Islam in the Media: Normalising Islam
In 2002 the Daily Telegraph and Sydney’s talkback radio shows reported a case of gang-rape as a Muslim / Lebanese issue. This became one of the year’s most dominant stories and did irreparable damage to public perceptions about Muslims in Sydney.
The continued debates around terrorism and suicide bombing, the hijab and integration, immigration and values has further aggravated the successful integration of Muslims in Sydney.
Muslims are like the fat kid in school or the kid with glasses, easy targets. And Muslims are easy targets. They look different, there are groups concentrated in suburban enclaves in south western Sydney and most significantly they are very devout in their practice.
Its like the nerd or study geek in class, he works hard and actually takes maths seriously, as if he was there to learn something, the other students scoff at him and taunt him for being the teachers pet, when all he wants to do is get on with the practice of learning and improving himself.
18th C European Orientalism has ensured us that Islam remains outside of the norm. A mysterious, debaucherous and cultic faith which aims to undermine our righteous Christian values. One can imagine the caricature of the bearded Muslim lurking around bus stops and schoolyards ready to pounce on our innocent youth, to viciously rape and debase them.
Edward Said in his seminal work “Orientalism” describes the Orientalist as one who:
constructs, and the very act of construction is a sign of imperial power of recalcitrant phenomena, as well as a confirmation of the dominant culture and its ‘naturalisation’.
As far back as 1891 William Muir wrote in The Caliphate, Its Rise, Decline and Fall,:
the sword of Muhammed and the Qur’an are the most stubborn enemies of Civilisation, Liberty and the Truth which the world has yet known.
French philologists Ernest Renan who wrote L’Avenir de la Science in 1848 said,
“the Semitic race (Arab and Jew) appears to us to be an incomplete race, by virtue of its simplicity. This race – if I dare use the analogy- is to the Indo-European family what a pencil sketch is to a painting; it lacks that variety, that amplitude, that abundance of life which is the condition of perfectibility.”
What Renan tried to do was to reduce the Orient to a kind of human flatness, which exposed its characteristics easily to scrutiny and removed from it its complicating humanity.
Analysis of contemporary media related to Islam will show a common thread. The negative coverage, the depiction of Muslims as terrorists or terrorist sympathizers with one aim in mind and that is to undermine Western values and ideals, this thread is aimed at de-normalising Islam, making it alien and threatening. As our prime minister often says, “They hate us for our freedoms and our way of life.”
The Muslim is the antithesis to everything that we enjoy as a part of a healthy democracy.
The cartoons of the 19th C and early 20th C depict Muslims and Turks as lust-thirsty womanizers and evil and backward agents of the Orient.
The recent Danish cartoons lampooning the Prophet, although offensive is nothing new. This existed in the late 1800’s and to a large extent went unnoticed by the Ottoman empire which was basically the Islamic world at the time.
But all of this works towards reinforcing the common thread. The media has become the vehicle to propagate that thread and to reinforce the stereotype of the antagonistic Muslim heathen who is antagonistic to our way of life.
In mainstream print, television news and radio talkback, the topics about Muslims confirms that they are not part of the team, they don’t want to integrate, they only want to convert us all to Islam, subjugate our women and cheat the system.
If we look at the television and movie industry for example, we observe in Arnold Schwarznegger action movies we see Arnie killing the Muslim terrorists and saving the world from these smelly unshaven Arabs who just have nothing else to do with their time.
In shows like 24 our all American hero Kiefer Sutherland comes across a Turkish family who has lived in the states for 7 years going about their business yet even a normal family as this one is actually embedded in to the society as a sleeper cell awaiting orders. When their orders are finally released they wreak havoc upon the innocent Americans and even though good triumphs over evil, eventually, the antagonists die fighting and with their dying breath they blurt out in an anti-American communistic slogan like “death to the infidel”.
Yet what if we look at programs where one may not at first suspect to look? The Simpsons. A very clever satirical look at ourselves. Would you agree?
The program makes fun of just about everything and everyone.
The Christian fundamentalist next door, the Jewish entertainer with a triple heart by-pass and a smoking addiction, his over-bearing Rabbi father, the Hindu Indian Quickee mart owner taking short cuts and changing used by dates, the eccentric Scottish gardener, the nerdy school principal who still lives at home with his mother, the stingy polish bartender, the alcoholic lay about, the corrupt police chief and the mayor, the comical Italian mafioso, the escaped convict Snake, a black plant co-worker, and of course the evil white millionaire nuclear plant owner who exploits his workers and his faithful assistant with latent homosexual tendencies. The show has covered a number of stories from Free masons to sending up celebrities and presidents. Yet what is missing, in this all-American city of Springfield? Does Springfield have a no-Muslims immigration policy?
De-normalising Islam has been a part of the agenda for over three centuries.
Our Australian media is not as sophisticated as our US counterparts but it takes a lot from its big brother across the Pacific. And to a large extent Islam has been de-normalised in Australia.
Australians are a bit more accommodating than the Yanks.
Only when we start to see Muslim characters on Home and Away, or Muslims reading the 6 o’clock news and when Muslims are not associated with terror and anti-social behaviour and instead with positive stories that tell us how wonderful they are we may begin a process where Islam and Muslims are normalized.
In 2001 when I took position as Media Officer at the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils the media often expressed their relief that the Muslim community finally had a media spokesman that they could liaise with.
Since the 2002 Sydney gang rapes, there have been some observable changes in the media, which is partly due to the proactive efforts of the Muslim community. The Muslim community has in the past five years accelerated their activity and efforts to engage with the media and to assist them in building better relations, providing resources and information to enhance media coverage.
The Muslim community is by no means a homogenous unit but they clearly have identifiable institutions and entities. One issue affects all Muslims.
Therefore, anything that is highlighted in the media has dramatic effects on the ground.
Briefly I will mention three recent cases and compare the styles of reporting which will underline my point.
The reporting of sheikh Taj Al Din Al Hilali’s comments about Muslim women who dress scantily described as uncovered meat, created media history.
Between September and December 2006 there were 1331 articles written about Sheikh Taj Al Hilali.
In the months before there had been only 87.
The media frenzy surrounding the sheikh led inevitably to his final demise. The community were fed up with the negative impact that he was having on them and ousted him in a coup which led to appointing the less complex and elderly Victorian imam sheikh Fehmi Al Imam.
There is no doubt that Sheikh Taj was demonized and the media persisted its relentless investigations and innuendoes and finally he felt the pressure emotionally and physically, succumbing to his heart condition.
Whether you like him or not, the sheikh is definitely an interesting character and has added colour and controversy to the Muslim community.
Faces of Islam
But as quickly as it came the madness ended. And suddenly we were excruciatingly dragged thru a feel good fest of faces of Islam in one solid week of articles, a brainchild of the Fairfax newspaper. After a three month relentless attack on Sheikh Taj the SMH decided to make amends for the very tough time it experienced because of the words of one man.
While I personally did not like the series on the basis that it kept Islam on the periphery like a freak show, it was to say the least an attempt to portray Muslims fairly and positively.
This was quite unprecedented. In the past the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian had covered very positive profiles of Muslims but not at this level and this caliber. But it did not do this on its own. There has been a number of personal efforts by individuals and organizations such as ours who have forged relationships with journalists and producers and Chiefs of Staff, thereby providing good spokespeople and building a rapport which has affected the attitudes of reporters and decision makers with in the media.
With some hard work and commitment Muslims have actually made a difference to the attitudes of the media, and we have reached a turning point although there is a very long way to go.
Haneef
During the Haneef case this turning point became evident. For the media this was a gift however the media were grasping at straws, even though this was another Willie Brigitte case, the reporting was much softer and in general slanted in Haneef’s favour. The tide was finally turning, journalists were sick of the bad Muslim tag and were willing to give Haneef a chance. Bungle after bungle led to the freeing of Haneef and the media turned on the immigration minister.
The media in this case kept the pressure on the police for answers and for transparency. The weak link was that it was handled as a criminal matter and not under the new legislation. This enabled the media to closely follow the case.
However, it did not excuse either the police, the immigration minister and the PM for that matter of jumping to the conclusion that he was guilty. The media was also tending to indicate that where there is smoke there is fire.
The reporting of Islamic issues has increased in the past five years and many journalists are aware of the impact that they are having on the Muslim people by the way they report. The situation is very complex and involves many layers.
The Muslim community is a very under-developed community, most of its organizations are unprepared and lack the skills to work with the media, they are undisciplined and dysfunctional, they still have their ethnic rivalries and nepotistic tendencies, mostly powered by men who came here from abroad with out dated views and mentalities. They are also out of touch with a community which statistically has 70% of its members under the age of 30. That is a staggering statistic.
But the second generation of Muslims are now taking measures to change the status quo. Not only are we undertaking media training and engaging with media professionals, we are monitoring the media and taking them to task when the code ethics is breached. We have pooled our resources together and sought advice and assistance from media professionals such as Peter Manning and academics to strategize and create media savvy homegrown spokespeople. All of this has made a difference.
The next phase in my belief is that Muslims will cease their siege mentality and become more confident in working with the media, as they mature as a community, there will be more institutions dedicated to this cause and slowly we will begin to reduce our presence in the media an attempt to normalize Islam.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Nothing is unchangeable
By Kuranda Seyit
Yesterday’s elections in Turkey, signifies a new era in Turkish politics. The Islamist AKP party led by Tayyip Erdogan has been given a mandate to take Turkey into the 21st century with zeal.
However, how will Turkey’s Kemalist secularists take this slap in the face? Has democracy dealt a cruel blow to those who have used it in an attempt to diminish the influence of Islam in Turkey?
Religious resurgence is everywhere in Turkey, in the mosques, the madrasas and the universities. Nowhere else in the world will you see a tightly fought clash between secularism and Islam. Young Turks in their thousands are embracing the West and their values, whilst an equal number of Turks are resisting the temptation. Turkey has always maintained strong roots in Islam and their proud history of a 600 year caliphate and an Islamic state cannot be erased. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk modernised Turkey in the early 20th century but in doing so he embedded a republican system that was espoused by his followers as perfect and unchangeable.
However, life is impermanent and change is inevitable. The Kemalists are holding on to a memory and in their short-sightedness are unwilling to accept the demands of modernity. Even the USA has evolved its democracy, as has China which has changed its understanding of communism. This election must mark the change that is necessary to make the Turkish political system tenable in this century and competitive with that of the robust democracies of Europe. The very first change to take place must be the abolition of the National Security Council and the cessation of any military influence in government affairs.
The question of co-existence has dogged the Islamists for decades. Yet the Erdogan government has proven that Islam can co-exist with democracy, if not enhance it even further by eradicating corruption and nepotism. As we are currently witnessing a global phenomenon of an Islamic resurgence, the West and other nations must realise that it is better to work with it instead of against it.
Walk down the cobble stoned street of Istanbul’s chic suburb of Beyoglu, where cafes and boutiques abound and crowds throng to the call of the West and you will see the odd headscarf which is re-emerging as a fashion item. But further away, still on the European side, in the famous suburb of Fatih, where the tomb of great Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror lies, there are considerably more noticeable headscarves and men with beards. Take a short walk down past the mosque and over to Carsamba and one would be forgiven for thinking that they had stumbled into a back street of Cairo or Damascus. Here the dominant image is of Islamically clad Turks and with more regularity women dressed in the full black garb called the ‘Charshaf’. However, religion is not just about headscarves.
In Turkey the debate has been reduced to a piece of cloth. The outgoing president Mr Ahmet Necdet Sezer has said that the presidential candidacy of Mr Abdullah Gul was unacceptable because his wife wore a headscarf. We need to go beyond the headscarf and look to a new future for Turkey. A future with corrupt free politics, a program for economic development and social reform and as member of the European Union. This is a Turkey, which is both Islamic and democratic and espouses freedom of religion and human rights, a model for the rest of the Muslim world to follow.
This is all conceivable. The next few months will be interesting. If Abdullah Gul does succeed as president then the government will have power in both realms of politics and the ability to enact constitutional change. The litmus test will be if whether the military will intervene and set Turkey back 30 years once again.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Christmas means a lot to Muslims
By Kuranda Seyit
It’s Christmas Day, 1982. Emu Plains.
As usual on this special day, the temperature was nearing the high thirties. I was excited with anticipation as my father drove us home in our silver HQ Holden. In the boot lay an unassembled red racer. This was my first real bike.
I had never received a gift like this before. We grew up in the inner city and my parents were un-skilled migrants from Turkey. I was the third oldest of nine children and my father at best was struggling to put food on the table.
As practising Muslims we didn’t celebrate Christmas yet I grew up in a Christian society and openly participated in scripture at school and my parents sent me to Sunday school. I grew up with the same stories from the Bible as the ones in the Quran. There was very little to differentiate between the two faiths from my 10 year old eyes.
I was brought up to love Jesus but my father was very clear on his status as a prophet and not the son of God. But you could not be a Muslim if you did not love and respect Jesus Christ. He was born of a miraculous birth to Mary. The Quran lucidly describes his entry into this world. In his brief life he inspired thousands in the Holy lands to turn back to the righteous path to God. He lived austerely and in complete devotion to God. He personified peace and performed miracles including healing lepers and bringing the dead back to life- albeit through the power of God.
So on this warm Christmas Day in Emu Plains on the foot of the Blue Mountains I was anxious to show all my friends my Chrissie present. In all truth it was just a present but in my attempt to “fit in” I wanted my friends to think that we believed in Christmas and celebrated the tradition.
For some years throughout my adolescence I continued the façade that Christmas was as much a part of our tradition as it was my mate’s. As the only Muslim kid in a school of over a thousand students I desperately wanted to feel accepted. It took me a whole year to make friends and to establish my identity after moving to the suburbs from the city and I wasn’t willing to let it go after all my hard blood, sweat and tears.
My brothers and sisters grew up with racism. We were constantly in fights, name calling and being marginalised. I used to be called “gobbler” by my English teacher and “Ching” by some students and had to constantly put up with bullies who just didn’t like the colour of my skin or the shape of my eyes.
But I still loved it when Christmas came around. As I got older I was invited to my mate’s Christmas lunches. Now, that was a good treat although I never ate the Christmas ham I enjoyed the cake, the soft drinks and the steak. But it was the feeling of belonging that mattered to me.
More than two decades on and I have done a lot. I worked as a cop, a teacher, an actor and now a community activist. Motivated by the September 11 terrorist attacks I felt obliged to build the bridges between Muslims and Christians. I saw the need to break down the misconceptions about Islam. There were reports of Muslims being vilified and harassed. So in 2002 I took up a post with the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils as the Media Liaison Officer. It was no easy task. We were hearing at an almost monotonous rate the varied issues involving Muslims who allegedly were trying to turn Australia into an Islamic state. There were mad mullahs in Melbourne and gang rapists in Sydney, across the Gulf of Carpentaria were the Bali bombers crying out “Allahu Akbar” in court. Then of course there were a number of arrests of alleged terrorists so the threat of terrorism felt real in the minds of every Australian.
In this context every effort to build better community relations was hampered by negative media coverage but we persevered. In 2003 I founded the Forum on Australia’s Islamic Relations, a think tank and an advocacy organization which ran a number of successful projects including the now very popular Goodness and Kindness Project, where a Muslim, Jew and Christian visit schools. We did a lot of interfaith work and we put out information about Australian Muslims as well as appearing frequently in the mainstream media on various issues from the war in Iraq to the banning of the headscarf.
For all intents and purposes we were doing well. The arson attack on Kuraby Mosque was an all time low for Muslim community relations but amazingly the community has endured the problems with great determination and as was seen after the London bombings there was very little to report in terms of a backlash against Muslims.
Today, there are great initiatives being taken by various religious organizations, the Catholic arch diocese, Griffith University and the Islamic Council of Queensland. Last year the community hosted the first Multicultural Eid festival of Queensland which not only celebrated the end of Ramadan but also Queensland’s great history of pluralism and harmonious co-existence.
Our organization has always supported the celebration of the multitude of religious traditions in Australia. Christians celebrating Easter and Christmas, Jews celebrating Hanukah, Sukkot and Yom Kippur and Muslims who celebrate Eid ul Fitr at the end of Ramadan and Eid ul Adha at the end of the Hajj pilgrimage. Of course there are many more celebrations than just these few which makes Australia the great place that it is.
We were shocked when we heard that our organization was apparently calling for an end to the Christmas tradition and to change the name to “winterval”. As the thousands of readers who were insulted by this suggestion we too were offended. Unfortunately, the story had been manipulated to present a wrongful message that Muslims had an agenda. Well, this was preposterous and in no way based on fact.
Muslims make up about 1.5% of the population. They are one of a number of religious faiths practiced in Australia. There is no doubt that Christianity is the faith of the majority of Australians. There are some politically correct do-gooders who create the impression that Muslims are advocating for change. However, Muslims often are so grateful that they can practice their own traditions freely and unimpeded than they could in the homelands of their parents or grandparents. So why would they try to create division and tension when as a minority they are still establishing themselves in this land? Our children are growing up with the tradition of Santa Claus, Carols by Candlelight, Chrissie on the beach and of course the great Christmas barbie. Christmas is not an affront to Islam nor is it an issue. We draw a lot from the prophet Muhammad who congratulated his Jewish and Christian friends during their festivities, we know that for Australian Muslims it is incumbent on all of them to show respect and kindness to people of other faiths and to share in the spirit of Christmas.
I hope that during Ramadan Christians and others will join in with me to break bread and enjoy the fruits of multicultural living in days to come.
Kuranda Seyit is the Director and Founder of the Forum on Australia’s Islamic Relations, he is also editor of Australia Fair Newspaper and has been chosen amongst the Smart 100 by the Bulletin Magazine in 2003 and also awarded the Sunday Telegraph’s Pride of Australia medal for the peace category in 2005.
By Kuranda Seyit
It’s Christmas Day, 1982. Emu Plains.
As usual on this special day, the temperature was nearing the high thirties. I was excited with anticipation as my father drove us home in our silver HQ Holden. In the boot lay an unassembled red racer. This was my first real bike.
I had never received a gift like this before. We grew up in the inner city and my parents were un-skilled migrants from Turkey. I was the third oldest of nine children and my father at best was struggling to put food on the table.
As practising Muslims we didn’t celebrate Christmas yet I grew up in a Christian society and openly participated in scripture at school and my parents sent me to Sunday school. I grew up with the same stories from the Bible as the ones in the Quran. There was very little to differentiate between the two faiths from my 10 year old eyes.
I was brought up to love Jesus but my father was very clear on his status as a prophet and not the son of God. But you could not be a Muslim if you did not love and respect Jesus Christ. He was born of a miraculous birth to Mary. The Quran lucidly describes his entry into this world. In his brief life he inspired thousands in the Holy lands to turn back to the righteous path to God. He lived austerely and in complete devotion to God. He personified peace and performed miracles including healing lepers and bringing the dead back to life- albeit through the power of God.
So on this warm Christmas Day in Emu Plains on the foot of the Blue Mountains I was anxious to show all my friends my Chrissie present. In all truth it was just a present but in my attempt to “fit in” I wanted my friends to think that we believed in Christmas and celebrated the tradition.
For some years throughout my adolescence I continued the façade that Christmas was as much a part of our tradition as it was my mate’s. As the only Muslim kid in a school of over a thousand students I desperately wanted to feel accepted. It took me a whole year to make friends and to establish my identity after moving to the suburbs from the city and I wasn’t willing to let it go after all my hard blood, sweat and tears.
My brothers and sisters grew up with racism. We were constantly in fights, name calling and being marginalised. I used to be called “gobbler” by my English teacher and “Ching” by some students and had to constantly put up with bullies who just didn’t like the colour of my skin or the shape of my eyes.
But I still loved it when Christmas came around. As I got older I was invited to my mate’s Christmas lunches. Now, that was a good treat although I never ate the Christmas ham I enjoyed the cake, the soft drinks and the steak. But it was the feeling of belonging that mattered to me.
More than two decades on and I have done a lot. I worked as a cop, a teacher, an actor and now a community activist. Motivated by the September 11 terrorist attacks I felt obliged to build the bridges between Muslims and Christians. I saw the need to break down the misconceptions about Islam. There were reports of Muslims being vilified and harassed. So in 2002 I took up a post with the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils as the Media Liaison Officer. It was no easy task. We were hearing at an almost monotonous rate the varied issues involving Muslims who allegedly were trying to turn Australia into an Islamic state. There were mad mullahs in Melbourne and gang rapists in Sydney, across the Gulf of Carpentaria were the Bali bombers crying out “Allahu Akbar” in court. Then of course there were a number of arrests of alleged terrorists so the threat of terrorism felt real in the minds of every Australian.
In this context every effort to build better community relations was hampered by negative media coverage but we persevered. In 2003 I founded the Forum on Australia’s Islamic Relations, a think tank and an advocacy organization which ran a number of successful projects including the now very popular Goodness and Kindness Project, where a Muslim, Jew and Christian visit schools. We did a lot of interfaith work and we put out information about Australian Muslims as well as appearing frequently in the mainstream media on various issues from the war in Iraq to the banning of the headscarf.
For all intents and purposes we were doing well. The arson attack on Kuraby Mosque was an all time low for Muslim community relations but amazingly the community has endured the problems with great determination and as was seen after the London bombings there was very little to report in terms of a backlash against Muslims.
Today, there are great initiatives being taken by various religious organizations, the Catholic arch diocese, Griffith University and the Islamic Council of Queensland. Last year the community hosted the first Multicultural Eid festival of Queensland which not only celebrated the end of Ramadan but also Queensland’s great history of pluralism and harmonious co-existence.
Our organization has always supported the celebration of the multitude of religious traditions in Australia. Christians celebrating Easter and Christmas, Jews celebrating Hanukah, Sukkot and Yom Kippur and Muslims who celebrate Eid ul Fitr at the end of Ramadan and Eid ul Adha at the end of the Hajj pilgrimage. Of course there are many more celebrations than just these few which makes Australia the great place that it is.
We were shocked when we heard that our organization was apparently calling for an end to the Christmas tradition and to change the name to “winterval”. As the thousands of readers who were insulted by this suggestion we too were offended. Unfortunately, the story had been manipulated to present a wrongful message that Muslims had an agenda. Well, this was preposterous and in no way based on fact.
Muslims make up about 1.5% of the population. They are one of a number of religious faiths practiced in Australia. There is no doubt that Christianity is the faith of the majority of Australians. There are some politically correct do-gooders who create the impression that Muslims are advocating for change. However, Muslims often are so grateful that they can practice their own traditions freely and unimpeded than they could in the homelands of their parents or grandparents. So why would they try to create division and tension when as a minority they are still establishing themselves in this land? Our children are growing up with the tradition of Santa Claus, Carols by Candlelight, Chrissie on the beach and of course the great Christmas barbie. Christmas is not an affront to Islam nor is it an issue. We draw a lot from the prophet Muhammad who congratulated his Jewish and Christian friends during their festivities, we know that for Australian Muslims it is incumbent on all of them to show respect and kindness to people of other faiths and to share in the spirit of Christmas.
I hope that during Ramadan Christians and others will join in with me to break bread and enjoy the fruits of multicultural living in days to come.
Kuranda Seyit is the Director and Founder of the Forum on Australia’s Islamic Relations, he is also editor of Australia Fair Newspaper and has been chosen amongst the Smart 100 by the Bulletin Magazine in 2003 and also awarded the Sunday Telegraph’s Pride of Australia medal for the peace category in 2005.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Muslims must be protected by the Act
As we are seeing more and more cases of international incidents involving Muslims, the backlash is real and hard on the ground. In the past six years, there has been a sharp increase in physical attacks against Muslim women wearing the scarf, Muslim schools and places of worship as well as direct cases of discrimination in the work place, at universities, hospitals and doctor's surgeries, shopping centres and in public spaces.
Although most cases of vilification against Muslims is based on their cultural and racial traits, I still believe that the Racial Discrimination Act must cover Islam as a specific cultural group which receives a lot of discrimination based on their religious obligations, duties and practices.
It is true that Muslims in Australia belong to more than 65 different ethnic groups. But the same can be said of Jewish people who have ethnic origins in Europe, Africa, Mid East and Asia. Yet they are referred to as a racial group because they act and see themselves as one. In this way of thinking I believe that Muslims are bound together by their uniform beliefs and practices which clearly identify them as a distinct homogenous group based on their religious identity. For Muslims, religion is actually a way of life and so their religious practices and their cultural traits defines them as Muslims.
When one becomes a Muslim or is born a Muslim that person will grow up with clearly identifiable cultural practices which is uniform across Islam. Therefore they will often be discriminated along these grounds regardless if they are a Turk, an Arab or an Indian. The second point of importance is that many people, through ignorance, treat Muslims as a racial group. Therefore the treatment and belief that they are a racial group and vilified as such is another reason that Muslims should be included in the Act.
Muslims have suffered for many years but today that suffering has been magnified 1000 times because of the downfall of Communism and portrayed as the world’s number one public enemy. Islam has been presented as backward and oppressive and many average citizens see Islam with suspicion and fear. Muslims are discriminated regularly on the basis of dress, customs and beliefs. Therefore it only makes sense that they be protected by the law, regardless of definitions or perceptions.
I would also like to clarify a couple of gross misconceptions about Islam. Firstly, Islam regardless of what hearsay evidence there is, has never in its 1400 year history ever converted a person at the point of a sword or by force. It is absolutely incongruous to suggest so. In Islam it is unequivocal and the Quran states that their is "no compulsion in religion": no compulsion to wear a headscarf, no compulsion to have a beard, no compulsion to marry another you do not love and no compulsion to take into your heart the love of God and to act piously and charitably. No one can force this upon another, not without resentment or negative repercussions, this would be counter-productive.
If any Muslim were to impose their beliefs and ideals on another person then he would be acting outside of the ethics of Islam and would in effect be committing a sin. This is something that is undesirable. All Muslims in the past and present have invited people to Islam, usually by their deeds and actions and by their example.
People often then cite the example of all the wars that were fought by early Muslims that resulted in the spread of Islam throughout Africa and Europe and also the Far East. Let me point out as a writer and researcher that the first wars after the Arab tribes had united were either defensive or pre-emptory and the victories were usually as a result of the weakness of the threatening power. For example the Byzantine, the Persian and Egyptian powers while openly against the new Muslim state were in decline themselves and when they lost the battle their whole empire collapsed and the Muslims automatically inherited the remnants of the empire.
The conquering armies of the Muslims were always magnanimous in victory and offered their captives freedom if they accepted Islam or taught them to read and write. The first comprehensive protocol for treating prisoners of war was made by the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) and is a precursor for the Geneva Convention which followed almost 14 centuries later. Muslims treated their prisoners with civility which astonished the enemies and many embraced Islam almost immediately.
Secondly, another misconception is that Muslims are trying to turn Australia into a Sharia state.
This is a ludicrous notion. Firstly, sharia law cannot work in a country less than 1.5% of the population are actually Muslim. Even if there was a mass conversion of Australians to Islam, it is highly unlikely that this would affect the political nature of this country. Even in countries where the majority are Muslims they still operate under secular law or governments: the best examples I can give are Indonesia and Turkey. Sharia law cannot be administered unless the whole society is Islamic and the leaders are Islamic and even then it has to be based on consensus.
As we are seeing more and more cases of international incidents involving Muslims, the backlash is real and hard on the ground. In the past six years, there has been a sharp increase in physical attacks against Muslim women wearing the scarf, Muslim schools and places of worship as well as direct cases of discrimination in the work place, at universities, hospitals and doctor's surgeries, shopping centres and in public spaces.
Although most cases of vilification against Muslims is based on their cultural and racial traits, I still believe that the Racial Discrimination Act must cover Islam as a specific cultural group which receives a lot of discrimination based on their religious obligations, duties and practices.
It is true that Muslims in Australia belong to more than 65 different ethnic groups. But the same can be said of Jewish people who have ethnic origins in Europe, Africa, Mid East and Asia. Yet they are referred to as a racial group because they act and see themselves as one. In this way of thinking I believe that Muslims are bound together by their uniform beliefs and practices which clearly identify them as a distinct homogenous group based on their religious identity. For Muslims, religion is actually a way of life and so their religious practices and their cultural traits defines them as Muslims.
When one becomes a Muslim or is born a Muslim that person will grow up with clearly identifiable cultural practices which is uniform across Islam. Therefore they will often be discriminated along these grounds regardless if they are a Turk, an Arab or an Indian. The second point of importance is that many people, through ignorance, treat Muslims as a racial group. Therefore the treatment and belief that they are a racial group and vilified as such is another reason that Muslims should be included in the Act.
Muslims have suffered for many years but today that suffering has been magnified 1000 times because of the downfall of Communism and portrayed as the world’s number one public enemy. Islam has been presented as backward and oppressive and many average citizens see Islam with suspicion and fear. Muslims are discriminated regularly on the basis of dress, customs and beliefs. Therefore it only makes sense that they be protected by the law, regardless of definitions or perceptions.
I would also like to clarify a couple of gross misconceptions about Islam. Firstly, Islam regardless of what hearsay evidence there is, has never in its 1400 year history ever converted a person at the point of a sword or by force. It is absolutely incongruous to suggest so. In Islam it is unequivocal and the Quran states that their is "no compulsion in religion": no compulsion to wear a headscarf, no compulsion to have a beard, no compulsion to marry another you do not love and no compulsion to take into your heart the love of God and to act piously and charitably. No one can force this upon another, not without resentment or negative repercussions, this would be counter-productive.
If any Muslim were to impose their beliefs and ideals on another person then he would be acting outside of the ethics of Islam and would in effect be committing a sin. This is something that is undesirable. All Muslims in the past and present have invited people to Islam, usually by their deeds and actions and by their example.
People often then cite the example of all the wars that were fought by early Muslims that resulted in the spread of Islam throughout Africa and Europe and also the Far East. Let me point out as a writer and researcher that the first wars after the Arab tribes had united were either defensive or pre-emptory and the victories were usually as a result of the weakness of the threatening power. For example the Byzantine, the Persian and Egyptian powers while openly against the new Muslim state were in decline themselves and when they lost the battle their whole empire collapsed and the Muslims automatically inherited the remnants of the empire.
The conquering armies of the Muslims were always magnanimous in victory and offered their captives freedom if they accepted Islam or taught them to read and write. The first comprehensive protocol for treating prisoners of war was made by the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) and is a precursor for the Geneva Convention which followed almost 14 centuries later. Muslims treated their prisoners with civility which astonished the enemies and many embraced Islam almost immediately.
Secondly, another misconception is that Muslims are trying to turn Australia into a Sharia state.
This is a ludicrous notion. Firstly, sharia law cannot work in a country less than 1.5% of the population are actually Muslim. Even if there was a mass conversion of Australians to Islam, it is highly unlikely that this would affect the political nature of this country. Even in countries where the majority are Muslims they still operate under secular law or governments: the best examples I can give are Indonesia and Turkey. Sharia law cannot be administered unless the whole society is Islamic and the leaders are Islamic and even then it has to be based on consensus.
Muslims in Australia not so extreme
OVER the past six years Australians have watched some of theworld's most terrifying events unfold, from our doorstep inJakarta and Bali, through the Middle East, in Madrid,Istanbul, London and now Glasgow.This global trend has forced many Western nations such asAustralia to rethink security strategies and laws. Connected to this, much mention was recently made of ayet-to-be-released report which suggests that up to 3000young Muslims in Australia are lying dormant, waiting to beradicalised.Do we really believe that 3000 people are in sleeper cellsawaiting the green light from Osama bin Laden?I have lived and worked with the Muslim community in Sydneyall my life and in more recent times I have met many Muslimsfrom Melbourne, Perth, Darwin, Canberra and other capitalcities.I have worked as a high school teacher in private schoolswhere there have been a majority of Muslims or at least as alarge percentage in other schools. I have run youth programs and worked at the AustralianFederation of Islamic Councils and I can safely say that Iknow and understand the Muslim communities of Australiabetter than the average person. And I have made documentaries about Muslims.My research leads me to believe that while there are Muslimswith extreme ideas in Australia, by and large they do notadvocate violence or any form of terrorism. People with violent tendencies and knowledge of bomb-makingtechnology, let alone the conviction to die for a cause, areextremely rare.This does not mean we should just relax and hope for thebest. We should still be vigilant and ensure that youngpeople are given as much support as possible in school.But we can definitely tone down the fear-mongering rhetoricwhich does little for the average Mohammed and Fatima whohave to live with the stares and the taunts on a dailybasis. The very grave issue of over-stating the facts,particularly if it can create a negative backlash againstMuslims, must be addressed. It is simply not acceptable to make unfounded statementsthat create fear or suspicion of the Muslim community.One very simple reason why Australia is an unlikely placefor homegrown terrorism to take root is that Australia hasone of the West's most integrated Muslim communities.Muslims in Australia cannot be compared to the Britishmodel. In some British cities, such as Birmingham andBradford, hundreds of thousands of Muslims live inmarginalised ghetto-like suburbs which provide deep coverfor dissent and rebellion.Here in Australia the comparatively small and localisedMuslim community lives in relative affluence and comfort.About 15 per cent of Australian Muslims possess a degree,which raises their incomes. In Australia, most Muslims whose parents migrated here inthe '70s have grown up in a society which has nurtured afairly easygoing nature and world view.In Australia we do have nutcases and radicals who preachthat we should protect ourselves and our children from theevil influences of a non-believing society. They are relatively harmless, albeit distasteful.More usually, the average Australian Muslim lives aninvisible life. On the fringe, however, those who hold strong views aboutgovernment policies and feel passionate about internationalaffairs tend to be more vocal and conspicuous. In terms of numbers they are significantly small and only atiny percentage within that tiny percentage have thepotential for extreme violent behaviour.More people are likely to die from road rage accidentsinvolving Middle Eastern drivers than from a home-grownMiddle Eastern terrorist.The argument that Muslims are more prone to radicalisationin Australia because it is a new country with no traditionalbase for Muslims to fall back on is exactly the reason whyMuslim terrorism instigated by Australian Muslims will nevereventuate here.In Australia, the fact that we do not have a long history ofIslamic traditions and that the Muslim community is made upfrom a wide spectrum of cultural and ideological viewpoints,makes Australia a place where difference can be toleratedand opposing groups co-exist in harmony.Australia does have one great tradition that transcends allreligious boundaries, and that is the freedom to believewhat you want and to live your life the way you want as longas you don't try to stuff it down others' throats.A great motto to live by, don't you think?
OVER the past six years Australians have watched some of theworld's most terrifying events unfold, from our doorstep inJakarta and Bali, through the Middle East, in Madrid,Istanbul, London and now Glasgow.This global trend has forced many Western nations such asAustralia to rethink security strategies and laws. Connected to this, much mention was recently made of ayet-to-be-released report which suggests that up to 3000young Muslims in Australia are lying dormant, waiting to beradicalised.Do we really believe that 3000 people are in sleeper cellsawaiting the green light from Osama bin Laden?I have lived and worked with the Muslim community in Sydneyall my life and in more recent times I have met many Muslimsfrom Melbourne, Perth, Darwin, Canberra and other capitalcities.I have worked as a high school teacher in private schoolswhere there have been a majority of Muslims or at least as alarge percentage in other schools. I have run youth programs and worked at the AustralianFederation of Islamic Councils and I can safely say that Iknow and understand the Muslim communities of Australiabetter than the average person. And I have made documentaries about Muslims.My research leads me to believe that while there are Muslimswith extreme ideas in Australia, by and large they do notadvocate violence or any form of terrorism. People with violent tendencies and knowledge of bomb-makingtechnology, let alone the conviction to die for a cause, areextremely rare.This does not mean we should just relax and hope for thebest. We should still be vigilant and ensure that youngpeople are given as much support as possible in school.But we can definitely tone down the fear-mongering rhetoricwhich does little for the average Mohammed and Fatima whohave to live with the stares and the taunts on a dailybasis. The very grave issue of over-stating the facts,particularly if it can create a negative backlash againstMuslims, must be addressed. It is simply not acceptable to make unfounded statementsthat create fear or suspicion of the Muslim community.One very simple reason why Australia is an unlikely placefor homegrown terrorism to take root is that Australia hasone of the West's most integrated Muslim communities.Muslims in Australia cannot be compared to the Britishmodel. In some British cities, such as Birmingham andBradford, hundreds of thousands of Muslims live inmarginalised ghetto-like suburbs which provide deep coverfor dissent and rebellion.Here in Australia the comparatively small and localisedMuslim community lives in relative affluence and comfort.About 15 per cent of Australian Muslims possess a degree,which raises their incomes. In Australia, most Muslims whose parents migrated here inthe '70s have grown up in a society which has nurtured afairly easygoing nature and world view.In Australia we do have nutcases and radicals who preachthat we should protect ourselves and our children from theevil influences of a non-believing society. They are relatively harmless, albeit distasteful.More usually, the average Australian Muslim lives aninvisible life. On the fringe, however, those who hold strong views aboutgovernment policies and feel passionate about internationalaffairs tend to be more vocal and conspicuous. In terms of numbers they are significantly small and only atiny percentage within that tiny percentage have thepotential for extreme violent behaviour.More people are likely to die from road rage accidentsinvolving Middle Eastern drivers than from a home-grownMiddle Eastern terrorist.The argument that Muslims are more prone to radicalisationin Australia because it is a new country with no traditionalbase for Muslims to fall back on is exactly the reason whyMuslim terrorism instigated by Australian Muslims will nevereventuate here.In Australia, the fact that we do not have a long history ofIslamic traditions and that the Muslim community is made upfrom a wide spectrum of cultural and ideological viewpoints,makes Australia a place where difference can be toleratedand opposing groups co-exist in harmony.Australia does have one great tradition that transcends allreligious boundaries, and that is the freedom to believewhat you want and to live your life the way you want as longas you don't try to stuff it down others' throats.A great motto to live by, don't you think?
Merdeka
Its 50 years since Malaysia’s independence. Merdeka!
An achievement fought without bloodshed or civil strife. Yet 50 years on and is the Malaysian experiment with democracy a success?
Some believe that after 22 years of a Mahathir dominated government new Malaysia is hanging together like Chinese paper and fire crackers on new years eve, at anytime it could go up in flames as had happened during the race riots of 13 May1969. That is why the new Badawi led coalition has embarked on a new progressive program called Islam Hadhari.
In these very precarious times where Islamic radicalism and conservatism has cast a long shadow across the Muslim world and the West has remained at an arms length, many are asking how Islam can work in a global community which is dominated by democratic principles of freedom and liberalism.
Most look towards Turkey to pave the way for a successful model of an Islamic secular democracy but others in South East Asia are optimistic or maybe I should say hopeful to see Malaysia succeed with Islam and democracy hand in hand.
Yet as we travel through KL amidst the impressive skyline which includes the Petronas Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world, we meet with government officials who try to explain the benefits of Islam Hadhari.
“So what do you know about Islam Hadhari?”, I am asked.
It is very hard how to answer a question when speaking to Malaysians because it is very easy to offend if you don’t say what they want to hear. I take the middle path and say that Islam Hadhari is a very modern approach to bridging Islam with modernity.
In the words of Abdullah Badawi, “It’s a new approach adopted by the government as a complement to the agenda of developing a glorious and civilized Malaysian society.”
Malaysia has on the surface become one of South East Asia’s wealthiest states and traveling through the country you can see that Malaysia has a fluid relationship with its 9 million Chinese and another 1 million or so Indians. Economically, the Chinese have made their mark and the country is relatively harmonious.
Speak to any Malay in the streets of KL and they will tell you just how happy everyone is under Islam Hadhari. Malaysia’s official religion is Islam. Its legal system operates on two levels; Shariah court and a civil court. In general this seems to work. Those who are Malay are automatically assumed to be Muslim which is indicated on their identity cards. The shariah court deals with Muslims and the civil courts deal with the Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs and Hindus. It all works out nicely until someone like Lina Joy, a Malay, comes along and wants to become a Christian.
Miss Joy met a Christian with whom she desired to marry but to do so she would require to change her status as a Muslim. This was dealt with in the civil court and she was directed to obtain a certificate of apostasy from the shariah court. It became a high profile case which could have been resolved if Miss Joy had gone to the shariah court but she has till now refused to do so.
Having two parallel systems in a society where it is not always black and white is fraught with danger. Generally speaking in the past two years there have been 16 apostasy applications and only two refusals. Whilst Malaysia does not want to admit there are many people leaving Islam, it is playing down the Lina Joy case. I speak to a Malaysian shariah court judge who says, “Changing your religion is not a simple matter, although we can issue a certificate of apostasy, we have to try to help that person in every way possible and then only and if only the applicant is beyond reconciliation with their faith we can issue a certificate and remove Islam from their identity.”
We meet with a delegation from the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) who show us a power point presentation about their view of things. Their fears are apparent, they are afraid of Islam taking hold of affairs and of losing democracy and their rights in a society which favours Malays. The MCA is an influential partner in a shaky coalition which has for many years withstood the challenges of time. But it appears that the two need each other more than ever as the Islamic Party (PAS) is gaining ground after its shock loss of the state of Terenganu. While MCA does not fully appreciate the benefits of Islam Hadhari, it prefers that to the Islamic Sharia state law advocated by PAS.
After a week of meetings and luncheons I left the country with a sense that not everything was right in the state of Malaysia but yet there was this uncanny reciprocity between Chinese pragmatism and Malay single-mindedness that was the glue between the two parties that contributes to the success of this ongoing experiment.
Kuranda Seyit is a documentary writer/director and was a part of a recent delegation to Malaysia organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Its 50 years since Malaysia’s independence. Merdeka!
An achievement fought without bloodshed or civil strife. Yet 50 years on and is the Malaysian experiment with democracy a success?
Some believe that after 22 years of a Mahathir dominated government new Malaysia is hanging together like Chinese paper and fire crackers on new years eve, at anytime it could go up in flames as had happened during the race riots of 13 May1969. That is why the new Badawi led coalition has embarked on a new progressive program called Islam Hadhari.
In these very precarious times where Islamic radicalism and conservatism has cast a long shadow across the Muslim world and the West has remained at an arms length, many are asking how Islam can work in a global community which is dominated by democratic principles of freedom and liberalism.
Most look towards Turkey to pave the way for a successful model of an Islamic secular democracy but others in South East Asia are optimistic or maybe I should say hopeful to see Malaysia succeed with Islam and democracy hand in hand.
Yet as we travel through KL amidst the impressive skyline which includes the Petronas Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world, we meet with government officials who try to explain the benefits of Islam Hadhari.
“So what do you know about Islam Hadhari?”, I am asked.
It is very hard how to answer a question when speaking to Malaysians because it is very easy to offend if you don’t say what they want to hear. I take the middle path and say that Islam Hadhari is a very modern approach to bridging Islam with modernity.
In the words of Abdullah Badawi, “It’s a new approach adopted by the government as a complement to the agenda of developing a glorious and civilized Malaysian society.”
Malaysia has on the surface become one of South East Asia’s wealthiest states and traveling through the country you can see that Malaysia has a fluid relationship with its 9 million Chinese and another 1 million or so Indians. Economically, the Chinese have made their mark and the country is relatively harmonious.
Speak to any Malay in the streets of KL and they will tell you just how happy everyone is under Islam Hadhari. Malaysia’s official religion is Islam. Its legal system operates on two levels; Shariah court and a civil court. In general this seems to work. Those who are Malay are automatically assumed to be Muslim which is indicated on their identity cards. The shariah court deals with Muslims and the civil courts deal with the Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs and Hindus. It all works out nicely until someone like Lina Joy, a Malay, comes along and wants to become a Christian.
Miss Joy met a Christian with whom she desired to marry but to do so she would require to change her status as a Muslim. This was dealt with in the civil court and she was directed to obtain a certificate of apostasy from the shariah court. It became a high profile case which could have been resolved if Miss Joy had gone to the shariah court but she has till now refused to do so.
Having two parallel systems in a society where it is not always black and white is fraught with danger. Generally speaking in the past two years there have been 16 apostasy applications and only two refusals. Whilst Malaysia does not want to admit there are many people leaving Islam, it is playing down the Lina Joy case. I speak to a Malaysian shariah court judge who says, “Changing your religion is not a simple matter, although we can issue a certificate of apostasy, we have to try to help that person in every way possible and then only and if only the applicant is beyond reconciliation with their faith we can issue a certificate and remove Islam from their identity.”
We meet with a delegation from the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) who show us a power point presentation about their view of things. Their fears are apparent, they are afraid of Islam taking hold of affairs and of losing democracy and their rights in a society which favours Malays. The MCA is an influential partner in a shaky coalition which has for many years withstood the challenges of time. But it appears that the two need each other more than ever as the Islamic Party (PAS) is gaining ground after its shock loss of the state of Terenganu. While MCA does not fully appreciate the benefits of Islam Hadhari, it prefers that to the Islamic Sharia state law advocated by PAS.
After a week of meetings and luncheons I left the country with a sense that not everything was right in the state of Malaysia but yet there was this uncanny reciprocity between Chinese pragmatism and Malay single-mindedness that was the glue between the two parties that contributes to the success of this ongoing experiment.
Kuranda Seyit is a documentary writer/director and was a part of a recent delegation to Malaysia organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
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