Abdullah Drury –
Eid Al Fitr is a period of happiness and devotion for Muslims around the world.
The daily fasting of Ramadan ends and the Zakat Al Fitr charity is distributed.
We have read and recited the entire Holy Quran, and reflected on those ancient words of wisdom to improve our faith in God.
However, one should not be self-righteous or smug.
Ramadan has also been an opportunity to reflect on the past and the lessons therein.
Last month we saw the 20th anniversary of the massacre of 8000 Muslim men at Srebrenica in Bosnia and that appalling 1995 tragedy serves as a permanent reminder to us all of the intense frailty of human life and experience.
Obtuse connection
There is a slightly obtuse New Zealand connection to Bosnia-Herzegovina that the local Muslim community should reflect upon today, as we believe Bosnian Muslims formed the first congregational Islamic Jamaat (Assembly) in this country over one hundred years ago.
In 1904, several Muslim men from Herzegovina arrived in Auckland from Sydney on board a ship named ‘Zealandia.’
They appear to have entered with a number of (Roman Catholic) Dalmatians and were led by one Mustafa Fetagic who was travelling with his brothers Ahmed and Abdullah.
‘Gum Diggers’
The customs agent who wrote up the passenger list identified the men as ‘Armenians’ and ‘Gum Diggers,’ and their surnames were spelt, in cursive script, in a myriad of ways.
Hadziahmetovic (the son of Hajji Ahmed) for example is spelt Hadriakmetovich.
Fortunately, National Archives have retained a card-indexed list of kauri gum license registers and we know that in December 1904 these Muslim pioneers started to dig for gum in Aratapu and Kaihu, near Dargaville in Northland.
In 1907 two of these 13 Herzegovinian men were called to give evidence at the Dargaville Court and were asked to remove their fezes.
As we recall, pious Muslim men used to wear their fezes quite devoutly in this era.
These Muslim pioneers to New Zealand complied with the law of the land but their group leader, Mustafa Fetagic, took the issue to their diplomatic representative who then wrote a formal letter on September 27, 1907 to the New Zealand Justice Minister.
It was formally requested that “Herzegovinians of Mohammedan religion be allowed to appear in Court in dress prescribed by their religion.’
The Ministry replied in the affirmative, presumably making it legal to wear a fez inside a New Zealand Court to this day.
Hard evidence
The evidence suggests these men left New Zealand after 1909. Mustafa Fetagic lived in Queensland for several years and Mustafa Road in Bellenden is named after him.
He returned to Bosnia and served as an Imam at Gracanica where he died in 1943.
This group of men left no legacy in the sense of building a mosque or names on the topography (or descendants and so forth) in New Zealand.
However, I believe that we can safely assume that such a religious collection of men and brothers, living and working close together, determined to exhibit their understanding of Islam by wearing the fez resolutely, must have prayed together.
Primary Duty
Eid Al Fitr, the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal, prompts us in our primary duty to worship the Almighty as best we can. Modern civilisation is to some extent built upon a cult of money and power but recent events across the planet remind us that this may be inherently unstable or even destructive and needs to be tempered by the spiritual wisdom of Islam.
For most Muslims, the last four weeks were not merely an abstention from food and drink but also a serious spiritual exercise emphasising patience and self-discipline.
We have sharpened our personal spiritual focus during Ramadan and now our lives should be guided by these pious qualities for the rest of the year.
We ponder the experiences and examples of history and learn.
Prayer and the Holy Quran remains our primary guide within the omnishambles of contemporary life.
Hajji Abdullah Drury is the author of ‘Islam in New Zealand’ based in Hamilton.
Further Reading: Fikret Karcic, ‘Prvi Bošnjaci na Novom Zelandu,’ Oslobođenje (April 4, 2015), Page 29.
Photo :
- Eid Al Fitr celebrations in Christchurch (File Photo)
- Hamilton Gardens hosts Eid for Waikato Muslims (File Photo)
