The Land of the Rising Sun – A Trip to the Fiji Islands
(Part 1)
Taken from English translation of ‘Safar dar Safar’ an Urdu travelogue by Hadhrat Maulana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani حفظہ للہ. Translation by Kaiser Nizamani.
(January 2005 / Dhu al-Ḥijjah 1425 AH)
Praise and glory be for that Being who bestowed existence to the universe
and
peace and blessings be upon His Final Messenger (H) who elevated the Truth in the world
If one takes a look at the map of the world, at the extreme eastern edge of the South Pacific Ocean, somewhat northwards from New Zealand, one can see a small dot that is Fiji. It is the only inhabited place in the world that is located on the International Date Line, and the first place in the world where the sun rises. Consisting of more than three hundred small and large islands, I shall inshaAllah mention this peculiarity of this beautiful country in some more detail ahead. Approximately 60,000 Muslims live in this country of 800,000. When I visited Australia last year, the Muslims of Fiji invited me to visit this country. However, I could not undertake the trip here for certain reasons.
About six months ago, Maulana Ghufran of Labasa, Fiji wrote a rather touching letter to me in which he mentioned the conditions in this faraway country, and also informed about the trying hurdles he faced in eventually being able to establish a formal religious institute here. By the grace of Allah, this institute has now blossomed to such a level that classes of dawrat al-ḥadith have been planned from Shawwal 1425 AH, and the students, teachers, and administration of this institute unanimously wished for this lowly one to inaugurate the lessons of dawrat al-ḥadith. I was cognizant of the fact that despite a need, there was no formal religious institute in existence in any of the South Pacific countries, and that competent scholars were extremely few in number here. Therefore, the establishment of a religious institute in any of these countries was a great blessing that should be fully appreciated. I thus accepted his invitation. After several changes to my planned date of travel due to other activities, I eventually departed on this lengthy journey via a Cathay Pacific flight at 1am on the 7th of January 2005. I have undertaken several lengthy journeys in the past, but this was my longest journey by air in terms of total time taken to reach the destination. After taking off at 1am, the plane landed in Bangkok around 6am in the morning. After taking off from here, it landed at Hong Kong airport at 12:30pm. After a two-hour wait here, we boarded another plane of the same airline and landed in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, at 6:30pm. This was a big and beautiful airport adorned with all kinds of modern amenities, and the temperature here was about zero degrees. We had to wait for two hours here as well, wherein we performed maghrib and thereafter ʿisha prayers, and then boarded a Korean Airlines flight. This ten-hour flight was the longest lag of this journey, in which the plane flew over the Pacific Ocean the entire night, and finally landed in Fiji’s Nadi International Airport at nine in the morning. Since Fiji is located to the south of the Equator, December and January are the hottest months here. We experienced chilling winter cold up to Seoul and sweltering summer heat as soon as we alighted from the plane here.
Maulana Ghufran and his companions were present at the airport to receive this lowly one. We had been travelling continuously for more than twenty-five hours, but our journey was not over yet, as our destination was another city in Fiji, Labasa. This was a Friday and we were to depart for Labasa after jumuʿa prayer. During this time, we stayed at the house of our very dear friend Mr Asif. Mr Asif hails from Pakistan and has been staying in Fiji for the past three years, where he is involved in the business of cars. Owing to his religious spirit, he is very well-liked amongst religious circles. Throughout this trip, he took very scrupulous care to keep us comfortable. May Allah Most High recompense him for this. We came back to the airport immediately after Friday prayer and boarded a small Fiji Airways plane at 2:15pm. After a half-hour flight, we landed in Suva, the capital of Fiji. Here, we had to wait for another two hours for the plane flying to Labasa. Two sleepless nights and the prolonged journey made these two hours of waiting almost unbearable. In this situation, Mr Asif called an airconditioned car from his office in Suva and had it parked in the parking lot. I thus got to sleep on its seat for about an hour-and-a-half. I felt relatively refreshed by the time we boarded the plane. Before moving ahead, it is appropriate to give a brief introduction of Fiji:
Fiji is a country comprising 336 islands, some small and some large. However, most of these islands are very small and uninhabited. Two of the islands are larger and most of the country’s population lives on these. The biggest island is Viti, in which the capital city Suva is located. The second-largest city on Viti is Nadi, which is pronounced as “Nahndi” by the locals. Nadi has a big international airport, and therefore most flights to Fiji from all over the world land in Nadi. The airport is located at a distance of about 190 kilometres from the capital city of Suva.
The second large island is Vanua. The biggest city on this island is Labasa, and the tourist town of Savusavu is also located on this island. The indigenous people inhabiting the Fiji Islands since unknown history are called Kaviti. It is popularly believed that they migrated here from Africa. Some historians say that they migrated here from Indonesia. In fact, their appearance seems to have a mixture of African as well as South Asian features. The English say they were barbaric and cannibalistic tribes. When the British arrived here in the 18th century, they conquered these islands and made them their colony.
Several habits of the Kaviti people resemble Islamic culture, such that one begins to wonder if perhaps their ancestors were Muslims at some point in time. They spread a tablecloth on the floor for eating. A peculiarity of their dressing is that their lower garment is worn at mid-calf. Initially, they used to wear a type of loincloth. Nowadays, even men wear a skirt-like dress, but that also reaches to mid-calf. Besides these habits, they are also very hospitable. If someone asks them for something, they consider it reprehensible to refuse him. In short, based on numerous peculiar habits, the local Muslims here reckon they may have been Muslims in the past. And Allah knows best.
According to the census of 1996, this country had a population of 772,655, which must certainly have exceeded 800,000 by now. Presently, 47.6 percent of the population is of Indian ethnicity, of which a majority is Hindu, while about 60,000 are Muslim. The way these ethnic Indians were brought here is an appalling example of the barbarity of British colonialism. When imperial Britain established its rule in this region, they found it very well-suited for cultivating coconut and sugarcane. However, the local populace did not have any experience of cultivating these. The then-governor of Fiji got the idea of bringing in experienced farmers from India (which was a British colony at the time). To this end, a campaign for sending poor Indians to Fiji was launched in Madras, Kerala, Bengal and U.P. Indian farmers were defrauded with false promises of better jobs by telling them that they would be sent to an island slightly farther from Calcutta, wherein light work would be taken for them in return for a good pay. Those poor farmers fell for this deception and agreed to go with them. It was when they boarded the ship that they came to know that they were being taken thousands of miles away. They were kept in miserable conditions on the ship. Their food would be prepared using water of the sea; the rice would contain insects; and their accommodation was extremely cramped. Many people died during the journey, while many arrived sick in Fiji. In Fiji, they were kept in camps that were similar to cattle pen. Several people had to stay in a single 10×7 room with no ventilation, and they would be made to carry out hard labour from 5am till late night. If anyone would take a break from his work to rest, the British overseer would scourge him with lashes. Only those women would be spared this harsh treatment who would be prepared to sacrifice their chastity and honour to the carnal desires of those British overseers. Many Indians, whom the British governor would call “coolie”, could not endure these atrocities and gave up their lives, and many of them committed suicide. The countless arrays of trees that can be seen everywhere in Fiji today, and on which the economy of Fiji depends to a large extent, have been irrigated by the sweat and blood of those helpless Indians. They spent years upon years in the worst form of slavery here. A Fijian historian Kim Gravelle has described a detailed account of the arrival of Indians in Fiji as well as their time spent in slavery in his book “Fiji’s Heritage: History of Fiji”, which has been published in Nadi.
Anyway, this is how Indians first arrived in Fiji. When the lands of Fiji began blooming with orchards of coconut and sugarcane, these Indians became one with the land. Their time of slavery came to an end and they found a respectable source of income here. When they attained relative prosperity, many people from India began coming here for business and employment as well, and in this manner, more than forty-six percent of the population here today consists of these Indians. They comprised a large number of Muslims as well, who became the means of Islam getting introduced in this land. The first Muslims who arrived here were generally regular with their prayers, fasting and other practices of Islam. They also constructed mosques here. However, since there was no arrangement for the religious education and upbringing of the new generation, the signs of religious practice gradually faded. Eventually, Allah Most High made the Tablighi Jamat as the means of Islamic revival here. The first jamaʿt that came here was from Zambia (probably in 1967). They instilled the spirit to return to their religious practices among the people, and people became aware of their religious duties. In the wake of this, more mosques were built and elementary Islamic education for children was arranged in mosques by establishing maktabs in them, such that today, by the grace of Allah, religious activities are alive throughout the country.
In Labasa
A small Fiji Airways aircraft took off at 4:30pm to take us from Suva to Labasa. Allah Most High has granted beautiful scenic landscapes to the Fiji Islands. When one looks at the earth from above, it appears replete with tracts of greenery. Within a few moments, the plane crossed the island of Viti and entered the sea. This part of the Pacific Ocean is teeming with small verdant islands, and the colourful sea rocks (reefs) found here have elevated its elegance to an entirely new level. While these sea rocks are located inside the water, owing to their high elevation compared to the depth of the sea, they can be clearly seen beneath the pristine waters. Numerous precious stones are also found in these reefs, which are an important part of the economy of Fiji, and their many colours appear dispersed over the waters. Their sight especially from a low-elevation flight is very picturesque. This forty-minute flight was quite pleasant and interesting. We landed in the small airport at Labasa after 5pm. This is the biggest city of Vanua, the second large island of Fiji. It is written in English as “Labasa” but pronounced as Lambasa, and the Indian-origin people here say that this is indeed a “lamba sa” (Urdu for “longish”) city, i.e. its length is more than its width. Surrounded by lush green hills, this city resembles the Bangladeshi cities of Sylhet and Chittagong. However, since the population here is much less than in Sylhet and Chittagong, this city is quite clean and vast. The Madrasa ʿArabiyyah Islamiyyah, where I was invited to inaugurate lessons of dawrat al-hadith, is located in this city. This madrasa is located within the compound of the beautiful central mosque of the city. A maktab was already functioning here under the auspices of Labasa Muslim League. A few years ago, Maulana Ghufran of Bangladesh was invited here. He is a scholar who graduated from Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia Binnori Town. Allah Most High took the work of laying the foundation of a formal madrasa from him. He called Maulana Jafar and Maulana Qamar uz-Zaman from Bangladesh and commenced lessons offering quality education of the Islamic sciences here. MashaAllah it was pleasing to note that all three of them are quite competent and proficient teachers, who, in the face of trying circumstances, have rendered the admirable service of working hard on students in order to adorn them with a religious education. I appreciated how much hard work the teachers had put in when I observed the students. Due to a shortage of teachers, these individuals have to remain engrossed in the teaching and training of the students day and night. However, Allah Most High has recompensed their hard work in the form of a large number of Huffaz and a class of students that is ready for dawrat al-hadith.
The inauguration of the dawrat al-hadith had been announced for the 8th of January from after ʿasr until ʿisha. Muslims flocked in droves to this gathering from far and wide. An interesting demonstration of the achievements of the students during their studies in the madrasa was presented to the attendants from ʿasr until maghrib, and after maghrib the dawrat al-hadith was inaugurated; in fact, this happened for all the grades, by way of a student reading the text from a book of that grade before this lowly one. All the students read the text correctly. Thereafter I made my submissions for about an hour-and-a-half, which the attendants listened to attentively. Afterwards the locals informed that such a large gathering of Muslims had perhaps never before convened in Labasa. The attendants included high-educated individuals as well, and some of them expressed that several of the doubts and questions that had been circulating in their minds for years were answered in that talk by the grace of Allah.
Since there is no comprehensive institute teaching the Islamic sciences in this part of the Pacific Ocean (including Australia and New Zealand), the commencement of lessons of dawrat al-hadith in this institute was certainly a historic event, from which inshaAllah great benefit is hoped for the Muslims of the region. May Allah Most High bestow further progress to this madrasa and produce true servants of the Deen from here who could fulfill the religious needs of this region. Amin.
Sunday, the 9th of January was also spent in Labasa, where a talk to a large gathering of ladies was organized. A special gathering of the teachers and students of the madrasa was convened on the same day, and consultation regarding the curriculum and administration of the madrasa also took place.
For Monday the 10th of January, our hosts had planned talks in various cities of Fiji as well as sightseeing visits to notable tourist sites on our way, which included the International Date Line. To this end, immediately after fajr, we departed by road for another city on the island of Vanua called Savusavu. This city is located at a distance of about 90 kilometers to the south-east of Labasa. This entire route was traversed by ascending and descending exceptionally beautiful, green-carpeted hills, with forests sheathed in lush green plants and flowers extending as far as the eyes could see. Here, mango trees grow wild. January is a summer month here, so these wild trees were laden with mangoes. Coconut and cedar trees grew like a ladder on the mountain, while the valleys nestled amongst these mountains were brimming with a potpourri of fruits and flora. The weather here was relatively chilly, and the pitter-patter of gentle rain added to the beauty of the scene. After about an hour-and-a-half of this beautiful and blissful journey, we arrived at the coastal city of Savusavu. This is a small city located on the bank of the Pacific Ocean. It is flanked by lush green mountains on two sides and sea bays on the other two. It also has a small port. By dint of its natural beauty, this city is a tourist centre. A good number of Muslims reside here, and a mosque also exists wherein my talk after ʿasr had been announced. Meanwhile, we had to take a flight to the island of Taveuni in the morning, through which the International Date Line passes. There was some time left in the flight so the president of the Labasa League, Mr Aziz, who was driving the car, took us sightseeing around the beautiful coastal sites of Savusavu in the meantime.
We arrived at the airport at around quarter-to-nine. This was a very small airport. Instead of a waiting lounge, it had benches for the passengers to sit on, as at bus stops, but was neat and clean. A small aircraft took us over the sea and landed in Taveuni Island in only fifteen minutes. Here, we travelled by road along the coast for quite some distance, until we finally arrived at the International Date Line.