Islam in New Caledonia is a minority faith, consisting of 2.6% of population or 6,357 people.
The community is largely ethnic Javanese,[1] and primarily speaks French, and Arabic or Indonesian, causing a linguistic gap between them and neighbouring Anglophone Muslim communities in Australia and Fiji.
[2] There is an Islamic centre in Nouméa, and another in Bourail catering to Algerian-Caledonians.
[3] Among the first Muslims in New Caledonia were Algerian prisoners sent there in 1872,[4] followed by Indonesian, Somali, and Arab labourers.
[1] The Association des Musulmans de Nouvelle Caledonie (New Caledonia Muslim Association) was founded in 1975, superseding an earlier organisation.