Islam in Hawai'i : The House of an American Billionaire Woman and Muslim Immigrants

Islam in Hawai'i : The House of an American Billionaire Woman and Muslim Immigrants

著者 OKAWA Reiko

journal or

publication title

明治学院大学国際学研究 = Meiji Gakuin review International & regional studies

number 40

page range 95‑99

year 2011‑10

その他のタイトル ハワイのイスラーム : アメリカ人女性富豪の邸宅

とムスリム移民

URL http://hdl.handle.net/10723/1053

【Research Memorandum】

Islam in Hawai’i:

The House of an American Billionaire Woman and Muslim Immigrants

Reiko Okawa

1. Introduction

This article offers a brief account of the present status of Islam in Hawai’i

with a view to building mutual understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims. During a visit in February, 2011, I interviewed the staff of Shangri La―a house built in an Islamic style featuring Islamic art and furniture—in addition to members of the Muslim Association of Hawai’i. A number of issues specifically related to Islam in Hawai’i will be brought to bear on each. It serves as an interesting example of the complementarity of an old Islamic image of western people and present immigrant Muslims.

The representations of Hawai’i and Islam in popular culture differ markedly.

Hawai’i is a preferred tourist destination, especially for Japanese and Americans, because it has wonderful weather, an easy-going atmosphere, and is readily accessible. Japanese have generally depicted it as “paradise islands” [Yaguchi 2002: 114-166]. Conversely, the popular representations of Islam are typically reductive insofar as they solely emphasize violent political struggle. These stereotypes are coming under challenge in Hawai’i though, where a peaceful coexistence between the West and Islam is being forged.

Research on the presence of Islam in Hawai’i is hardly extensive, given how the

mainland United States has been the focus of most studies. Akbar Ahmed

refers to Muslim

immigrants to Hawai’i in his work Journey into America: the Challenge of Islam [Ahmed

2010: 248-241], which stimulated my interest in the topic. Ahmed claims there are two

groups: a group of devout Muslims, represented by the Muslim Association of Hawai’i, and

a number of other individuals who also celebrate other religious holidays, such as

Thanksgiving Day [Ahmed 2010: 239]. Setthamalinee discusses Shangri La in terms of

museum studies and concludes this private museum has not yet succeeded in promoting an

understanding of Islam [Setthamalinee 2006: 430]. This article discusses the latest efforts of

these two institutes to boost mutual understanding and create trust between Muslims and

non-Muslims.

Islam in Hawai’i

2. Shangri La

Shangri La used to be one of the homes of Doris Duke (1912-1993).

Following her death it opened to the public. Duke was the heiress of an American tobacco tycoon, as well as a philanthropist and art collector. The construction of the house began in 1937 and continued until her death. She was fascinated by Islamic art and furniture, along with Hawai’i, on her honeymoon through the Middle East and Asia by ship in 1935. Thereafter she resolved to build a house in the Islamic style near Diamond Head in Honolulu. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

administers the home and its huge collection of Islamic art, some of which are exhibited in the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Viewed from a Muslim perspective, Shangri La is very much an artificial construct. It features a majestic mihrāb from Iran dated 1265 [Littlefield 2002: 19, 38-39], which is pointing in the wrong direction. Mihrāb is a niche mark set on the wall of every masjid to show the direction of Mecca, called qibla. Using this mihrāb, Muslims find the direction of Mecca which they need to face when praying. However, Duke seemed to be unaware of this basic article of faith, so she placed it on the eastern, rather than the northwestern, wall.

Her choice is understandable though, as she was primarily interested in the beauty of Islamic art rather than its religious significance per se.

This careless attitude is related to what Setthamalinee and Littlefield call

“American Orientalism.” Although Duke did not intend to criticize or insult Islam, her

A wall of the terrace at Shangri La, which consists of tiles with a beautiful, elaborate arabesque pattern.

The garden with a private pool in front of the Playhouse featuring a view of the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head. The house was modeled on the Chihil Sutun, built in 1647 in Isfahan, Iran.

carelessness can potentially offend Muslims. However, thus far it has not provoked this kind of reaction. Muslims have shown goodwill toward Shangri La. I will discuss this point later, after discussing the Muslim Association of Hawai’i in greater detail.

3. The Muslim Association of Hawai’i

The interior of the Masjid of the Muslim Association of Hawai’i.

This is the library, where the author interviewed the Imām.

This association is located in a masjid, Mosque in Manoa, a residential area of Honolulu. Meetings for prayer were held prior to this institute’s official establishment in 1979,

and this mosque is the only place to pray s.al āt for Muslims in Hawai’i. Dr. Ismail Elshikh,

who graduated from al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, is the Imām (the religious leader) of the masjid. According to him, Hawai’i’s Muslim population is approximately 5,000; it is comprised of a cross section of the world’s population, with as many as sixty percent of Arab descent.

When the author visited on a Thursday, around ten people were performing s.al āt al-maghrib, the sunset prayer, in the main room. After that, more gathered to perform s.al āt al-‘ishā’, the night prayer; a woman originally from Jerusalem and her daughters stayed and prayed in another room reserved for women. They seemed to have a relaxed and friendly atmosphere consistent with every masjid in the Middle East. It is easy to recognize that this is the center for the Hawai’ian Muslims.

The association also contributes greatly

to a new project, “Islam Day”, which is

held annually on September, 24 on the beach park in Honolulu.

This began in 2009 after

the bill was voted for and approved in the State Senate, making it a state-official day.

This

is not a day for Muslims, but for non-Muslims, to learn about Islam because, according to

Dr. Elshikh, “Muslims have two ‘ īds,”

meaning the two greatest Islamic festivals, ‘ Īd

Islam in Hawai’i

al-Ad.h. ā, the Festival of Sacrifice, and ‘Ī d al-Fit.r , the Festival of Fast-breaking. Thus,

“Islam Day” intends to bridge any gaps between Muslims and non-Muslims by providing an opportunity for Hawai’ians to enjoy various activities with their children, a performance by a Muslim hip-hop group, and so on. This day marks the fruitful efforts of Muslims in Hawai’i to promote mutual understanding and good relationships with the wider community.

4. Conclusion: Toward a Mutual Understanding

The relationships between each of these communities are generally positive, despite any misgivings Muslims may have about Shangri La. They appear to be trying to foster mutual understanding and respect as much as possible. Carol Khewhok, the program manager of Shangri La, said they had invited Muslims from the association, such as its president, Hakim Ouansafi, to the opening of Shangri La as a private museum. They had also sent regular e-mail updates. Khewhok insisted that the exhibits fascinated Muslims, who were willing to make some allowance for the aspects they found strange. For example, there was a Muslim who visited Shangri La and started performing s.al āt in front of the qibla. In another example, an elderly Muslim man spontaneously broke into tears because he was moved by the beauty of this house, remarking that it was reminiscent of an old house in the Middle East.

Thus, the administrators of Shangri La insist they are accepted by many Muslims, irrespective of any perceived carelessness in the exhibition.

Hawai’i’s Muslim community also shows their tolerance and understanding of this private museum. Dr. Elshikh has commented: “it is all right to leave the qibla (the panel which is inappropriately exhibited) as it is, because it is not a masjid and it is not easy to correct it.”

This is a very tolerant attitude because, generally speaking, even if very moderate, Muslims cannot help expressing some disappointment whenever they encounter such carelessness which is offensive to Islam. The Muslim Association of Hawai’i chooses to value the beauty of the place rather than focus on its carelessness.

This is a good case of mutual understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims

in a society in which Muslims are in the minority. They are trying to be open and respectful

toward the society at large. However, there are few sources currently available to assist the

study of Islam in Hawai’i. We clearly need then to conduct further research about many

aspects of this population, such as its ethnic origin, level of education, age range, marital

status, and so on.

Notes

1 I would like to thank Carol Khewhok of Shangri La, Dr. Ismail Elshikh and Shereen El-Kadi of the Muslim Association of Hawai’i, Carolyn Dupont of the Honolulu Academy of Arts, and Lama Bahbouh for their great kindness and useful suggestions.

2 In standard English it is spelled as “Hawaii,” but in this paper the indigenous orthography, “Hawai’i”, will be used.

3 Concerning his visit for his study is reported at the website: “Aloha Akbar,” Honolulu Weekly Dec3, 2008. Retrieved March18, 2011 from http://honoluluweekly.com/qanda/2008/12/aloha-akbar/.

4 See http://www.shangrilahawaii.org/ and [Littlefield 2002].

5 Concerning Shangri La in her private life, see Pony & Thomas 1996.

6 http://www.ddcf.org/.

7 http://www.honoluluacademy.org/.

8 A comparison with Gayer-Anderson Museum [Warner 2003] in Cairo, Egypt, would make this clear.

The museum used to be the home of R. G. Gayer- Anderson Pasha, a retired British Major. He lived in a traditional authentic Islamic house in the district of old Cairo from 1935-1942, which was originally built in the late seventeenth century, and is now a museum. There was a possibility that Doris heard about him in Cairo because she stayed there in 1944. A comparative study of the two museums would be quite interesting, and may become one of my projects in the near future.

9 http://www.iio.org/.

10 “The History of the Muslim Association of Hawai’i.” Retrieved February 7, 2011 from http://www.iio.org/

staticpages/index.php/20080720021604733.

11 http://www.shikh.com/.

12 Interview on February 23, 2011.

13 The Imām of the masjid mentioned how Hakim Ouansafi, the president of the association, worked hard for the realization of this event. Interview on February 23, 2011.

14 “Islam Day 2010.” Retrieved February 16, 2011 from http://www.iio.org/article.php/20100922075435649.

15 There was also some criticism of the approval of “Islam Day,” as two Republican senators opposed it on the grounds that “they did not endorse a religion associated with the 9/11 terrorist attacks.” See

“Hawaii celebrates Islam Day at beach,” Honolulu Advertiser, September 24, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2011 from http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Sep/24/br/hawaii90924072.html.

16 Interview on February 23, 2011.

17 Interview on February 24, 2011.

18 Interview on February 23, 2011.

References

Duke, Pony & Jason Thomas. 1996. Too Rich: The Family Secrets of Doris Duke. New York: HarperCollins.

Littlefield, Sharon. 2002. Doris Duke’s Shangri La. Honolulu: Doris Duke Foundation of Islamic Art.

Warner, Nicholas. 2003. Guide to the Gayer-Anderson Museum Cairo. Cairo: Press of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Yaguchi, Yujin. 2002. The History and Culture of Hawai’i: A Mosaic of Tragedy and Pride. Tokyo:

Chuokoronshinsha, 2002.（矢口祐人『ハワイの歴史と文化 悲劇と誇りのモザイクの中で』中 央公論新社，2002）

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI(21720029) for Young Scientists(B).