood and made money which shows we must do whatever we can. We can’t rely on other people and expect things to come, like waiting for cargo. We need to work and be independent. That’s how I am different as a Muslim. 84

Clearly, materiality initially is important to Islamic conversion, but it works in conjunction with the other motivations. When compared to spiritual and cultural factors in the overall PNG context, it is difficult to disentangle and isolate as a cause for conversion.

Flower: Conversion to Islam in Papua New Guinea

DISCUSSION: THEORIES OF RELIGIOUS CONVERSION Traditional tribal societies in Papua New Guinea have undergone an

incalculable degree of cultural, social, political and religious change as

a result of colonization, decolonization and modernity. In precolonial societies, religion was an integral and unifying dimension of an indigenous person’s life, and culture was virtually indistinguishable from religion. 85 The foundations of belief, social order and knowledge in traditional PNG tribal societies have been severely affected by globalization.

Traditional foundations became devalued and began to disappear as

a result of the twin invasions of Christianity and Western modernity. 86 Christian missions, Western education, loss of traditional knowledge, urban migration and its weakening of existing social bonds, improve- ment in women’s status, and traditional wealth and exchange systems have given way to a monetized economy. Inevitably, Christianization and colonization have created tensions between traditional and modern

value systems 87 thereby creating opportunities for religions that offer alternatives. Globalization theories of religious conversion provide numerous examples of how colonization and decolonization, international migration, improved communications and travel have stimulated religious

revival and facilitated the spread of Christianity and Islam. 88 A key claim of globalization theory is that converts are attracted to a different religion because they view it as modern or new, especially if its narrative suits people who feel dispossessed or displaced, or desire spiritual renewal. 89 Indeed, postcolonial theorists argue that earlier conversions to Christianity and Islam in Africa, Asia, and North and South America were a colonization of people’s spirituality by force rather than choice. 90 Christianity was ‘‘installed at the national level in PNG . . . as a tradition- alized state religion by a departing colonial power and local elites under colonial influence,’’ even though Christianity today is ‘‘often used as

a key vehicle for the expression of individual and collective identity and indigenous spirituality.’’ 91 From this perspective, change to the religion instilled through colonization or a syncretic blend of old and new can be anticipated as a form of indigenous resistance and innovation.

It is worth noting here that Islam’s global spread more often targets societies than the state, calling to people’s spiritual needs and ‘‘illustrat- ing multiform expressions of religious practice and discourse that link individuals and groups to larger social movements.’’ 92

Globalization literature and postcolonial theorists seem to downplay the agency of converts in the initial conversion process, presenting them as submissive and passive actors at the mercy of proselytizers of new religious alternatives. Horton’s microcosm/macrocosm framework, however, refutes such one-way causation. His case studies of conversion in Africa offer a nuanced and balanced understanding of the complex

Nova Religio interaction and agency of both proselytizers and converts. The same

globalization processes that brought greater outside interaction and mobility to small, traditional African communities are also expanding the religious reality in PNG. Local understandings of the wider world are being formulated through the expansion of existing myths, symbols and rituals to align local realities with global events and knowledge. 93

The growing body of research that applies globalization theory to the growth of fundamentalist Christianity in PNG suggests that conversions to new religious alternatives is occurring as a result of individuals’ efforts

to understand and explain globalization and modern concepts. 94 These studies in Papua New Guinea align with Horton’s theory and adequately describe how Muslim converts also attempt to reconcile local and global knowledge in a two-way process that allows them to attach local signifi- cance to global events and vice-versa. Based on data obtained through my fieldwork, it appears that in PNG the single biggest effect of global-

ization on religious affiliation has been secularization, 95 which has pierced the ‘‘sacred canopy’’ of religion 96 that previously was the center of social life, resulting in religious culture becoming more diverse and religion losing its social authority.

Despite globalization and secularization, however, many people in PNG still see religion as an integral part of the cultural system, 97 and this fits nicely with Islamic philosophy. Papua New Guinean philosopher Bernard Narokobi (1937–2010) once explained this dominant local perspective, claiming that people in PNG still do not differentiate between religious and non-religious experience and have a total and living

encounter with the universe. 98 This view is shared globally by Muslims; interestingly, pre-Reformation Christianity also held such a view. 99

New Christian Sects The response to secularization in Papua New Guinea has been sim-

ilar to that in most other parts of the world, with a rise in conversions to fundamentalist religions, particularly Christian and Islamic forms, a sce- nario that paradoxically contributes to even greater secularization. 100 As presented in Figure 2, over the last 40 years in PNG there has been a proliferation of new Christian groups, with the number currently exceeding 200. Where it was common for earlier communities in PNG to have only one church, ‘‘today it is quite common for people even of villages in remote areas with populations of fewer than 500 souls to be co-existing with a variety of new religious groups and churches.’’ 101 Figure 2 shows the populations of ‘‘mainline’’ and ‘‘other’’ Christian churches from 1966 to 2000. 102

Unlike coexistence, however, Christian sectarianism is dividing tribes, clans and families, sometimes erupting into violent conflict

Flower: Conversion to Islam in Papua New Guinea

Churches

1990 2000 Mainline Christian

77.8 74.8 68.1 61.2 Churches (percent) [Catholic, Lutheran, United and Anglican]

Other Christian sects 14.2 18.2 27.8 35 (percent) [Evangelical, Pentecostal & localized]

Total percentage of 92 93 95.9 96.2 PNG population who claim Christianity as their religion

3,582,333 5,171,548 Figure 2. Populations of ‘‘Mainline’’ and ‘‘Other’’ Christian Churches in PNG, 1966–2000. involving arson, assault and murder. 103 In the past, some scholars argued

Total PNG population

that Christian churches provided the basis for national unity in PNG, 104 but it is hard to see such unity against a background of increasingly complex divisions. Papua New Guineans themselves commonly hold that

Christianity in PNG is characterized by disunity, bitter inter-denominational conflicts, and the endless intrusion of man-made customs in the praise and veneration of the almighty and that, in the hands of feeble men Christianity has become fragmented into a thousand shards, like rem- nants of a shattered stained glass cathedral window. 105

A number of PNG Christian leaders have highlighted disunity and growing secularization as a major problem, stating that ‘‘churches are highly suspicious of each other and can only find unity in matters that are of no importance one way or another.’’ 106 The most common disputes appear to involve resources, internal religious institutional politics and theological issues. 107 Some PNG church leaders claim sectarianism is increasing because Christian churches are corrupt, 108 while others assert that Christianity should be ‘‘put on trial’’ because ‘‘many who go to church also drink, smoke, and [have] immoral relationships.’’ 109

Theological disputes often stem from conflicting interpretations of the Bible, splitting some of the stronger Christian groups such as the Seventh-day Adventists. 110 This trend occurs in PNG because of the Bible’s growing importance for people. Christianity in Papua New Guinea shares features of fundamentalist Pentecostalism and evangelical Christianity globally in terms of emphasis on the Bible—and its literal interpretation—as the highest religious authority. 111 Bruce M. Knauft has highlighted this tendency of biblical literalism in PNG, quoting

Nova Religio fundamentalist Christian converts as saying, ‘‘the Bible is not just the talk

of the church leaders, but the talk of God himself. You must read the Bible in order to understand.’’ 112 All types of Islam and its four schools of jurisprudence believe the Qur’an is literally the word of Allah (God), and Muslim missionaries in PNG promote this fact as a divine advantage over Christianity. Despite the fundamentalist Christian claim that biblical authors wrote with the finger of God, the primary difference here is that the Christian Bible is comprised of contributions from different human authors whereas the verses of the Qur’an were revealed by a single individual. Even though Qur’anic verses were memorized and written down by a number of persons, another single individual gathered and compiled them to make the Qur’an.

The proliferation of fundamentalist Christian churches in Melanesia may be based on their adherence to ‘‘strict laws that promise individual certainty’’ or provide a ‘‘shortcut to certainty.’’ 113 Knauft has noted that Christian fundamentalism appeals to many in PNG because of its reac- tionary proclamations regarding the global rise of immorality as well as excessive wealth and greed, and the call for personal suffering and abnegation of new ways, which are best described as ‘‘anti-modern rather than modern.’’ 114 Both Joel Robbins and Holger Jebens argue that fundamentalist churches in PNG are notable for their emphasis on self-control, support for certain limited forms of gender equality, and

a very firm rejection of indigenous religious traditions. 115 My fieldwork interviews and reviews of news media in Papua New Guinea support Manfred Ernst’s view suggesting that Islam is appealing and growing at a similar rate to fundamentalist Christian churches for similar reasons. Three-quarters of the converts I interviewed claimed that a major appeal of Islam was its strict rules. Many also mentioned

a desire for widespread conversion to Islam in PNG as a means of bring- ing peace, stability and greater law and order to the country. Like fast-growing fundamentalist Christian churches, Islam has strict prohibitions against alcohol, tobacco and pork, as well as strong norms of worship, Qur’an study programs, (literal) Qur’anic interpretation, and fasting. These laws provide a sense of clarity and security in a changing social environment. In this sense Islam is similar to fundamentalist churches, which are seen as actually practicing religion rather than merely possessing acceptable religious beliefs. Mikail explained this pattern of religious change:

They leave [mainline churches] because they think Pentecostals will avoid [stop] them from things like playing cards, drinking and these sorts of things, not because of the belief, because the belief is the same . . . the Trinity and all that. They go [to Pentecostalism] because they practice their principles and are more strict than Catholic and that’s why they leave [Catholicism]. 116

Flower: Conversion to Islam in Papua New Guinea Muslims in PNG are widely perceived as morally strict and devoutly

religious. Even the Secretary of the PNG Council of Churches has said that ‘‘Christians have much to learn from their Muslim brothers and sisters who display conviction in their faith and an enthusiasm for practicing it.’’ 117

Conversion to Islam in Papua New Guinea