Islam in American Samoa

A large majority of pacific islanders are Christians as the Christian belief was welcomed into the region in the mid 20th century and has been deeply entrenched in the Pacific since.[7] The Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal community within the Protestant tradition, are an example of this early influence, having first arrived in American Samoa in 1926.[8] The majority of Christians in American Samoa remain Protestants, encompassing 42.7% of the total population, however there is also large Catholic population with 22.6%.[1] The spread of Christianity to the South Pacific brought about a number of social programs including the acquisition of literacy to many communities and has had a substantial intellectual impact on the South Pacific.[8]

Although Islam arrived in the region more recently, it has similarly impacted the social and cultural lives of many people in the South Pacific. Dawah is an Arabic word traditionally meaning to invite individuals and communities to come "back to God", however in the 20th century it has become the foundation for a number of social, political and cultural activities worldwide.[9] The growing globalisation of the world has also “facilitated interest in religious alternatives” such as Islam in many South Pacific nations including American Samoa.[10]

Islamic missionary activity has been conducted in the South Pacific since the 1970s and has resulted in a “small but steady stream of local converts” due to the conditions of an increasingly globalised world.[11] The first convert joined Islam in 1985 in neighboring Western Samoa, as a result of Muslim immigrants from abroad sharing their beliefs with the local people.[4] It is believed that this religious influence spread to American Samoa as the territory recorded a dozen adherents a decade later in the 1990s.[12]

In a number of the larger South Pacific states, Muslims are supported by regional bodies and organisations including the Fiji Muslim League and the Regional Islamic Dawah Council of Southeast Asia and the Pacific (RISEAP), which formed in 1980 and aimed to coordinate their Islamic missionary activities, “training individuals for Islamic social work” and establishing mosques and Islamic centres around the South Pacific.[13] American Samoa is not presently a member of the RISEAP, however the organisation partners with neighbouring countries such as Fiji and Samoa.[13] The first President of RISEAP, Tunku Abdul Rahman, stated their mission to encourage Muslims to continue their religious pursuits in the Pacific nations where they are minorities.[14] The Pacific Island countries are traditionally “collectivity-oriented” and have similar customs and practices to some religious groupings.[15] Muslims in the South Pacific have been involved in educating activities, engaging with the communities and instructing people in Islam.[6] This influence has seen the creation of the Islamic Institute of the South Pacific in Fiji. Islam is also often associated with the establishment of social and public health organisations in the region.[6]

The ban included the island of Fiji, the only other pacific island on the list. Their addition was linked to the nation’s large Muslim population, with approximately 80,000 adherents on the island.[5] The extension of the ban to other South Pacific nations was justified as some Fijian Muslim adherents have travelled to and studied at Islamic institutions in typically Muslim countries.[23] However, after strong protest from Fijians as well as oppositional media coverage across the territory, the island was removed from the list in early 2003.[2]

In the early 2000s, there was a fear of a spread of radical Islam to American Samoa, and the potential for an outbreak of religious wars globally.[24] The risk of terrorism has remained a concern of the South Pacific, the regional body, the Pacific Islands Forum, holding a conference to examine legislative reform, directly targeting terrorism in 2003.[25] After the terrorist attacks in Bali, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute released a policy review identifying the increased threat of terrorism in South Pacific nations such as American Samoa.[26] The review suggested a number of states were susceptible to terrorist activities and could be “potential havens for terrorist groups” and Islamic extremism, particularly due to their close proximity to Australia and connection as a territory of the United States.[26] However, the threat level posed in the Pacific is still “recognised as low”.[26]

Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Malielegaoi advocated the duty of the government in legislating to avoid such religious tensions through means such as the ban instated by American Samoan officials.[24] Furthermore, Mohammed Daniel Stanley, an American Samoan convert to Islam, came out in support of Sunia’s decision.[4]

This ban was also supported by a number of neighbouring South Pacific actors including the secretary general of the Samoa Council of Churches, who called for the nation of Samoa to “bring in a blanket ban on Islam”.[22] Samoan Reverend Motu similarly claimed that Islam posed a threat to the future of his country, pressing the Samoan government to entirely prohibit the religion on the island.[22]

The actions of American Samoa were officially condemned by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, claiming the ban violates international law and calling for the government to rescind the ban and issue a formal apology to individuals affected.[23] No known action has been made toward rescinding the bans as of November 2020.