Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

is an overwhelmingly

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

majority country, with adherents of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

being a minuscule minority. Due to the secular nature of Vanuatu's constitution,

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

are free to proselytize and build places of worship in the country. There are roughly 1,000 Muslims in the country according to online estimates

History

One of the earliest known

in Vanuatu was Hussein Nabanga, who converted in 1978. Hussein Nabanga was a member of the Mele people and other Mele people (who originated from the tiny island of Imere Tenuku) were the earliest to follow. Now there are Muslims throughout many other islands in Vanuatu. Currently there is a registered Islamic society looking after religious matters; Muhammad Sadiq Sambo from Mele Village is the current president of the society. The first mosque in Vanuatu was established in 1992, in Mele Village in the outskirts of Port Vila. There is also another mosque on the island of Tanna in the Middle Bush area. There is a prayer place on the island of

Erromango Erromango is the fourth largest island in the Vanuatu archipelago. With a land area of it is the largest island in Tafea Province, the southernmost of Vanuatu's six administrative regions. Name The endonym for Erromango in Erromangan is ''Nelo ...

near Dillons Bay. Most Vanuatuan Muslims are

Sunnis Sunni Islam () is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia ...

. In 2007, it was reported that there were about 200 converts in the country, and mosques are springing up in the outer islands of the archipelago. Chiefs are often the target of proselytising Muslims, on the often correct assumption that if they convert then their extended families, clans and other islanders are likely to follow suit.

References

External links

International Religious Freedom Report 2004
* Marc Tabani, « L’islam des musulmans de Tanna (Vanuatu) », L’Homme, 233 , 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/lhomme/36746 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/lhomme.36746

{{Vanuatu-stub