Seafaring link aids Australia MuslimsReuters, GOVE PENINSULA, AustraliaCenturies before Captain James Cook claimed Australia for Britain in 1770, Muslim Makassan sailors from Indonesia regularly traveled thousands of kilometers across open sea to trade with Aboriginal people in Australia’s far north. The project is the brainchild of the Abu Hanifa Institute, an organization promoting education, identity and inclusiveness for Muslims in Sydney. Women shake hands with Makassan sailors during a welcoming ceremony in Yirrkala, Australia, on Tuesday last week. The 15m vessel was built by Makassan artisans on a beach in Sulawesi using traditional methods and local timber. Muslim and Aboriginal leaders both wanted to share the history more widely, including getting the story of the Yolngu and Makassan relationship into school curriculums.

Source: Taipei Times March 06, 2020 15:56 UTC