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‘Boundless Plains’: Retracing Australian Muslims’ history
A photo exhibition shows the lesser-known connection between Aboriginal people and merchants from Makassar, South Sulawesi, which played a role in bringing Islam to Australia.
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In prayer: The Boundless Plains exhibition highlights the history of Islam in Australia. (The Islamic Museum of Australia /-)
M
uslims make up around 3 percent of the total population in Australia, yet their presence is a part of the country’s vibrant community.
Through a series of photos and a documentary, “Boundless Plains: The Australian Muslim Connection” at the Jakarta History Museum invites Indonesian visitors to learn about Australian Muslims and the history of Islam in Australia, including the role of Makassar merchants in introducing the religion to the land Down Under.
The photo exhibition, running until Tuesday, reveals that the Makassar merchants were trading with the Aborigine population in the 18th century until the post-World War II migration boom from Europe.
The exhibition is part of the Boundless Plains project, which followed four Australian Muslims on a journey across the country in 2011 to retrace the history of Islam in Australia. The project was led by Moustafa Fahour, the cofounder of the Islamic Museum of Australia.
“The Boundless Plains exhibition was four of the Museum’s friends on an expedition to track Australian Muslim history,” Ali Fahour, Moustafa’s brother and also the museum’s cofounder, told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta recently.
“It’s a rich history that contributed so much to Australia and had a strong Islamic connection to Makassar.”
The decision to share the journey of Australian Muslims to Indonesia comes naturally, with Indonesia being one of Australia’s closest neighbors as well as the most populous Muslim-majority country in the world. Ali also noted that the Makassar trading was the first real connection the Aboriginal population had to the outside world.
