The History of Muslims in AustraliaThe short film documentary entitled “Before1770” is a film designed to encapsulate the history of Muslims in Australia before 1770. Abu Hanifa Institute, a centre for education in traditional Islam and youth mentoring, utilised its resources and community support to document the facts in this space. This meant embarking upon a journey to critical locations in the Northern Territory, such as Arnhem Land, Bawaka, and Groote Eylandt to see first hand, the places and people who hosted the Macassan Muslims. This endeavour also meant speaking to academics specialised in the field as well as Aboriginal elders from the Yolngu clan. The idea of this short film is to establish Islam’s long-standing connection with Australia. It is not designed to cause pain or disrespect to any figure, person, organisation or a particular community.
