Securitization and Intersectionality of Bias: Voices of Māori and Non-Māori Women Converts to Islam in Post-Christchurch Attack Aotearoa New Zealand

Conversion (reversion) to Islam is on the rise in Aotearoa New Zealand. This is striking given New Zealanders are becoming less interested in religion generally and have more negative attitudes towards Muslims than towards other religious groups. Islam’s growth is disproportionally strong among Indigenous Māori. This article discusses how New Zealand’s post-2019 Christchurch attack security context has affected Māori and non-Māori women converts to Islam. The findings are based on 15 interviews conducted across the country between 2021 and 2024. Drawing from securitization and intersectionality scholarship, the article argues that the country’s post-Christchurch security context has created new challenges for women converts to Islam generally. Yet it has particularly increased the vulnerability of hijabi Māori women, whose attachment to New Zealand and the Māori community has often been called into question. The article discusses how Islamic conversion has impacted citizenship, identity, and belonging, and what Islam means for women converts as a tool of resilience against marginalization and bias.