(10 October, National Day)
Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean .
Its closest neighbors are Vanuatu to the west, France's New Caledonia to the
southwest, New Zealand to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoa, France's
Wallis to the northeast and Tuvalu to the north. The country comprises an
archipelago of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited,
and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of circa 18,300 square
kilometers (7,100 sq mi). The furthest island is Onu-i-Lau. The two major
islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost
850,000. The former contains Suva, the capital and largest city. Most Fijians,
i.e. three-quarters, live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller
urban centers like Nadi (tourism) or Lautoka (sugar cane industry). Viti Levu's
interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain.
Fiji was settled before or around 3500 to 1000 BC. It is believed that the
Lapita people or the ancestors of the Polynesians settled the islands first but
not much is known of what became of them after the Melanesians arrived; they may
have had some influence on the new culture, and archaeological evidence shows
that they would have then moved on to Tonga, Samoa and even Hawaii. The first
settlements in Fiji were started by voyaging traders and settlers from the west
about 5000 years ago. Aspects of Fijian culture are similar to Melanesian
culture to the western Pacific but have stronger connection to the older
Polynesian cultures. Across 1000 kilometers from east to west, Fiji has been a
nation of many languages. Fiji's history was one of settlement but also of
mobility. Over the centuries, a unique Fijian culture developed. Fijians today
regard those times as "na gauna ni tevoro" (time of the devil). The ferocity of
the cannibal lifestyle deterred European sailors from going near Fijian waters,
giving Fiji the name Cannibal Isles; in turn, Fiji was unknown to the rest of
the outside world.
The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman visited Fiji in 1643 while looking for the Great
Southern Continent. Europeans settled on the islands permanently beginning in
the 19th century. The first European settlers to Fiji were beachcombers,
missionaries, whalers and those engaged in the then booming sandalwood and
bêche-de-mer trade.
The British subjugated the islands as a colony in 1874, and the British brought
over Indian contract laborers to work on the sugar plantations. The British
granted Fiji independence in 1970. Democratic rule was interrupted by two
military in 1987 because the government was perceived as dominated by the
Indo-Fijian (Indian) community. The second 1987 coup saw the Fijian monarchy and
the Governor General replaced by a non-executive president, and the country
changed the long form of its name from Dominion of Fiji to Republic of Fiji (and
to Republic of the Fiji Islands in 1997). The coups and accompanying civil
unrest contributed to heavy Indo-Fijian emigration; the population loss resulted
in economic difficulties but ensured that Melanesians became the majority and
Fiji was re-admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations.
The population of Fiji is mostly made up of native Fijians, who are Melanesians
(54.3%), although many also have Polynesian ancestry, and Indo-Fijians (38.1%),
descendants of Indian contract laborers brought to the islands by the British
colonial powers in the 19th century. The percentage of the population of
Indo-Fijian descent has declined significantly over the last two decades due to
migration for various reasons. The Fiji coup of 2000provoked a violent backlash
against the Indo-Fijians for a time. There is also a small but significant group
of descendants of indentured laborers from the Solomon Islands. About 1.2% are
Rotuman—natives of Rotuma Island, whose culture has more in common with
countries such as Tonga or Samoa than with the rest of Fiji. There are also
small, but economically significant, groups of Europeans, Chinese, and other
Pacific island minorities. The total membership of other ethnic groups of
Pacific Islanders is about 7,300. Relationships between ethnic Fijians and
Indo-Fijians at a political level have often been strained, and the tension
between the two communities has dominated politics in the islands for the past
generation. The level of political tension varies between different regions of
the country. Indigenous Fijians are mostly Christian, and the Indo-Fijians are
mostly Hindu or Muslim although a small minority are Christian. The breakdown is
Christian 64.5%, Hindu 27.9%, Muslim 6.3%, Sikh 0.3%, other or unspecified 0.3%,
none 0.7%. There is also a small Jewish population. Every year the Israeli
Embassy organizes a Passover celebration with approximately 100 people
attending. Fiji's culture is a rich mosaic of Indigenous Fijian, Indo-Fijian,
Asian and European traditions, comprising social polity, language, food,
costume, belief systems, architecture, arts, craft, music, dance and sports.
Fiji, endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, is one of the more
developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with a large subsistence
sector. Natural resources include timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil and
hydropower. Fiji experienced a period of rapid growth in the 1960s and 1970s but
stagnated in the 1980s.
By the end of the 19th century, Islam was firmly established in Fiji. Muslim
migrants preserved Islam within their families for generations after the first
ship brought Indian indentured laborers to Fiji in 1879. The first Indentured
Laborer ship, the Leonidas, had quite a high proportion (22%) of Muslims.
Between 1879 and 1916, a total of 60,553 laborers were brought to Fiji from
India under the Indentured Laborer system. While, with the loss of the caste
system, Hindus did not have any institution binding them together, the Muslim
faith was affected little by travel to a far off land, although the community
initially suffered from a lack of mosques and religious scholars. The Muslim
community was able to preserve their religious rites, practices and festivals,
but under the harsh reality of the indenture system, it was difficult to pray
five times a day and observe the full fast of Ramadan due to the slavish labor
conditions imposed upon them. Muslims had retained their social system and
religious life was showing signs of revival.
Muslims played a significant part in protests against the Indentured Labor
system. In 1907, a group of Indo-Fijians went on strike after being forced to
work on the cane plantations, whereas on recruitment they had been promised jobs
as policemen. Muslims who were literate and sufficiently versed in Islamic
teachings to assume leadership roles and to lead prayers. Prayer meetings,
initially in homes, helped foster an Islamic identity and inculcated a sense of
unity. The arrival of Mulla Mirza Khan, as a free-immigrant in 1898, was a boost
to Islam in Fiji, as he contributed a lot to the educational and religious needs
of the Muslims. In 1900 a mosque was built in Navua on land provided by the Fiji
Sugar Company, a small mosque and school was built in Nausori on land provided
by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, and another mosque was built in Labasa
in 1902. In 1909, Muslims made submissions to the Education Commission for Urdu
to be taught in the Persian script to their children. In 1915, the Anjuman
Hidayat ul-Islam petitioned the government for the solemnization of Muslim
marriages by a kazi and recommended its secretary's appointment for the Suva
area. In Lautoka, the Isha Ithul Islam emerged, and in 1916 and was directing
its efforts towards building a mosque there. The Fiji Muslim League has been
involved in education in Fiji. Their first school, the Islamic Girls School,
already existed in 1926 and is now known as Suva Muslim Primary School. Today,
the Fiji Muslim League owns and operates 17 primary and 5 secondary schools,
plus a tertiary institution known as the Islamic Institute of the South Pacific.
The Fiji Muslim League accepts students and staff members of all ethnic and
religious groups, not just Muslims. The Fiji Muslim League provides help for
tertiary studies for needy Muslims through loans from its Education Trust and
the Islamic Development Bank. Besides education, the Fiji Muslim League from its
outset has attempted to assist in satisfying all the social needs of the Muslim
community. Its involvement in social welfare is both at national and branch
levels. In times of natural disasters or turmoil the Fiji Muslim League directly
helps Muslims and non-Muslims alike whose homes and lives have been disrupted.
Its charity work ensures many families are fed, clothed, housed, and children
sent to school.
Since 1929, the Fiji Muslim League has sought to obtain separate representation
for Muslims in the Legislative Council, and in Parliament (both the House of
Representatives and the Senate) since 1970. Except for the period between 1932
and 1937, Muslims have been represented well in Fiji's Parliament. From 1937 to
1963, at least one Muslim was always nominated into the Legislative Council out
of a total of five Indo-Fijian representatives. Thus Muslims were represented by
20% of the Indo-Fijian members in the Legislative Council when they formed
approximately 15% of the Indo-Fijian population. In the expanded Legislative
Council of 1963, a Muslim, Mohammad Sidiq Koya was elected for the first time,
and Muslims held 2 of the 6 (33%) seats reserved for Indo-Fijians. (The other
Muslim was nominated member, C.A. Shah). In the 1966 election, 4 of the 12 (33%)
Indo-Fijian members were Muslims. These were Sidiq Koya, C.A. Shah, and Mohammed
Towahir Khan for the Federation Party and Abdul Lateef for the Alliance Party.
The Muslim Political Front was formed to advance Muslim political rights, and in
1966, it joined the newly formed Alliance Party. Voting trends have shown that
most Muslims have always voted for the party best representing Indo-Fijian
community, showing that their political aspirations are not different from the
other 84% of the Indo-Fijian community.