tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30649399173305569892024-03-13T04:11:28.390-07:00Kuranda SeyitKuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-17385697699803534942012-06-25T04:05:00.003-07:002012-06-25T04:05:42.126-07:00De-radicalising Muslim YouthIn trying to understand the potential of radicalisation of Muslim youth in Sydney, I have written some background information that might help to understand the issues and explore ways for preventing youth from becoming radicalised. Today's Muslim youth have a very different environment than that of their parents and have in many ways had more stability in their lives and a greater access to Islamic education. There are however much deeper historical factors that have influenced the way Muslim youth perceive their identity.
Resurgence of Islam
Islamic resurgence began in the 19th century as a result of the colonisation of the Middle East by European powers. This continued well into the 20th century after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. There was a general feeling that society had lost touch with their Islamic principles of high moral conduct and compassion.
Hassan Al Banna who co-founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was one of those who felt this way. He was more concerned about the return to spirituality and morals in Egyptian society under colonial rule. Sayyid Qutb born 1906 was one of several prominent scholars who lived in Egypt and joined the Brotherhood. He was attempting to revive the early concept of armed struggle, in the vain hope to initiate a revolution that would see Muslims unite under one banner and re-assert its domination of the region. He used the teachings of Ibn Taymiyya and Imam al-Shafi to justify his ideas. One of his greatest works was Milestones ( Ar. Ma’alim fi’l Tariq) written whilst in prison in Egypt under Nasser. Nasser and other Arab leaders had other ideas. Theirs was a path towards secularization, the Muslim Brotherhood dispersed throughout the Middle East and went underground.
Around this time several scholars who advocated violent struggle had influence in places like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. This resurgence has indirectly led to the current anti-Western sentiment throughout the Muslim world.
Since the 1970’s the Islamic resurgence has had to go underground to some degree. The Ikhwan al Muslimeen or The Muslim Brothers as opposed to the Brotherhood has been strong in opposing the governments of Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
During the 70’s the Palestinian struggle received world attention and put the Muslims firmly on the media map. In the late 70’s and early 80’s the Islamic revolution in Iran created a new found resentment of Islam in the West. The Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa against Salman Rushdie further divided the liberal West with the inflexible Islamic worldview as represented by the Ayatollah.
In the past two decades we have seen the collapse of Communism, two Gulf Wars and a number of terrorist attacks against Western targets which have all contributed to the current divide between Islam and the West. The resulting Nation States with their secular or totalitarian governments has caused great discord amongst the intelligentsia in these societies leading to violent episodes in the political development of most of the countries that make up the Middle East including Turkey, Iran and Pakistan.
Whilst Islam and the West are historically compatible there are competing interests which are not religiously motivated but due to geo-political reasons have been perceived as a clash between the two. The strategic and economic interests in the Mid East are well known and the struggle for independence amongst some Muslim countries has led to further violent clashes often exacerbated by foreign influence from countries like the USA, France, Britain and Russia.
The current War on Terror is only the latest international issue that has created great instability in the world. The emergence of Al Qaeda and other militant groups has led the US to declare a new form of warfare (substituting the Cold War) in which there are no clear enemies or rules of combat, hence making it an indefinite war that can be exploited to suit the needs of the Western Hemisphere.
Most Muslims are the victims of terrorism and very few support terror as a mode of struggle. For most Muslims it is contrary to Islamic teachings which restrict the killing of civilians to combat only.
Islam and the state: Islamisation
ISLAMISATION is a term which describes the process by which communities, political groups and countries seek to accord primary significance to the perceived values and laws of Islam as the laws of the state. This phenomenon is recent and attributed to various independent movements fighting against colonial rule.
In the pre-colonial period, Islamisation was not pursued because state and society were perceived to be one, and as long as personal religious beliefs and worship were not restricted by state laws, there was no need to form an Islamic state.
It is argued by many that the present appeal of Islamisation lies in the belief that it is an opportunity to regain an authentic Islamic identity lost through colonisation. It has also been suggested that Islamisation has a mass appeal for Muslims as an antidote to the corrupt and dictatorial regimes that have often risen in the wake of the withdrawal of colonial power.
Groups that identify themselves as engaged in the project of Islamisation can vary considerably in their ideology and approach. Currently there is the perception that Islamists endorse violent struggle, but this is not always the case. Islamists are to be found on both the right and left of the political spectrum.
There is a significant consensus among scholars that the process of Islamisation has not brought Muslim nations in which it has taken place any closer to the Qur’anic ideal of a just and compassionate society.
Islamisation has been especially devastating for women and minority groups who are not only often excluded from the political and public domains, but are also subjected to harsh limitations or even abuse in the cultural and educational spheres. Most importantly, Islamisation has created an elite who either through theological credentials or political force that insist their interpretation of Islam is the only legitimate one. Criticism and opposition has become increasingly dangerous where these elites exist.
To what extent countries have been legally Islamised varies greatly. While some Muslims passionately support the move toward an ‘ideal’ Islamic state, for others the concept of Islamisation is highly problematic. In some polities (eg. Indonesia, Algeria, the Palestinian Authority), Sharia is virtually ignored as a guide to legislation or policy on many vital issues, while others (eg. Malaysia, Syria, Pakistan) have enshrined it in their legal codes and constitutions to varying degrees or limited it to religious courts with jurisdiction over family law, some succession and moral matters. There are only a handful of countries (eg. Saudi Arabia & Sudan) where some version of the Sharia constitutes the whole of the law.
Structure of Islamic organizations in Australia
The structure of the Islamic Community in Australia is very diverse and ambivalent. Like many communities there are a number of organisations that cater for religion, youth, women as well as welfare and education. The Islamic community is more complex than an ethnic community per se because it is in fact made up of over 100 different ethnic communities and associations loosely tied together under the banner of Islam. There are many ethnic organizations and societies and several organizations that are distinctly Islamic in identity as well as a number of peak bodies or umbrella oragnisations in each state. The Muslim community in Australia is directly affected by the various perspectives shared by scholars based in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe and the USA. What is occurring outside the country in a macrocosm is also mirrored here as a microcosm. Therefore, the biggest hurdle facing Muslims in Australia currently is the process of unity and co-operation. In fact, it is quite misleading to occur to one Muslim community but rather many Muslim communities based on the different schools of thought and ethnic backgrounds.
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) now called Muslims Australia
The Islamic community in Australia was, in 1964 only a very small community of Turkish-Cypriots, Egyptians, Lebanese, Albanians, Bosnians, Chinese, Malays, Indians, Fijian- Indians and Pakistanis. The community was not yet large enough to form any associations by ethnicity. There were, however, enough people concerned about preserving their faith to begin a loose federation of the various communities across the country. The Australian Federation of Islamic Societies (AFIS) was formed and this small organisation administered the affairs of the community, especially in terms of raising money to build mosques and schools.
By 1974 the Turkish community with the help of AFIS built the first mosque in Australia since the post war immigration boom. Which was an old Presbytarian church in Erskineville (in Sydney), converted to a mosque. Mosques followed swiftly with the building of the Lakemba Mosque (1976) and the Surry Hills Mosque (1978). These mosques catered for the small communities which existed in and around Redfern and South Sydney.
The first plane loads of Turkish migrants were housed in hostels around Zetland and the inner city. These communities in the early eighties moved out to western suburban centres such as St Marys, Mt Druitt, Blacktown and Auburn. The Indo-Pakistani community also moved out to Rooty Hill and Blacktown. Today there are two large mosques in western Sydney ( Mt Druitt which was built by the Turkish community and in Rooty Hill built by the Indo-Pakistani community).
In 1974 several professional Muslim members of AFIS decided to form a peak body called the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC). This was based on a three tier structure of federal council, state councils (9 councils including Christmas Island and Canberra) and local societies. Although the original aims of the body indicated a wide sphere of influence especially in areas of halal certification, mosques, schools, and youth, it has in the last ten years lost some of its relevance to Muslims living in Sydney and Melbourne and possibly in most states. The peak body has become largely redundant because of the loss of its Halal Certification monopoly and costly and time consuming court battles against other Islamic bodies. However, in recent months, AFIC has tried to reinvent itself with a name a change, now called Muslims Australia. It has also expanded its school network to have 8 campuses three in Sydney and one in every state except Tasmania and Darwin (there are plans for a school in Darwin though). Muslims Australia is slowly regaining some credibility amongst the Muslim community nationwide, although, there are many young people who have established their own networks based around University and social media networks. For many young Muslims, Muslims Australia is too distant to understand or to engage with.
NSW
The Islamic Council of NSW (ICNSW) was incorporated in 1976. AFIC was incorporated in 1980 as the peak Islamic body in Australia. ICNSW represented a collective of Islamic societies and organisations in NSW and was a member of AFIC up till 1999.
In 1996 a dispute had erupted between the ICNSW and the AFIC board. As a result of this the dispute the two organizations ended up in court. On 29 August 1999 ICNSW was suspended and a caretaker situation was sought. There was no resolution and subsequently ICNSW was expelled permanently from the Federal umbrella organization. AFIC then created a new state body in 2000 to offset the ICNSW and called it the Supreme Islamic Council of NSW. It did not come into effect until early 2001. The SICNSW had been operating as the state body for almost 2 years until another court dispute arose in mid 2002. SICNSW sought to remove a society from the council and in August sought to amend its constitution, AFIC said it was unconstitutional and once again the SICNSW was expelled and a new body was formed calling it the Muslim Council of NSW (MCNSW). The Executive committee, during the 2003 Congress elected a new state body calling it the Muslim Council of NSW. The MCNSW was also suspended and a new NSW body was created calling it Muslims NSW and it is currently AFIC’s representative body in NSW.
One of the largest Muslim migrant communities to emerge in Sydney was the Lebanese community. They congregated in Canterbury-Bankstown and built their first mosque in Lakemba in 1975. The Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) manages the affairs of the mosque ranging in services from funeral and burial services to Arabic and Quran lessons and youth activities. These were the primary services provided by other associations and mosques. They were largely unskilled first generation Muslims who could not speak English with any fluency. The leader of prayers at the mosque is Sheikh Taj Al din Al Hilali, of Egyptian origin. Recently, the LMA opened its large multi-functional youth centre.
Other relevant organisations (this is not an exhaustive list)
There have been for the past decade groups operating alongside the community but not directly involved with the peak bodies.
These amongst others: Islamic Charitable Projects Association (ICPA Habashi and Lebanese), Hizb-u-Tahrir (HT), Tablighi Jamaat (mixed mainly sub-continental), Ahlu-sunna wal-jamaat (ASWJ) (mixed salafi groups), Milli Gorus (Turkish - National Vision), Nur jamaat (Turkish) and Ikhwan al-Muslimeen (Muslim Brotherhood mainly Arab), Earlwood Islamic Centre (Shia) as well as many small sects such as Alawis (Turkish and Syrian), Ahmaddiya (Qadiyyanis) and Ismailis (sub-continental).
In general these groups are small in numbers, however, some of these groups, such as the ASWJ and HT draw large crowds to their events and activities as many Muslims attend but do not necessarily support their ideologies but have some association (usually ethno-cultural).
Both Ahlu-sunnah wal jamaat and Hizbut-Tahrir receives a disproportionately high amount of media coverage which magnifies the perception that they are an important part of the mainstream Muslim community.
Within the Ahlu-sunna wal jamaat are a number of organisations; United Muslims Association (UMA), Global Islamic Youth Centre (GIYC), Federation of Muslim Students and Youth (FAMSY), Islamic Cultural Centre (ICC) and the Islamic Dawah and Culture Association (IDCA). These groups are increasing their sphere of influence and are highly organised and motivated. Although, only a small proportion of the general Muslim population in Australia, they are much more active in community affairs and have their own youth clubs, converts support, women’s groups and bookstores.
The only way to combat their growing influence is to promote more mainstream traditionalist groups to take positions of leadership and to establish organizations that promulgate a “traditional” interpretation of Islam.
Sydney is a complex conglomeration of ethnic communities and religious sects. The most significant aspect of the Muslim population in NSW compared to other states is the very large proportion of Lebanese people in Sydney. There are roughly about 70000 Lebanese Muslims in Sydney alone. Many of the Lebanese fled the strife of the 1975 civil war and have settled in South Western Sydney and in western Sydney in such places as Lakemba, Bankstown, Rockdale, Liverpool, Campbelltown and Auburn. There are many problems facing Lebanese youth, particularly around marginalisation and disenfranchisement leading to high criminality. This is reflected by the relatively high numbers of prisoners of Lebanese descent (both Christian and Muslim) in NSW gaols. However, there are other complexities. Sydney, has traditionally been built around the development of enclaves of various ethnic groups such Italians in Leichardt, Greeks in Marrickville, Vietnamese in Cabramatta and so forth. The level of integration in Sydney has been very slow and some communities are still isolated. The high volume of migrants has also contributed to their high visibility and there has been some discomfort expressed by some elements in the mainstream community and the media reporting has accentuated this discomfort.
In 2005 the Cronulla Riots highlighted this growing tension and Sydney will remain for the immediate future a city which is not well adjusted to the high concentration of multicultural groups in various pockets of Sydney. The latest group, with high visibility and controversy has been the Sudanese both of Christian and Muslim backgrounds.
VIC
Likewise in Melbourne, the first emerging communities were led by Albanians, Bosnians Cypriots, Lebanese, Egyptians and Turks. It was not until the early 80’s that schools were established and a number of Mosques were built. Sheikh Fehmi Naji El-Imam was one of the pioneers in Melbourne (migrated in the 50’s) and is based at Preston Mosque. The Islamic Council of Victoria is also a strong institution that provides a number of services to the Islamic community. In the past decade a number of women’s organizations have emerged providing urgently needed services for women. We have also witnessed a new wave of migrants originating from the Horn of Africa (Somalia, Eritrean, Ethiopian), Iraq and Afghanistan in the past decade. The needs of these emerging communities has been focused on settlement, welfare, employment and English training. The Islamic Women’s Welfare Council of Victoria is active in dealing with domestic violence and counselling and a number of initiatives led by the council has been very successful.
Islamic community relations in Melbourne have been slightly smoother than in NSW and to this day there is only one Islamic council. There are also a number of Islamic schools which all have produced high achievers with excellent academic results. The Turkish community has produced four schools in Melbourne and currently both King Khalid College (now known as Australian International Academy) and Minaret have developed into large and prestigious institutions. Other schools are Ilim College and Isik college run by the Turkish community.
The Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria has also become a strong performer in Halal certification and overseas trade with the Middle East and South East Asia. There are over 30 mosques in Victoria.
The emergence of competent Muslim leaders in the past decade have made Melbourne’s Muslim community a model for others to learn from. People like Yasser Soliman, Waleed Aly and Professor Abdullah Saeed as well as comedians such as Nazeem Hussain and Aamer Rahman.
Melbourne’s Muslims have successfully used comedy and the arts to break down barriers and promote positive community engagement. The lack of conflicts has helped a continuous pattern of growth and success. Both Melbourne and Sydney have been very successful in Interfaith dialogue and this type of activity has multiplied since September 11 2001.
WA
The community in Perth is ironically much older than Sydney or Melbourne, although far smaller in number. The early Afghan cameleers settled in Perth and in 1905 built the Perth Mosque. This mosque is still used by the new generation of Muslims in Perth.
Broadly speaking, the community is dominated by South Africans, Somalis, Turks, Lebanese and Indonesians. There are four main mosques with a number of smaller centres. The main mosques are situated in Mirabooka, Perth, Thornlie and Marylands.
The University of WA and Curtin Universities have a number of Muslim scholars who are also active within the community. Of course the Islamic Council of WA acts as the peak body for Muslims in Perth but does not enjoy enough support from the main part of the community. The large success story for Perth is the Australian Islamic College which has over 2000 students and three campuses. There are three more Islamic schools in Perth. Like most states there is a Muslim Women’s Association. There is also a very active and dominant Salfi group which has its own dawah centre, school and mosque.
Muslims in Perth are quite integrated into the mainstream society and West Australians seem to have readily accepted Muslims new and old alike. This could be attributed to the long history of relations which started with the early Afghan and Pakistani migrants in the 1800s.
QLD
Brisbane is another unique situation where Muslims have integrated well into the broader community. There are less than 15000 Muslims in the whole state and much of the activity is run by the Islamic Council of Queensland. However, there is a strong presence of individual Muslims who work on a variety of matters ranging from welfare, halal certification, women’s issues and academia. Most have some affiliation with the Council.
The new force in community issues is the Islamic Research Centre which is partly funded by Griffith University and the Islamic community in Brisbane. The centre is run by Muslim academics and has its own media centre. The Kuraby mosque which was burnt down in 2001 after the September 11 attacks in the US, has now been rebuilt and is a focal point for the community’s activities. The oldest mosque is in Holland Park and was built by the Afghan Cameleer/Indian community. There is also a new mosque in Durra. There are two Islamic schools in Brisbane; Karawatha and in Gooloongabba.
There are a number of Muslims living in the Sunshine Coast, Mackay and Rockhampton. Some of these Muslims are of mixed heritage with Makkasan and Malay blood, remnants from the Makassan sea-traders who arrived in the 17th century and onwards until the early 20th century and the Malay pearl-divers who were operating in the early 1900’s.
SA
In Adelaide for many years there has been no central body and therefore the community has been generally disparate. The oldest mosque in Australia is situated in Little Gilbert Street and was built in 1888. There are a number of smaller organizations which run educational facilities and welfare groups. The main women’s organization is the Muslim Women’s Association of SA.
There are as in other states populations of Lebanese, Turks (in Murray Bridge), Afghans, and the largest community of Uygur people (from Western China) in Australia. The community is very small and still developing its institutions. The Islamic College of SA is now 12 years old and there is an Islamic centre in Park Holme and a small community school.
South Australia could be regarded as the hub for the Afghan cameleers and today there are several thousand descendants still in the state, with their biggest concentration in Port Augusta and Adelaide as well as a symbolic presence in Marree where the Camel cup is held every year in July.
Tasmania
The Islamic Society of Hobart is very small. It is one of the members of the AFIC system and holds the same voting power as Sydney and Melbourne. The community is so small, there are very few incidents to report. However, sadly, in recent times the Islamic Sufi library was deliberately burned down and many valuable books destroyed. The new Hobart mosque was officially opened in 2005.
Canberra
A vibrant and professional group of Muslims reside in Canberra. The Islamic Society of Canberra is an important member of AFIC. Also AFIC has opened a new school. Outside of this system is the independent group, the Canberra Islamic Centre which has built its own centre fully equipped with sports hall/ prayer centre, the largest Islamic library in Australia, a radio studio, computer room, an art gallery and function centre. The group are actively involved with interfaith, media, the performing arts and political lobbying. There is also a new mosque in North Canberra.
Darwin
The Islamic Society of NT is a very small group of Muslims numbering under 1000. They are actively involved in interfaith and media. The community is mainly a mixture of Indo-Pakistani, Malay-Indonesian, new arrivals from Africa and some Chinese Muslims. There is only one imam in Darwin.
The significant others
This is a fairly small body of concerned Muslims who are generally educated and come from an eclectic mix including many converts who are running their own organisations and involved at grassroots levels of the community. Their activities range broadly from welfare, women and education to interfaith, da’wah (inviting people to Islam) and media.
These groups are led by mid-level professionals, who are ‘home-grown’ and possess an “Australian” mindset. These people are generally less embroiled in the politics of the peak bodies and tend to get much more done, particularly, in establishing grassroots movements and programs. The main problem for this group is that they are under-resourced and lack enough funds.
They tend to be inwardly focused and have specialised areas of interest and operation.
For example interfaith, welfare and counselling, religious education, media relations and Islamic education.
Key groups at risk of radicalisation and some possible solutions
The Muslim community is really a conglomeration of very diverse groups of ethnic, doctrinal and sectarian factions, in which there are overlapping religious ideologies and cultural factors. In Australia the Turkish community, just for example, is made up of the socialist left and Alevis, on one side and in the centre, the religiously observant Muslims who could belong to one of the following groups: Diyanet (Turkish Department of Religious Affairs), Milli Gorush (National Vision), Nur group, those who follow Fetullah Gulen such as Affinity Intercultural Foundation and Australian Islamic Society, and a number of Sufi Orders and on the right it is mainly nationalists and secularists. Religiously, Turks are Sunni Muslims and follow the Hanafi school of jurisprudence.
Take another totally different group as an illustration of the complexities of understanding and dealing with Islam; the Lebanese community is broadly made up of the socialists, the business and gentrified elite, the nationalists and pro-government groups, then on the religious spectrum there are staunch Sunni Muslims who follow the Shafii school of jurisprudence, the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan il Muslimeen), the Habashi, the Wahhabi, Tablighi, several Sufi orders and of course the Shi’a, who are predominantly Jafari 12th Imam sect and come from southern Lebanon. There are many family and regional divisions and where you come from determines your politics, for instance, many Lebanese Australians are from Tripoli, others are from al-Minya, or Beirut and there are those from the South as well as others from Akkoura and various mountain or valley regions.
The Lebanese in Australia generally follow Sunni orthodoxy and are in line with mainstream Muslims around the world. However, small factions exist between the minority extremist groups. Most Lebanese are fairly lax and behave as cultural Muslims who observe the main practices and traditions. Of course a very telling factor about Lebanese Muslims is that most who arrived in Sydney in 1975 were from uneducated rural areas with very limited skills and understanding of modern societies (a large number arrived just from the Tripoli rural area alone).
There are too many groups to mention that belong to the colourful and vibrant Muslim community, in fact it is more accurate to say Muslim communities and to be more accurate there is no one Muslim community in Australia. For example Turks rarely mix with Lebanese, they rarely mix with Africans and Bosnians tend to do their own thing although close to Turks. South Africans are quite aloof too and Indians tend to also mix with their own. This evidenced by the many mosques which operate in their own ethnic languages.
The Muslim community is about 500000 in total. While we must be aware of the needs of the community, by and large the Muslim population is well adjusted to Australia and pose no real threat. From this population only about 50-60% are active and observant Muslims. Within this half of the population there is, however, a small percentage (approximately 2-5%) who are in a precarious position and at risk.
Besides the well known groups there are now some new and emerging communities such as Afghan, Sudanese and Somali, which are under-developed and little is known about their structures and politics. Yet, they are very much an active element of the overall Muslims in Australia.
There are three important and at-risk groups that will play a significant role in the future of Islamic affairs in Australia:
1. The Motivators - The mainstream moderate community of Muslims makes up over 90%. Only about a fifth of this population are active within the community and it is this group that needs to be motivated to act and empowered to do so. Their efforts to act as a counter to extremist or fundamentalist groups will be the only feasible way to diminish their relevance and influence over marginalised fringe groups.
2. Young Guns - The second group for focus is at-risk youth. It is here where it is most likely that young men will experience a change of view and attitude and are more vulnerable to persuasion. There are two types of at-risk youth; those disenfranchised and marginalised youth (usually involved in criminal activity) in contact with religious figures; or sophisticated and developed members of a dissident organization with strong views, mostly professional members.
3. The Mushrooms- The third reassessment begins with addressing the same issues of radicalisation of Muslim youth from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds by examining ethno-cultural factors as well religious. We need to give more attention to at-risk groups based on their ethnic identities like Lebanese, Pakistani and Somalian communities and not solely on religious identities.
The Muslim community at large supports the government’s initiatives to protect the nation from a terrorist attack. They support most of the measures taken to strengthen the laws and increase powers of law enforcement agencies, although like many Australians, Muslims are suspicious of giving too much powers to intelligence agencies fearing the general loss of civil liberties and persecution and harassment. This was highlighted by the Haneef and Izhar ul-Haque cases in 2007.
Many of the so-called ‘extremist’ Muslim groups believe that the laws are targeting them anyway and are indifferent to what is happening.
Countering radicalisation and extremism amongst Muslim communities
There are three areas of concern regarding the mainstream and more moderate groups:
• Operating at mid-level groups such as FAIR or Affinity, engaging leaders and managers and working with them to strategise initiatives to empower adults and youth, such as Media Training and awareness, job skills training and counselling programs, leadership programs and educational programs including after school tuition, positive role modelling and careers expos.
• Language training and mentoring for new and emerging communities.
• Crime reduction and prevention programs including building bridges and awareness of rights and responsibilities for marginalised communities.
The main objective behind working with mid-level organizations and in assisting with skills training and crime prevention is to NORMALISE Islam and Muslims. Obviously, one of the very negative media issues is crime and whenever Muslims are involved whether it is rape or terrorism, it gets highlighted and usually with extensive coverage. Once again, this comes back to the community leaders, mid-level professionals and parents to become motivated to take responsibility and action to counter anti-social behaviour and criminal tendencies. By normalising Islam we will see Muslims engaged in everyday activities and be seen as a healthy part of the system of society. We are already seeing much more activism on behalf of many Muslims and as a result there has been much more awareness about Muslims and a willingness of the broader community to help and engage.
There are four areas of concern regarding marginalised youth and religious groups:
• Poor training of religious leaders and lack of facilities for mainstream organisations
• Marginalised/disenfranchised youth with disadvantaged backgrounds such as low employment opportunities and high recidivism
• Disaffected sub-professional Muslims and on-Campus Muslim Students
• Religious training of youth abroad in Saudi Arabia, Middle East and Pakistan
The problem of fire-brand imams and leaders will not simply go away, every religious community has their radicals and fundamentalists. The challenge is to minimise their influence and to keep them above ground so that one can monitor their activities. This creates a problem in that they tend to grow in popularity and influence. Therefore, it may be more advantageous to give these organizations some incentives to deal directly with the government and to monitor and curb some of their links with organizations abroad.
The training of religious leaders is also a contentious issue as has been experienced in setting up an Islamic Centre for Excellence in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The real need is not an academic course as this will only provide courses of interest to mainstream Muslims and non-Muslims and will be only a cosmetic solution. Instead, young Muslims in Australia have to have an option to remain in Australia to learn the traditional training and pastoral care of being an Imam. They also have to be given a first preference to attend any overseas training under a reputable institution in a country like Malaysia or Turkey.
Finally, for close to three decades the conundrum of disenfranchised youth has weighed heavily on the “Muslim” communities. The problem is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and a generational cycle of disempowerment. Many Lebanese youth for example have low literacy, a strong accent and a ‘foreign’ sounding name which disadvantages them in all aspects of life especially employment and socialising. They then tend to take low skilled jobs or end up working with a relative or for the family business. Many youth have resorted to organised crime and end up in prison. The most serious challenge is to bring the standard of educational achievement to a better level and to improve employability. It is important to reduce crime and give young Lebanese men a chance to do better than their parents or their older mates and uncles. It is also vital that we promote more contact with mainstream institutions and organizations, get youth to volunteer and see the benefits of working with others for their own community and to create a better sense of good citizenship and moral responsibility.
The greatest problem that I have experienced amongst Muslim youth especially of Lebanese extraction is that there seems to be no real hope or incentive to want to help the broader society. Instead, there is a culture of taking and not giving.
Recommendations
1. To counter the first problem we need to motivate and empower existing Muslim organizations and ethnic groups with resources to assist the at-risk target groups. This could start with general information sessions and open forums on the relevant topics with community members. It could also involve supporting and opening projects that enable the community to further understand the issues and problems and to plan ways about dealing with it by offering professional development and training programs.
2. This is a continuation of the first solution and is about educating and raising awareness of issues amongst community and trying to combat apathy.
3. Provide strong foundations in schools and youth organizations and encourage Muslim youth to volunteer with mainstream organizations.
4. Promoting a more prominent role amongst smaller mosques and diminishing the prominence of controversial mosques and their committees. For instance in Sydney working closely with mosques such as Rooty Hill or Minto, Auburn or Bonnyrigg.
5. Putting more pressure on “peak-bodies” with funding incentives to work with mid-level reliable and effective groups who are under-resourced but more switched on with the issues, forcing them to work more effectively with the grassroots and distribute resources.
6. Provide stronger Islamic imam and religious training opportunities in Australia or connecting with reputable institutions which offer short courses in Malaysia.
With the help of the government it would be a great achievement to establish the first Islamic Sciences Imam training seminary. This would entail employing an Arab scholar (fluent in English) to work in Australia for a minimum of four years to train and mentor young Muslim men who desire to be imams.
7. Work with mosques and schools in developing programs to assist youth such as leadership programs, mentoring projects and job skills training and sports and recreation programs.
8. Conducting research on Prisons and radicalisation of inmates and their progress outside the system
9. Conducting research on understanding radicalisation and the current trends in training religious leaders.
10. Working with specific ethnic communities and diluting the focus on Islam. This would be a deliberate attempt to lessen the focus on Islam and Muslims and assist the normalising process. The key at-risk group is within the Lebanese population. This may involve an extensive program targeting parents, community leaders and youth which essentially educates and motivates them to take a more proactive role and a sense of ownership and responsibility for their future.
11. Working with Lebanese youth on reducing/preventing crime.
12. Working with Lebanese and Pakistani youth and cultivating effective media savvy leaders.
13. Working towards maintaining strong links with on-Campus Muslim student bodies.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-73429451628671647912012-06-25T01:33:00.000-07:002012-06-25T03:18:35.727-07:00De-normalising RacismIslamaphobia is nothing new. European Orientalism demonized Muslims and perceived them as the ‘other’ during the 18th and 19th Centuries. Now over 200 years on and we are still trying the same thing albeit through our modern communication mediums. The sad thing is while it may suit the agenda of some, it is people on the ground who suffer. The media and our politicians are much to blame and of course some of our religious leaders add fuel to the fire.
But this type of stereotyping and marginalization has ensured that Islam remains outside of the norm. It is viewed as a mysterious, seductive and cultic faith which aims to undermine our righteous Christian values. “The bearded Muslim awaits around each corner and school yard ready to pounce on our innocent youth, to viciously rape and debase our women and to wage a jihad against our western democracies”.
William Muir (1891) in The Caliphate, Its Rise, Decline and Fall, states:
“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.
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’.”
Analysis of contemporary media will show one common thread. The negative stereotype, this thread is aimed at de-normalising Islam, making it alien and threatening.
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 evil and blood-thirsty murderers.
The recent Danish cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad although offensive is nothing new. This existed in the late 1800’s and aimed largely at ridiculing the Ottoman Empire which was basically the Islamic world at the time.
If we look at the television and movie industry for example, we observe in Arnold Schwarznegger action movies where he kills the Arab villain and saves the world from Islamic domination.
In programs 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 made they wreak havoc upon the innocent Americans although good finally triumphs over evil.
If we take an even closer look at seemingly innocent children’s programs like “The Simpsons”, a very clever satirical look at American society. 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 Kwik-e-mart owner changing used by dates on food items, 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 shonky mayor, the Italian mafia boss, the escaped convict, 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 program has covered Freemasons to sending up celebrities and presidents. Yet what is missing, in this all-American city of Springfield?
De-normalising Islam has been a part of the agenda for over three centuries.
Possibly, things could change, 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. Islam then would begin its path to normalization but there is a very long road ahead of us.
The Muslim experience of racism is very real. It varies in form; women who wear the head scarf are open targets and have faced varying degrees of racially motivated attacks, such as verbal abuse, physical assaults including the pulling off of head scarves and intimidation in public spaces, by staff in hospitals, medical surgeries and shopping centres and particularly at work.
Cases of women being bullied or treated unfairly at work are rising too. Most of these incidents go unreported because women do not want to lose their jobs, they do not know what complaints mechanisms are available to them or they are fearful of reprisals.
Only last month a Muslim woman was physically attacked in broad daylight, in the main street of Sydney CBD, whereby two men crept up behind her and pulled off her headscarf. Then intimidated her and no-one came to help.
Another case where a student teacher was regularly made fun of because she wore the head covering and made to feel unwanted and inferior.
Racism is an ugly thing. Yet, we all know that it exists and to a certain degree we accept it. The fight to eradicate racism is not nearly strong enough in Australia. Because of our very long history of racism in this country, we have grown very complacent and many always assume that it will not happen to them so why should they be concerned. But that is because most Australians live in places where they are sheltered from the real effects of racism. In the multicultural heartlands of Sydney and Melbourne, you will find that a very different environment and Muslims, as well as Chinese, Indians and Pacific Islanders are a dominant feature. In suburbs like Lakemba, Fairfield and Auburn, we find that Islam is very normalised and accepted. Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Christians co-exist, harmoniously and with very little tension. In Coburg and Broadmeadows, there is a nice balance between the so many diverse cultures that are sprinkled along Sydney road, from Greek, Italian, Slavic, Asian, Indian, Turkish and Arab as well as new cultures emerging from Africa and Afghanistan.
For many, who are isolated from these places, see a different world, where they rarely mix, rarely have contact with the other, and know of only negative stereotypes reinforced through the media, these racist inclinations continue until it is manifested in the form of abuse or physical assault. The Cronulla riots reminded us of just how relatively minor tensions can blow out into an all out war.
However, Muslims are not just sitting on their hands and doing nothing to address the issue of racism and particularly Islamaphobia. They are taking various measures to breakdown the barriers.
The youth movements are extraordinary and there are several groups emerging. A new initiative called Y-factor has really taken a strong step towards that path through the use of Facebook and online radio broadcasts.
Another group calling itself Justice and Arts Network (JAAN), is using art to address social justice and discrimination. The Sydney Refugee Advocacy Network are a bunch of motivated Muslims taking up the fight for the rights of refugees. And the Australian Muslim Womens Association is addressing Muslim women’s issues in employment.
This month, they are holding a Q and A style forum hosted by local Muslim personality Waleed Aly and panelists include successful business woman Miriam Silva and Race Discrimination commissioner Helen Szoke. The project also involves workshops which will explore the Muslim woman’s experience at work and ways to address this, this includes barriers to promotion, direct discrimination, inadequate provisions for religious practices and cases of bullying, harassment and intimidation.
Project co-ordinator Zaynab Hawa, says, “We are excited about this initiative because firstly its long overdue and this issue needs to be raised and discussed but also we are at a stage where we have successful Muslim women in employment, who can be role models and speak out against these practices of discrimination and prejudice.”
The program will look at situations like Mariam’s who experienced racism during her student teaching practice;
Mariam, expresses how she was made to feel inadequate and unaccepted during her training. She said, “My building confidence was tarnished, I was given no sense of hope and instead of professional constructive criticism I was the victim of derogatory names and continuous scrutiny. I went into this prac with a high sense of willingness to learn but was blocked at every opportunity through consistent negativity. Furthermore working in an environment where I was evidently discriminated and subjected to racial taunts was not helpful in my experience.
I do not wish for any student to undergo the same treatment as I did and feel traumatised and deeply affected by my first experience in the teaching realm.”
In general, these types of experiences and many more serious ones are affecting both women and men who adhere to the Muslim faith.
For men it is not as obvious but finding time to pray or a clean place to pray is often met with antagonism and refusal. For many men who are looking for work, there are difficulties because of their Islamic names, such as Mohamed or Abdullah. So often today, many are anglicising their names just to fit in or get ahead. Mohamed becomes Michael or Mick and Abdullah is Alex or Andy. For others they are discouraged for working outside of their local community and tend to stick with their own ethnicity, this does very little for community cohesion and harmony and only promotes further alienation and isolation. The longer these trends continue, the more potential there is for a divided city. To address these issues local Muslim youth have to take ownership and responsibility to become catalysts for change. Breaking down barriers and stepping outside of their comfort zones.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-72217299994848095342012-03-31T20:04:00.001-07:002012-03-31T20:05:52.106-07:00My Visit to Mogadishu (Somalia) to observe the relief efforts thereIn late 2011, I visited the famine-affected areas of Mogadishu in Somalia. The visit was organised by IR Worldwide office.<br /><br />Mogadishu is a vibrant city, with the hustle and bustle of any capital, however it is evident that the decades of war and neglect have left its mark on a city still in a state of stagnation. There is very little government control or any signs of development. It seems like Somalians are getting by on their own steam and doing what they can to create a sense of normalcy in their lives. Our first visit was to the IR Somalia head office for a briefing attended by about 20 personnel.<br />This included a detailed overview of works occurring in and around Mogadishu. There are approximately 110 IR staff in Mogadishu alone.<br /><br />After the briefing we visited an old military factory, which was being used as a distribution centre to IDPs (Internally Displaced Person) for food relief and NFI (Non-food Items). This was a very extensive operation which used a docket system for families who were assessed as most in need.<br /><br />This site included donated goods from all donor countries such as USA, UK and others. Basic supplies included cooking oil, flour, soap and rice, which would last a month on average. There were very many happy people in the compound. Those who we spoke to expressed satisfaction and joy that they would receive relief for at least the next month. Unfortunately, there were thousands of others who missed out, many waiting outside in the vain hope that they would get in. What was very impressive was that the staff were highly professional and efficiently co-ordinated with other staff and personnel. They were well organised and followed the system. They were very courteous and acted humanely towards the recipients.<br /> <br />The few staff, with whom we we spent some time were highly qualified and well trained and all except for a small percentage were from Somalia or Somalians from Kenya. They all spoke a high level of English. The conditions at the moment have stabilised in most of Mogadishu. While there are reports of instability in the rest of Somalia, particularly in Somali Land and in the north and also skirmishes with the Kenyan army in the south, this has not affected the current population of refugees nor created new flows of IDPs. Most of the IDPs have been in Mogadishu for several months now. It also appears that the height of the drought has passed and there has been some temporary relief with heavy rains falling in the months of October and November.<br /><br />However, there is still a long way to go. Many recipients have nothing to fall back on. Long-term sustainability is a major concern, as there is no employment and many of the recipients are cattle herders or farmers and have no means to continue their livelihood or to return to their places of residence.<br />The next area that we visited was Corasan IDP camp. This was a winding maze of tents and huts, in a small pocket of Mogadishu. The place, while relatively clean, was set on a dusty area with no sealed streets or any form of sanitation for the IDPs.<br />However, most were staying in tents, which provided adequate shelter. Inside, people slept on mats on the hard floor. On average there were between 4-7 children per family. <br /><br />The main problem in the camp was disease and sickness. There were in just the eight tents I visited in a matter of an hour, four people who were seriously ill with some sort of paralysis and fever. There were many reports of children who had some debilitating illness and no doctors or clinics available for any relief.<br />There was a common trend that the husbands were out of work with nothing to do. Some had died, gone to look for work or even some had lost their sanity, leaving the mother to tend to the children and the household chores.<br /><br />Children looked quite malnourished and most were poorly clothed and most did not have shoes. Although, school services were being provided not all children attended school. There were Arabic and school facilities being provided but very few teachers and the ones who were available were unpaid volunteers. The IDPs are relatively stable and it appears that at least at this camp they are well provided for.<br /> <br />After documenting my trip to Mogadishu, I believe that organisations like IRW have to look at long term projects that will prevent the disastrous affects of drought in the future. There are thousands of IDPs in camps in Mogadishu and more are still coming on a regular basis, where there are problems are in health care in the camps. There are thousands of children and elderly who are suffering from treatable illnesses such as ear-infections, flus, eye and skin disorders. There are also thousands of people with disabilities including injuries from the conflict or from polio and other preventable diseases. IRW needs to invest in a clinic and supply qualified medical staff to attend to the camps and villages. I strongly recommend that IR Australia provides funding and facilitates a contingent of doctors from Australia to visit Mogadishu for a month program. We could work with the Australian Muslim Doctors Association and also the Australian Medical Association in sourcing doctors.<br /><br />The situation in Somalia is far from over and due much to international efforts the immediate future looks positive for the many displaced people. Their prospects and hopes are not much beyond daily survival, however, with more support, IR can play a pivotal role in giving the good people of Somalia a sense of hope and motivation to build their future. The focus should no be on health, education and long term sustainability programs.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-52672183716050293852012-03-31T19:52:00.000-07:002012-03-31T19:53:56.401-07:00Mahmoud and MichaelOnce there were two brothers who were identical twins. They lived with their family in the leafy suburb of Greenacre in Sydney’s south west. The family migrated to Australia in 1975 after the war in Lebanon and the twins were born in Bankstown Hospital.<br /><br />Mahmoud and Michael were in their third year at university and they were both excited about what prospects lay ahead for them as they searched for internships. Mahmoud wanted to work in I.T. and Michael in law.<br /><br />Mahmoud sent his CV to many companies requesting an internship and Michael did the same with different legal firms. Michael received ten replies and of the ten, five requested an interview. Mahmoud sent out twelve letters and got no replies whatsoever.<br /><br />After another year, Michael went on to work at one of Sydney’s prestigious legal firms and is now in his fifth year with the firm and they have offered him a position as partner.<br /><br />Mahmoud, dropped out of his course and changed his name to Mark and is now working at an IT company as a trainee technician. He is doing well and hopes to work his way up to management.<br /><br />What’s in a name? <br /><br />Shakespeare once asked in ‘Romeo and Juliet’;<br /><br />“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose,<br />By any other name would smell as sweet.”<br /><br />Was he so visionary that he knew that one day Michael and Mahmoud would have this experience?<br /><br />The sad reality is that many young Muslims are compelled to change their names so they can fit in or get ahead in life.<br /><br />Identity is so important in one’s life, especially a young person, who is full of vitality and motivation, who needs to have a sense of belonging and acceptance.<br /><br />In Australia we have many young Muslims, born in Australia but living between two worlds. At home they are the obedient Muslim, who speaks Arabic to his parents and outside, he is another person altogether, doesn’t speak about his religion or his culture, dresses and acts like his mates and shortens his name or Anglicises it altogether. Mohamed becomes Mo, Mustafa, Mus, Abdullah, Ab and Rabih – Robbie and so on.<br />The problem is serious but it is one that most adolescents must invariably experience on some level at one stage in their development. Yet, for Muslim kids it’s becoming increasingly different with the rise in Islamaphobia and anti-Islamic sentiments filtering through the media and into politics and society. <br /><br />There is an ‘us and them’ mentality and many young Muslims prefer to hang out with their own, where their accents wont be mocked, they wont be stared out or ridiculed and where they feel accepted. The divide will only grow wider as young Australians who live in the northern beaches or in the Eastern suburbs, will rarely have met or know any one of Middle Eastern origin, unless they happen to be Lebanese Christians who attend the same Catholic school.<br /><br />I grew up exactly this way. I had two identities and I did not really belong to either. I got to the point where I rebelled completely and moved away to live the life of a travelling vagrant searching for myself. I discovered my dearest twin, my brother in Islam, who taught me the meaning of brotherhood, who showed my true self and I realised that I should never have been ashamed of my faith at all. It was merely an illusion.<br /><br />What I did was I travelled to many Islamic places, places that were regarded as the seats of learning in the Golden age of Islam, I came back to Australia inspired and began to learn my faith, to study and to know right from wrong and to put real Islam into practice. I didn’t listen to stories or superstitious traditions and I used my logic and reason. I read widely.<br /><br />I didn’t stay locked up in my community, I studied other civilisations, I read about politics and I improved my English and corrected my accent. I never compromised my faith but I also wanted to understand the mindset of other faiths. I got involved with different organizations and set up my own projects and led the way. I did self-improvement courses and leadership programs. I lobbied for human rights for refugees in detention and I met with politicians and community leaders and I learned about diplomacy and the art of persuasion. But all along I kept strong in my faith and I kept away from wrong doing or things that would weaken my iman.<br /><br />I was a teacher for a while and I got lot of satisfaction teaching young Muslims. I also got to understand their issues and I made it my practice to empower them and give them encouragement to succeed. I have been working with youth for some time now and still get enormous satisfaction from giving them guidance and advice. <br /><br />At the end of the day you must be proud of your identity but not sit around doing nothing about your predicament or just complain or hate others.<br /><br />Allah says he will not change a people unless they change themselves.<br /><br />“Truly, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Quran 13:11)<br /><br />So young Muslims have to ‘Carpe Deum’! Seize the Day! And reverse the trends that are happening today in terms of attitudes towards Muslims. It starts firstly with oneself.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-29946001161729551932012-03-31T19:51:00.001-07:002012-03-31T19:51:59.340-07:00A gift to married couple(s)- respect and a gentle touchThere has been another controversy over an often misunderstood verse in the Muslim holy book, the Quran, about relationships between husbands and wives. This week a book condoning the beating of your wife has been published on line and more questions about Islam have emerged. <br /><br />The Quran is the revealed book which Muslims revere as the direct words of God. When one reads the Quran it is not like any other book, but more like a manual or guide-book. It is a conversation between the reader and God.<br /><br />The Quran is unique, as are the three other revealed books. However, we can’t compare them, as the original Psalms of David, the Torah and Gospels of Jesus, have been lost forever. What we have today are only translations and copies of the translated texts and they have been modified over the centuries.<br /><br />Whereas the Quran has been preserved over time and the words delivered 1400 years ago are exactly the same as any copy of the Quran today, in any country, the Quran does not change or cannot be modified. The Quran is the final in the series of divine revelations and Islam (submission) is the last message, aimed at all humankind and delivered by the seal of all the prophets, a humble man named, Muhammad (the praised one).<br /><br />If you look at Islam, like the final episode of a long running soap opera series, for instance, Home and Away. As we know, the stories change from episode to episode and the characters also change, although there are central characters that tend to hang around for a while. But each series is slightly different from the next but the messages are usually constant. Be good to each other and that crime doesn’t pay.<br /><br />Or another way of looking at it, is that the Quran is like the Gregory’s Street Directory (final edition), whereas preceding editions, being the Torah, the Psalms of David and the Gospel of Jesus, are now obsolete. Every year new streets are created, new roads and housing estates, new parks, shopping complexes and railway lines have been built. So there is a need to update the Gregory’s street directory regularly. The 1967 edition would be no good to me today, because there has been a massive transformation of Sydney into a large sprawling city and new suburbs have been established in the outer west. So I cant use it today.<br /><br />So the Quran is just the latest edition of revealed books, which essentially delivers the same message as the others but includes more detail. The Quran, explains or clarifies many things that we did not understand before. It, tells us that the Earth is a rotating sphere, that the Sun is the centre of our solar system and explains the stages of pregnancy from conception to birth. It explains other scientific phenomena and fills in the gaps about many of the preceding prophets or messengers like Abraham, Moses, Noah, Joseph and Jacob and of course John the Baptist and Jesus. The Quran includes detailed guidelines around the organization of societies, for example, how to perfect your character, how to treat travellers, inheritance, marriage and divorce rights and relationships between men and women. <br /><br />For example the God says in the Quran, (4.19).<br /><br />“O ye who believe! Ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should ye treat them with harshness, that ye may Take away part of the dower ye have given them, (except where they have been guilty of open lewdness); on the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and Allah brings about through it a great deal of good.”<br /><br />Of course, there are some discrepancies over interpretations of some of the verses contained in the Quran and that is probably, where we can run into trouble. However, last week’s article in the UK about a new marriage guidebook called “A Gift for Muslim Couple” has caused a stir because some of the advice is a little confronting. There are concerns that the book is advocating that a man can beat his wife.<br /><br />When it comes to the roles that men and women played in society fourteen centuries ago, I think we can all appreciate that families took them more literally then than they do today, especially in modern Australia. However, traditionally, the man was the leader, the breadwinner, the decision-maker and protector of the family. For society to function men and women were expected to accept these norms. In the Islamic context, a man could ask his wife not to leave the home because he was worried for her safety. <br /><br />But on the matter of relationships, even today, little has changed. We all have our idiosyncracies and habits and we are all human and imperfect. Sometimes couples don’t get along. In the case, of a husband, who suspects his wife was flirting with another guy or maybe she was intimately involved with another man, then the Quran gives us some direct advice on this matter.<br /><br />And this is what all the fuss is about. The interpretation of this verse.<br /><br />“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).<br /> (Chapter 4 Verse 34, from Yusuf Ali translation)<br /><br />Of course one could write a treatise on this topic and one, who is a scholar, could give various interpretations about the meaning of this text and its application in one’s life. I am not a scholar and will not even attempt to do so. But I will say this. <br /><br />As a Muslim it is abhorrent for me to treat my wife with nothing less than the way I would want to be treated myself, that is, with dignity, respect, equality and love. <br />To treat your wife like a child is unacceptable and illogical. A wife is not one’s chattel or property. As Muslims we are taught to respect women as the bearers and guardians of sons and daughters, as teachers and as home-makers and as the one’s who console and nurture their relationship with their husband. <br /><br />But as I said relationships don’t always work out as smoothly as some; we are not all so blessed, like John and Janet Howard. But when another man meets a married woman and tries to come on strong and she finds herself tempted, then the husband as does the woman has a right to know and do something about it. If they have only been flirting then the husband can warn her or advise her not do so, if she continues and he finds out, he can separate their beds, now this is serious sign, which means that it had better stop because the next stage, is where the marriage is at risk of divorce. If the wife were to continue then the husband would theoretically, have no other choice but to divorce. But what if there are children involved? Divorce is not a simple matter and should always be a last resort. The husband has a duty to save the marriage. He can symbolically, using a small twig, about the size of a pencil, to admonish his wife, by lightly tapping her. This is a sign to say that this is the last straw. <br /><br />Nowhere in the history of the Prophet’s marriages was there a case of beating his wife. The prophet had several disputes with his wife but they never resulted in any violence. Therefore, the Prophet as the model whom Muslims follow, a husband is to treat his wife with respect and love and not allowed to use violence against her (or the children for that matter).<br /><br />The recent book that advocates this is flawed because it does not explain the context of these verses and does not go into enough detail to explain the Prophet Muhammad’s own advice on this matter. <br /><br />After all, Muslims have to use both the information they have from the Quran and the example of the Prophet to make such informed decisions.<br /><br />Islam is a logical religion, it is scientific in nature and antidote for the intrinsic problems of all societies. Just about everything you read has a logical reason behind it, but we as lay people cannot interpret them without the help of scholars and experts. <br /><br />We know that it does not make sense that a man should be given free licence to assault his wife. It’s a no-brainer. A relationship wouldn’t last long if that were the case and even if it did, it would not be a loving and harmonious one.<br /><br />Domestic violence is a disease of society today, in every society, regardless of religion. We as modern day people have inherited a patriarchal attitude towards women and hence we still get these incidences of violence occurring, however, it is something that happens because men abuse their power and strength and often take advantage of a woman’s softness or passiveness. It should not be happening. Full stop!Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-7706186689790394522012-03-05T22:43:00.002-08:002012-03-05T22:47:49.641-08:00How can we sleep while our Qurans are Burning?Last year the mad preacher of Gainesville The Reverend Terry Jones created a furore in the Muslim world by his threats and call for a global burning of the Islamic holy book, the Quran. Thankfully, that was averted after some pressure from the Oval Office. Yet, last week some rogue US soldiers have taken this call one step further and burnt copies of the Quran, in all places, Afghanistan. It’s a death wish.<br /> <br />The US Army denied that this was deliberate and just a mistake, but do they really think that we are that stupid? Burning any book is really not kosher but burning one’s holy book when you are in one’s country as an invading force is a big slap in the face. The reality is that they got caught and now they are trying to backtrack.<br /> <br />Burning a Muslim’s most revered book, the word of God, is not a good idea, especially if you don’t want a major headache. There are a whole number of possile backlashes; fire-bombing embassies, retaliatory attacks on Westerners, burning flags and as we saw yesterday on Youtube, Libyan militia desecrating the gravestones of fallen soldiers of war.<br /> <br />These actions were gravely misjudged and the burning of Qurans by US soldiers did warrant the destruction of the grave sites. The two do not have had any connection whatsoever, the war cemetry was mainly for British and some allied soldiers anyway. Two wrongs don’t make a right. It was quite despicable to watch.<br /> <br />But this is deeper than just burning the Quran. A look at the last few months you would have noticed an increasing number of anti-Islamic incidents. There have been several laws passed in the US banning Sharia law. There was a massive campaign to stop the Islamic centre being built near Ground Zero. Then there was Anders Breivik, the Norwegian terrorist who killed 77 people in July 2011 and posted a "manifesto" on the internet, about the role played by websites as a forum for spreading hatred of Muslims in Europe.<br /><br />Yesterday a report, which polled 2,152 far-right supporters in the UK, raises concerns that the English Defence League (EDL), followed by Breivik, is increasingly promoting violence and in a planned international meeting in Denmark on 31 March members from defence leagues in Italy, Poland, the United States, Finland, Sweden and Norway, along with the anti-Muslim group, Stop Islamisation of Europe will discuss the formation of an European Defence League and ways to “counter jihad”.<br /> <br />Here in Australia, we have already seen the first phase of a quasi-banning of the Burqa through a law passed by the NSW parliament last year, forcing Muslim women to reveal their face if requested by a police officer or a JP if signing a statutory declaration or an affidavit.<br /> <br />Earlier in January this year there was a brazen attack on Wallsend Mosque which was caught on a security camera. The Australian Protectionist Party spokesman Darrin Hodges said he believed many people were "concerned about what goes on inside" mosques, but he believed that the attack was not motivated by religious hatred. Just a random attack, I guess… on a religious place of worship, which just happened to be… a mosque.<br /> <br />The party's Sydney-based organiser, Nick Folkes, said debate about a mosque in Elermore Vale had created interest in the party. "We definitely had a lot of people wanting to know what we were about," he said. There are now some concerns that the Australian Protectionist Party, is increasingly becoming close to the EDL.<br /><br />In Brisbane, late last year, a flyer being letterboxed by a group called the QSociety states that it is concerned with the "erosion of Western values and the Islamisation of Australia". The flyers say "it's time to say no" to the Halal food industry, "whitewashed Islamic content" in state schools, Sharia finance and "segregation and apartheid" such as prayer rooms.<br /> <br />The burning of the Quran is only the early stages of a more sinister global campaign to denigrate and vilifiy Muslims, particularly, those living in Western countries. It is also a dangerous course which could result in a tit for tat pattern of violence based on religious hatred and ignorance. The irony is that, on both sides, a small band of extremists are pushing this agenda.<br />It may be that governments might need to intervene in either proscribing groups like the EDL and the APP before we see it get out of control.<br /> <br />One must remember that both Muslims and Christians are only different branches of the same Abrahamic tree, both share common values of love and compassion and ideally both want to live in a world free of violence and free of oppression. The whole world is being held to ransom by a few nutters, and as we speak, probably sitting in an English pub in Liverpool, downing a luke warm ale, contemplating his next move.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-9562774224389515392011-05-20T22:05:00.000-07:002011-05-20T22:11:15.071-07:00Sharia is already hereThe question of sharia is a humorous one albeit taken seriously by some Australians and even the Attorney General. <br /><br />Recent calls for sharia law in Australia are unfounded and irrational.<br />The problem is people do not even understand what sharia is and yet they begin fearing it and condemning it without justification.<br /><br />Sharia is an aspect of a Muslim’s life which binds him or her under ethical and moral values. The commonly known conception of Sharia is that of Sharia law which can only exist if there is a predominantly Muslim society and that the government is Muslim. <br /><br />The misconception about sharia law stems from the out-dated information and propaganda that intimates that sharia equates to corporal punishment and such punishments like stoning and whipping. These are medieval practices which are not used today. <br /><br />Sharia is practiced in Australia everyday. I go to the mosque on Fridays, this is sharia, it does not impact on others. When Muslim gets married they go through both the Islamic rituals and the legal ceremony through a marriage celebrant. It is exactly the same for Christians who get married in a church or Jews who do so in a synagogue. It is the same for divorce, one does both the legal process and the religious process. Just as Catholics will divorce through the legal system and annul the marriage through the church as well. People don’t understand that sharia is a personal aspect of one’s faith and it is not a system of law.<br /><br />Muslims in Australia do not want sharia in this country, we already have sharia practiced on a personal level. This nation is a secular nation. It protects religious rights and promotes religious freedoms. It would be highly impractical to implement sharia in Australia, and no one wants to any way.<br /><br />It would be nice if we could all just wake up and smell the coffee, take a breath and relax. Sharia is already here, it has been for 150 years (with the first Afghan Muslim camel drivers), so why are we worried!Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-63603868303913698132011-05-20T21:33:00.000-07:002011-05-20T22:25:09.388-07:00Aussie soldiers who killed Afghan children must be punishedLast week we heard that the Judge Advocate Brigadier Ian Westwood had decided to withdraw the charges of manslaughter against two army reservists in the Australian Defence Forces deployed in Afghanistan in 2009.<br /><br />The soldiers were a part of an operation tageting 'insurgents' in Oruzgan province. The shooting incident took place in February 2009. Six people were killed, one male adult and five children. Last year Dateline did a report on the incident and found that according to eyewitnesses those killed were inncocent civilians and were unarmed.<br /><br />When Director of Military Prosecutions, Brigadier Lyn McDade, decided to bring charges of manslaughter against the men the ADF was furious as were many Australians who heard about the charges through the media. The announcement to withdraw the charges has been welcomed by the ADF and former Defence chief General Peter Cosgrove.<br /><br />However, I and every Afghan has a right to know why? Why are these men being allowed to get off scott free? What about the families and parents of the victims? Don't they have a right to justice? If these men are free to walk away without even a reprimand, the ADF will be sent a message that Australian soldiers in Afghanistan are above the law and that they can get away with murder. The Australian government must hold those soldiers accountable for the deaths of six civilians in Oruzgan Province.<br /><br />This decision says that Afghan blood is cheap. An Afghan child's blood is cheap. Yet, many like Cosgrove say that important decisions have to be made in the heat of battle. So we are to assume that these soldiers could not tell the difference between children and armed men? If our soldiers are not trained well enough to identify a threat then they must be pulled out of action. This raises the question of how our troops view the “enemy” and whether they think that they can get away with any future incidents involving civilian casualties. The actions of these soliers was grossly negligent and the use of force was excessive (two grenades and machine gun fire).<br /><br />However, facts speak for themselves:<br />Six people were killed. One adult and five children.<br />They were all unarmed.<br />One of the suspected insurgents was arrested and interrogated then later released.<br />Eyewtinesses all say that they were not members of Taliban.<br />The soldiers disobeyed their commands (another soldier has already been convicted of disobeying a directive).<br />AND that these soldiers were attacking the village not the other way around. It was not a defensive operation.<br /><br />This is another case of a so-called Western Democratic country, such as Australia, who is really unjustifiably in Afghanistan, and who purports to have high standards of conduct and procedures of accountability, protecting two Australian soldiers who have killed innocent civilians, that is five innocent children.<br /><br />How could this have happened and why aren’t those responsible being held to account?<br />Do we just tell the families and the Afghan people sorry but so-what. Shit happens.<br /><br />The Australian government must show strong leadership and give justice to the families of the victims. No-one wants to admit that our own troops could have deliberately killed children, however, through their own negligence this has happened and they must be held accountable and they should be punished and the families compensated. The Australian government must not allow these men to get away with murder.<br /><br />This is also a timely reminder that we must reassess why Australian troops are in Afghanistan in the first place and withdraw our troops. We should not be in Afghanistan in any case. If Osama Bin Laden is dead, the country has its own elected government and there is relative peace in the country, then Australia must withdraw its troops. Why are we there?<br />These deaths are a direct result of Australia's decision to be in Afghanistan and the government is complicit in the death of every civilian at the hands of Australian troops in Afghanistan as it is for the death of every Australian digger who falls in battle. It's a shame. A crying shame.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-82359926525827944502011-05-16T04:10:00.000-07:002011-05-21T03:04:25.986-07:00Racist ethnic crime claims are Re-boltingOnce again Andrew Bolt is shooting his mouth off, on another one of his racist rants. Its getting a bit tiring and repetitive yet no doubt he feeds into the hunger of the small minority of bigots out there in readership land.<br /><br />This time, he claims that it is only the nasty Muslims and Africans that are creating crime waves across the country especially in Melbourne, Darwin and Adelaide. Its sounds like an epidemic if you were to believe Bolt. Its easy to pick out police reports of crimes involving men of African appearance, they are freely available on the Police website. <br /><br />However, we need to place all of this in context. Its not Muslims that fill our gaols. Neither is it Africans. Even looking at it proportionately the numbers are still low. <br /><br />The ABS website says: As of 30 June 2010 there were 29,700 prisoners in Australian prisons. This represented a national imprisonment rate of 170 prisoners per 100,000 adult population. The median aggregate sentence length for all sentenced prisoners was 3 years. The most serious offence/charge category of acts intended to cause injury accounted for the highest proportion of all prisoners (20% or 5,805).<br /><br />Of the total prisoner population, 8% (2,228) were female. The median age of all prisoners was 33.5 years.<br /><br />Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners comprised just over a quarter (26% or 7,584) of the total prisoner population. This was 14 times higher than non-Indigenous prisoners.<br /><br />Australia was recorded as the country of birth for 80% (23,863) of all prisoners. This was followed by New Zealand (3% or 842 prisoners), Vietnam (3% or 755) and the United Kingdom and Ireland (2% or 600). Prisoners born in Samoa had the highest imprisonment rate (555 prisoners per 100,000 adult population for Samoa), followed by prisoners born in Tonga (531 prisoners per 100,000 adult population for Tonga).<br /><br />The national average daily Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate was 2,250 per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.<br /><br />As you can plainly see, no Sudanese, no Lebanese or Somali people listed amongst these statistics. If Bolt is going to create false hysteria about one ethnic group over others, then he should start with Australian-born inmates, who are mostly of Anglo-European descent. And if there was a justified article then Bolt should be writing about the Samoans and Tongans. <br /><br />Sadly, this man gets paid to feed crap down our throats and most of us are gullible to believe him. It's a great tragedy of modern day journalism.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-8305701538422859902011-05-02T06:15:00.001-07:002011-05-16T03:46:11.545-07:00Obama killed OsamaPeople cheering, fist pumping into the air and flag waving, seems reminiscent of a home-coming or a victory parade. True, the death of Bin Laden could be viewed as a victory. However, just how relevant is his presumed demise?<br /><br />For most people in the world, Bin Laden was irrelevant. More than likely he was incapacitated by illness or he could have been dead for all intents and purposes and the world had moved on. There had been almost nothing in the past five years from Bin Laden, no claims of any terrorist attacks, no recorded videos or anything of any significance. The security world and the US had by and large assumed him as MIA (Missing In Action). Until today, at about 1pm our time, when we were alerted that the mighty Barack Hussein Obama (BHO) had killed Osama Bin Laden (OBL), most people in the world had actually forgotten about him. Osama Bin Who? <br /><br />Yet, jumping for joy in the streets of New York is a bit over the top. Just as those who rejoiced at the sight of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers was deplorable behaviour, it is not befitting of any society to be celebrating the death of a human being. We have evolved. <br /><br />Public hangings and executions are a thing of the past, in medieval France, many were publicly tortured before they were eventually beheaded and in the wild west of America in the 1800’s it was common practice for lynch mobs to take the law into their own hands and the locals loved a public hangin’. But today, we must show restraint in our own personal jubilation at the death of a murderer. It is not befitting of a super-power state such as the USA. It only reduces us to level that we loathe in the first place.<br /><br />The other factor which, unfortunately is relevant, is that such scenes of rejoicing in the States could be deemed as offensive to many Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. While OBL is no real hero to Muslims, some see him as a symbol of the struggle against US colonial interests in their countries. OBL’s death to many people in the Middle East is a symbol of the victory of the colonial powers and their commitment to continue their occupation of Muslim lands. It is crucial that the US and the West use this announcement to create impetus for re-building the relations with the Muslim world, especially amidst the so-called youth-quake in the Middle East and the political reforms that are taking place in countries like Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Yemen and Tunisia. The West has to capitalise on this phenomena that is taking place in a positive way.<br /><br />But there is one more question that will never be truthfully answered, is the assasination of OBL just a coincidence or has it been perfectly timed to distract attention from the NATO debacle in Libya and for BHO and problems with the US economy? He now has the 2012 presidential campaign in the bag, the body bag so to speak.He will be knowm as the US president who killed OBL? His second term is assured. His own popularity ratings were waning. Many voters had expressed dissatisfaction with BHO after the initial euphoria as the first black American president. Well, this latest announcement has revived his popularity and given the American people something to smile about. Now, BHO has truly proven his Americanness; he has killed enemy number one. This should put a sock in Trump's mouth once and for all.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-65832694209034477762011-04-15T21:34:00.000-07:002011-04-25T02:14:04.634-07:00Can Australia admit its time to dump the 'M' word?Recently The Australian Newspaper columnist Greg Sheridan wrote an opinion piece reflecting on his time living in Belmore (a Sydney suburb adjacent to Lakemba) claiming that multiculturalism has failed because of Muslims. This is a response to his article.<br /><br />I believe that Multiculturalism has failed. However, blaming it on Islam or Muslims is a long bow to draw. It is true that suburbs like Lakemba, Cabramatta and Auburn inevitably have changed over the past 15-20 years, some would argue for better than for worse. The population in 1993 was around 17 million, today its 21 million and growing. Suburbs are congested, housing is very difficult to afford and we have large concentrations of various groups across Sydney. Add to that the low socio-economic condition of many of these migrant clusters, you have a potential for criminality. Yes, crime has increased in south west Sydney, as it has in the country in general. This is evident amongst Pacific communities, amongst Vietnamese, Afghans and Lebanese, they all suffer from high unemployment. <br /><br />Yes, there are some Muslims amongst these groups who do have diametrically opposed views to Fred Nile or Bronwyn Bishop but if multiculturalism has failed it is not because Muslims have failed to integrate. An important factor contributing to this perceived failure is that during the Howard years of multicultural denial, many migrant communities were left to ‘fend’ for themselves. The multicultural policy of the time was about leaving people to retain their cultural identity yet not assisting migrants with cultural acclimatisation and adjustment, such as assisting them with engagement with the broader society, promoting acceptance of them and cultivating new civic values. Instead Howard pushed down our throats simplistic values about mateship and Anzac diggers and bronzed beach surf life savers and sports loving ocker Aussies throwing another banger on the barbie. Australia unlike Canada and the States were marketing a totally different image to their migrants. Migrants, we should add, who bring billions of dollars to the labour market and raise the standard of living for every citizen of this country. That is essentially what drives immigration. Instead of Africans and Asians on our tele, we saw Lara Bingle in a bikini asking "where the bloody hell are you!". Really?<br /><br />There are many migrants who, having only been in the country for a short time still dress in their cultural garbs, others cannot speak English and many hold on tightly to their cultural identity. Some of these people that Sheridan refers to, live in Lakemba because that is where there is some familiarity with their cultural links abroad; there are religious places of worship, schools, halal butchers and restaurants, grocery stores, book stores and clothing stores. But more importantly their relatives and friends are also in the vicinity, so they move into these suburbs because that's where the greatest amount of support exists. It makes sense. Take the Eastern suburbs for example, where a lot of Jews reside, because there is a community there; kosher cafes and butchers, synagogues, schools and even a Jewish club. <br /><br />Here in Australia, the multicultural policy of the past decade does not seem to have worked as well as it could have, and maybe there is more analysis needed. My inclination is to begin searching for new horizons and a new direction. A society based on civic values and civic identities that everyone can relate to and one that cherishes our cosmopolitan make up but respects and upholds one national identity- Australian of course! Every one, every citizen and permanent resident can look forward to a bright future under the cosmopolitan umbrella. It is the new 'C' word. It is encumbent on the government to advance the policy and assist new migrants to engage and be accepted. No-one can take away your cultural or ethnic roots but it is inevitable that if you have permanently migrated to this country, either in your life time or your children’s, their original “culture” will be softened and eventually be integrated into the mainstream. That is the reality of migration.<br /><br />So does Sheridan really seriously suggest that Muslims are the cause of the failure of multiculturalism? <br /><br />Its easy to say that he lived in Belmore for 15 years and that for a whole month he studied multiculturalism in Europe and not to mention that he has been reporting in the Middle East and South East Asia for 30 years. These are strong credentials indeed. Not sure if it makes him an expert on Islam and Multiculturalism. But Greg Sheridan goes too far in his very presumptuous assertions. It is ironic that while Sheridan blames Islam for the failure of multiculturalism, Islam, more than any faith, promotes real pluralism, beyond the bounds of racism and towards tolerance and universal brotherhood and sisterhood.<br /><br />I have spent 1 month in Iran, 2 months in Palestine, 2 months in Jordan, 3 months in India, 2 months in Pakistan, 2 months in Indonesia and 3 months in Malaysia not to mention 6 months in Turkey. I also spent 2 months in Europe (Germany, Holland,UK, Switzerland and France). I am no expert on European multiculturalism or on Islam for that matter. However, being a Muslim I have great deal of understanding of the Muslim mindset and the teachings of Islam. I have also worked closely with the Lebanese community in Sydney.<br /><br /><br />The fact remains that the Lebanese are one of the highest groups taking up citizenship in this country. There are over 300000 young Muslims in Australia who were born here or grew up here and are Australian in every respect. They are proud to be Australian and they are visibly Australian in their accents, their dress and mentality and in their attitude. So where is Greg Sheridan living today? <br /><br />Sheridan sites examples of Muslim countries with their violations of Western liberal freedoms such as not allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia, Iranian officials beating opponents of the Mullahs, floggings and other abuses. Apparently in the name of Islam. Well, in fact, these are all acts opposed by Islam. Islam promotes human rights and essentially is a spiritual and social doctrine which protects people from oppression and exploitation. However, if countries which purport to be Islamic but in reality are just dictatorial or tyrannical regimes ruling over Muslim populations, commit human rights abuses, then this cannot be attributed to Islam. They are responsible for their unethical and in some cases criminal actions and policies. <br /><br />Sheridan echoes the assumption that only in Muslim countries are these violations occurring. Just about everyone believes the propaganda that most terrorism in the world is being perpetrated by Muslims. Yet, if we were to take a very quick glance at the world, and because it usually a glance, we often miss some of the ‘other’ violations occurring in the name of the ‘other’ faiths and ideologies around the world.<br /><br />Let’s take a squiz at the Americas- largely Christian governments, in the USA, Columbia or Chile. All Christian societies. So do we blame Christians for the woes of the world because Pinochet was killing his own people? Because Columbians are selling drugs to the world, killing thousands? And of course America could be described as one of the most fundamentalist Christian democracies in the world and it not only has violated human rights in Guanrtanamo Bay, in Abu Ghraib prison, but its troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and their sanctions that they imposed are responsible for the deaths of millions of people.<br /><br />What about in Asia? China, a mainly Buddhist country, how many millions are suffering at the hands of the regime? The Falun Gong, the Tibetans and the Uighurs. In Burma, a mainly Buddhist country? In Sri Lanka, thousands of Tamils slaughtered by a Buddhist regime. In south Thailand Muslims being oppressed by a Thai Buddhist government. In Cambodia. In the Philippines, where a mainly Catholic country is oppressing its Muslim minority, waging a war against the Mindanaons. And in Hindu India, the Muslim Kashmiris suffer immensely as a genocide is taking place. And not to mention, the Jewish state of Israel, mercilessly oppressing Muslim and Christian Palestinians in Gaza and the West bank. <br /><br />I could go on and on. The question is do we blame Hinduism for these evils? Should we blame Christianity for the evil done by America and others? Should be blame Buddhism for the atrocities carried out by Buddhist majority regimes? Do we blame Judaism for what has happened in Palestine? OF COURSE NOT GREG! So why is so convenient to assign the blame squarely on the Muslims of Lakemba? <br /><br />Yes, the Muslim world is not perfect but neither is any world, any society, any religion or any ideology. And that includes Western democracy. We must for a moment stop thinking about the world from a western viewpoint. There is more to this world than just Coca-Cola, Levi Jeans, Starbucks, KFC and the Brititsh royal family. If we were to leave it to the Greg Sheridans of this world, we would see the everything through black and white coloured lenses! Next thing we will be hearing is that Greg has joined Pauline Hanson’s new political party as chief policy writer.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-7605563189054322022011-03-15T22:46:00.000-07:002011-03-15T22:51:48.362-07:00Multiculturalism is DeadI was concerned to learn that one in ten Australians are racist according to a recent report published by UWS, titled “Challenging Racism”. <br /><br />These findings are startling to say the least. The most disturbing trend is that Muslims and people of Middle Eastern backgrounds are figured prominently as groups targeted by racists. Even more shocking is that 1 in 2 people have a concern about Islam. With findings like these only confirming the growing trend of racism and bigotry in this nation, it is time to review and assess the success of our multicultural policy.<br /><br />There has been a lively debate about the place of multiculturalism in Australia and whether it has worked. The fact is that Australia is a pluralist society, multi-ethnic and multi-faith in nature, that we cannot change, however, we need to admit that the policy has not worked.<br /><br />The challenge is indeed one for the nation and its elected representatives to devise a policy that is practical and in the best interests of the country, especially, those who are consistently targeted by racist elements in the community. I for one am happy to put my time into coming up with a new policy that does not divide or segregate us, one that acknowledges difference and diversity but unites the community under one national program. The key issue is that we have propagated the divisions by not welcoming newcomers and by not engaging with each other, the new policy must be one of engagement, not disassociation that will only lead us down the same garden path as Germany.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-11282665111952386122011-02-17T05:24:00.000-08:002011-04-15T21:56:49.251-07:00Whats wrong with interfaith dialogue?As one of the first people in Australia to bring interfaith dialogue into schools and one who has been doing interfaith for over a decade, I feel we have come to a saturation point. Unfortunately, interfaith groups are ‘preaching to the converted’ and what seems to be the trend is to spend large amounts of resources and funds on conferences and forums which attract very small audiences and do very little to move faith communities closer together. <br /><br />Luckily, Australians are a very easy-going lot and interfaith or faith as a general experience does not rate highly on their priorities in life. Yet, Muslims and Jews who felt under siege took it upon themselves to make contact with other faith groups, particularly Christians (Catholic and Uniting Church) to build bridges to understanding. <br /><br />But it is time to go beyond dialogue.<br /><br />Muslims must stop pandering to the mainstream and apologise for the actions of others within their faith community.<br /><br />Muslims must stand up for themselves and take a strong position on the various issues. Interfaith is acceptable as long as it is done without compromising your principles and your own faith. <br /><br />As Muslims we must acknowledge the ‘People of the Book’ and to show them respect and acceptance just as we would expect them to do the same for Muslims. But when issues are placed on the table we must take a strong position and speak up against injustice and oppression. <br /><br />Let me give you a few examples;<br />On the issue of Iraq and Afghanistan, Australia has no right to be in that country as an occupying force supporting shameless American aggression (which has killed 200000 people to date). When we speak to other Christians in the spirit of love and respect, we need to know that they do not support such oppression otherwise how can we even sit in the same room or share a meal when we know that one side supports the murder of other people?<br /><br />On the issue of women’s rights. Many people criticise Muslims for their stance on the dress code for women and their roles within society. Yet, others have no problem with the objectification of the female body and the continued industry that supports body image and commodifies women’s bodies and their self-image. <br /><br />Or the biggest issue that Muslims have ignored for so long is the injustices placed upon Palestinians by Israel. The acceptance of Israel’s oppression of Muslims and the continued usurpation of their land, food, culture and identity is an indication that we have sold out the Palestinians. When we meet with Jews we should not only ask each other “What does your faith mean to you?” But we should ask, “what does your faith say about oppression, human rights, kindness?”<br /><br />There are many groups out there who are justifying their existence on the back of a “need” for interfaith dialogue. When in reality, there is no real need but just one side trying to justify themselves to others. In recent times Islam has become the talking point so every man and his dog wants to be seen talking to Muslims. But why do we allow ourselves to be used by these people?<br />The old saying goes, “Look at yourself before you look at others”<br />Muslims have to take a good long hard look at themselves in the mirror and ask why am I doing this? Is this pleasing Allah (swt)? Is it of benefit to my community and to my faith or is it in fact detrimental to my people? Am I doing an injustice to those who do not have a voice (such as in Palestine, Bosnia, East Turkestan and Iraq)? Am I promoting other faiths and am I justifying their exploitation and oppression of other Muslims by sharing the podium with them?<br />The bottom line is that we cannot compromise our principles and we must always maintain our integrity and stand up for Islam and Justice!Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-84870348252709171622011-02-16T16:53:00.000-08:002011-02-17T05:22:50.569-08:00Aborigines were an advanced civilisation, DavidYesterday, David Oldfield, 2UE radio presenter (formerly One Nation NSW representative) alluded to the Australian Aborigines as being a stone age people and not having any organisation like Australia when comparing their colonisation by the British to the colonisation by the Israelis of Palestine.<br /><br />He said that Aborigines have no claim to Australia because they were not an organised state or people and they were in effect uncivilised and needed to be colonised and that 200 years has passed and so that is now history. <br /><br />It is true that Australia is quite organised and it has its own institutions and apparati for enacting laws and so forth. But to imply that the Aboriginal society was not organised is absolutely offensive to the 3 million Aboriginal people who lived on this continent prior to British invasion and the half a million Aborigines who live in Australia today. I personally think that they were much more organised than present day Australia. While we are a modern society that is obvious with big roads and big sky-scrapers and fancy looking Opera Houses and Bridges, we are not necessarily better off than the Aborigines. We have a crime rate that is getting out of control, you cant leave your car unlocked or leave the house without bolting it down, alarming it and insuring against theft, there are many people who are homeless and then there is the massive problem of alcoholism and drug addiction. I am sure that the Aborigines did not have to worry much about these problems. In fact they had a very sophisticated system of laws and organisation.<br /><br />One of the most unique system of maintaining borders and manourvering throughout the land was using Song Lines. These were incredibly successful and also maintained harmony between neighbouring countries. The laws were just and maintained traditional customs which were thousands of years old. They had respect for each other, respect for elders and respect for the environment. <br /><br />The Aboriginal people did not believe in the notion of "owning" the land, so when the brutish British arrived in their red coats and white wigs, looking like nancy boys, waving the Union Jack about like some drug-induced teenager at a rave, expecting that the locals would act like savages and resist, the Aborigines actually welcomed them in the spirit of friendship and allowed them to share the land with them. The greedy foreigners didn't want to share anything. They wanted to just keep taking. After taking the lush coastal areas along the harbour, their hungry eyes were cast on the rich alluvial plains along the now called Parramatta River and then they commissioned Wentworth, Blaxland and Lawson to carve a land route over the Blue Mountains and open up the situation for wholesale slaughter of the Aborigines. They did resist and at times effectively (Pemulwuy was the best known freedom fighter of the time, similar to Yasser Arafat) but the power of the British guns was too much against the spears of the locals.<br /><br />The point is that these attitudes are pervasive amongst Australians today. We still look down upon the Aborigines as savages and still have the terra nullius mentality. They were decent people living in advanced society for the time and context. They didn't have needles and threads to make nice tights and red overcoats and fancy black caps, but they had high morals and an advanced belief system. We need to acknowledge that. To just apologise for the wrongs of the past and then dismiss them as an uncivilised people is not enough.<br /><br />I hope that we can reassess our attitudes towards Aborigines and give their ancestors the respect that they deserve. If the British had come here in 1788 and exchanged knowledge and science and then left, instead of colonising the land and killing off the people, we would have had a very different situation. Today, Australia could have been a modern society, developed by Aborigines, it would have been interesting experiment to say the least. And of course it goes without saying it wouldnt be called Australia...Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-36445595392684120992011-02-16T04:03:00.000-08:002011-02-16T16:51:19.251-08:00Are we really together for humanity?There are some people out there in Australia, purporting to be well-meaning Muslims, Jews and Christians (Monotheists), who think that we need to tell others that we as people of the BOOK can work together for making humanity a better place. They call themselves, together for humanity.<br /><br />I think its rather patronising to say the least. The world is a messed up place, we all agree and we definitely need to do something about it. However, there are two things that are problematic with this monotheistic approach; what about those people in the world who are not either Muslim, Christian or a Jew? So, we all can get along, we love each other, we adore each other, hugs all round (except the Buddhists, the Hindus, Sikhs and the smelly atheists plus all the other sects and cults out there that make up a few hundred thousand people). We are excluding at least a billion in China and almost a billion in India and if we take in SE Asia, parts of Africa and I dare say most of western Europe which these days is considered as Atheistic, we are looking at least 2.5 billion or more! But it seems according to these Monotheists that the problems of this world are only important if they involve themselves and that they are the only ones who can solve them. And how do they purport to do that? Well, visit school children, who are most vulnerable to be brainwashed, and tell them that we stand united against all the evils of the world and that we want you to join us in doing an act of kindness.<br /><br />Now this sounds very noble indeed, and what's wrong with doing an act of kindness?<br />Well, one needs to understand (Hasidic) Jewish teachings to follow the premise of this whole endeavour. According to the teachings of the great Rebbi, the world will not come to an end until ALL of humanity begins doing acts of kindness and then, the world will end and at that point only the Jews will go to Heaven, because they are the chosen race. Hasidim claims evil can be overcome by correcting it. Dov Ber of Mezhirich and other Hasidic teachers insisted evil could be overcome by absorbing it uplifting it and making it again part of goodness, believing that the spiritual stature of "corrected" or "repentant" evil is higher than the elements that were always good. So these Muslims and Christians, are sort of being used to get to the greater goal.<br /><br />I only feel sorry for the rest of the world because they dont even believe in the "book". So what is their fate? Muslims believe in the Quran. Christians believe in the New Testament. Jews believe in the Old Testament. But ironically Muslims reject these books and it is very clear in the Quran that to work with these two faith groups is very bad indeed, very bad! The Quran, that is Allah, cautions Muslims to be wary of Christians and Jews. <br /><br />So what is each faith's agenda, in being involved in this school by school brain-washing program? Well, I can only guess that Christians as the dominant group in Australia just want everybody to get a long and they are happy to see the three religions on the surface working together, and of course, they want Muslims to accept the state of Israel and to accept the ongoing persecution of the Palestinians and the eventual annihilation of the whole country once known as Palestine. They will no doubt be referred to as the Aborigines of Israel in years to come. Terra Nullius in Palestine. In fact, a whole generation of children will grow up exposed to these school visits telling them that Muslims are happy and that there is no oppression and exploitation and that there is no such thing as Palestine. When they get older, they will watch the news on TV and the media will report Palestinian insurgents attacked a Jewish settlement in Israel and the PM will condemn the attacks and so they will just assume that the nasty Palestinian Muslims are attacking the nice friendly Israelis. <br /><br />Secondly, the Muslims have their own agenda, but its pathetic; with all the government funding out there they want to be seen as being socially inclusive and raise their status and jump on the band wagon of inter-cultural relations...all very PC. Do they realise that their efforts, ie, making the whole world turn to doing kindness invariably will send their Jewish friends to Heaven (metaphorically speaking)? And as the Quranic verse warns, implicate themselves!<br />"O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people." Qur'an (5:51)<br /><br />But just one other point. There are over a billion Christians in the world. There are over 1 billion Muslims in the world. How many Jews are there in the world?<br />Incredibly only 12 million. So once again 12 million Jews are getting the bulk of the world to do all the work, and ultimately in their own favour. Are not we so predictable?<br />Please. O ye, Muslims, think! Listen to thy Lord, who warns us that we should not be so stupid and gullible. Why do we then allow others to use us when it is written in plain sight, in our own Book, which is the virtuous book, the true word of Allah.<br />Think, O ye believers!<br /><br />Well what is my alternative proposal then you ask? I am glad you asked.<br />I am not advocating that we begin killing each other or we stand back with hate in our eyes. My proposal is that we are honest and we are open about our agendas. We need to be inclusive too. Instead of talking we need to be walking. That is, programs to feed the poor, to educate illiterate communities or the victims of society, drug addicts, homeless, victims of bullying and racism and people who are denied justice.<br />And we dont need to do it in the name of religion or just three religions. We need it to be done truly in the name of HUMANITY.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-50378158458031753722011-02-15T04:35:00.000-08:002011-02-15T05:16:28.704-08:00A nation's lost soulWhere has this nation's soul disappeared?<br /><br />Today we buried two babies, shrouded in white, less than the weight of a Harry Potter novel. The aunt held her in her arms weeping and wailing, amongst other mourners, a media circus and shameless Immigration department guards. Watching on, behind dark sunglasses, hands on hips. A young orphaned boy, walks by disoriented, traumatised and dazed, then a guard attempts to grab him. He lost both his parents in the boat crash off Christmas Island last November, 2010. The fifteen or so mourners, were bussed in to the cemetery and the Immigration people watch over them carefully.<br />I joke to my friend that we should not call them DeeAC, but they should be called DieAC, because that is their business. Killing people. If they dont die on rickety boats as they come into Australian waters, then the detention facilties will get them behind razor fences. Suicide. Depression. Trauma. And if they dont die physically then then they kill their wills and their souls. Where is Julia Gillard's soul?<br />We condemned John Howard when he was in power, and in a sense, we blamed it on his generation, his conservative white Christian values, his age and his ego. But Julia, a migrant herself, an atheist, relatively younger and a woman. Does she have any power over her party's policies? Or is she just a stooge, like all of our politicians?<br /><br />Today, as I stood over the tiny grave, about the length of a cricket stump, I realised that we as a nation have come to this pathetic state, where we give more importance to a injured terrier than an infant Iraqi refugee, clutching to the arms of her terrified mother. The boat helplessly bobbing closer to the razor sharp rocks. The coastguard somewhere near but just conveniently out of reach. Who gave the order to stand back and watch 50 souls sink to the bottom of the callous sea, engulfing these innocent people who were seeking a place of refuge under the wings of the Australian nation?<br />In Egypt people power has reclaimed their dignity, after corruption and oppression at the hands of their leaders. Where are the people of Australia who are offended by our leaders? Where is the revolution? Time to overthrow the pharoahs and kings that we call our democratically elected leaders! How can we face ourselves each day, until, these demons are gone. Make supplication to God. The dead are at peace now, somewhere in Paradise. <br /><br />The Immigration people muster the mourners onto the bus, making sure that the head count is right. The excavator fills in the hole. Then a farwell wave as they move off into the great unknown, to grieve behind wires while angry guards, looking pitilessly on, behind their dark sunglasses with their hands on hips. <br />"Well, you should learn from this! Dont jump the cue." <br />The Pacific solution (mark II). As we called John Howard the Coward, maybe we should call Julia Gillard the Kill-hard. <br /><br />Where is this nation's soul? Did we leave it behind when we too arrived on boats and planes, with all the other lost baggage?Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-74784723905862559542011-02-13T17:58:00.000-08:002011-02-13T19:05:59.535-08:00Australian Falafel League and the farting felafelEither hate him or love him, Eddie McGuire has the ability to stir up discussion.<br />His comments about Western Sydney being the 'land of the felafel' albeit inaccurate has really brought a lot of politically correct mutliculturalist commentators jumping onto the bandwagon. This is healthy and a discussion that we need to have.<br /><br />There are two issues here:<br />i) Stereotyping people of Mid-Eastern backgrounds<br />ii) Multiculturalism in general<br /><br />Well firstly, it must be said that Western Sydney is a very large geographical area with a diverse number of cultures. In fact, many people get South Western Sydney mixed up with Western Sydney, you have to be clear on that because we are talking the difference between Hommos and Chicken Tikka. If we are talking south west, this takes up suburbs like Lakemba, Bankstown and Liverpool, with large populations of Lebanese and other felafel eating cultures. But if we go further west, towards Parramatta and Blacktown, there is undoubtedly a lot of Felafel producing households but probably not as there are curry and pappadum ones, spaghetti and ravioli, dim sims and fried rice, kava and roast pig, and kangaroo and damper...well theoretically that is.<br /><br />In Western Sydney, with its heart being Blacktown and Rooty Hill (great name dont you think), there are large Aboriginal populations. There are also a good number of Pacific Islander communities in the area. There is a recently growing Indian population, hence the explosion of Indian restaurants in Parramatta and Harris Park. Also Western Sydney is home to one of the largest Maltese communities, large pockets of Italians, Chinese and Turks and now new emerging African communities mainly Sudanese. But only a relatively small Middle Eastern population who are mostly Christian.<br /><br />But this is really about linking Middle Eastern people to the felafel with a derogatory overtone. McGuire has implied that after a couple of years of living in a place with lots of Arabs, the players will get sick of it and leave. While we can all have a joke and take the mickey out of a particular suburb or community, the Middle Eastern community have born the brunt of growing phobic attitudes and have been subject to a lot of racism, discrimination and vilification. Theoretically, McGuire's comments have breached the Racial Discrimination Act of 1974. But I don't think anyone is thinking of taking it to that extreme.<br /><br />But in bringing up his comments, he has really exposed himself, as a closet-felafel addict. There is speculation that McGuire although of Scottish heritage was orginally from Lebanon, who changed his name, it was originally, Mahgir, meaning migrant. But that's another story. The real issue that he is raising is that the Western Sydney Giants have scored a new secret weapon, hitherto unknown. That is THE FARTING FELAFEL and its wind-increasing qualities. Felafel made up of chickpeas and beans are known for causing flatulence. The Giants, according to laboratory tests, will kick, jump and run, 10% faster than the average AFL player. Dipping your hands in hommos before the game will also make the ball stick better to taking high-flying marks and possibly kicking goals from the half way point.<br /><br />The second issue is that of multiculturalism and this is a topic which will never go away. As it stands we have two schools of thought; the multiculturalism is real and working and the other, there is no such thing as multiculturalism in Australia (its just a con).<br /><br />Well, the recent debate has been around integration and belonging amongst Muslim and African Australians. There are many who believe that Burqa clad, felafel loving Muslim women should shed their sheets and become full-blooded equality loving Aussies and go skinny-dipping in Bondi. There are many who have argued that Muslims cannot integrate. Commentators the likes of Andrew Bolt, Fred Nile and Brownwyn Bishop to name just a few. Many people believe that Multiculturalism has failed and that in fact we have a society of different cultures all living side by side, with disparate values and ideologies and allegiances that are antithetical to traditional Australian values.<br /><br />I believe that this is really just a part of the evolution of Australian identity and values. It is a sign of our identity passing over from a tradtional one to that of a civic one (similar to America) and in due course, we will shed the baggage of our English and Irish ancestors and start embracing universal values of justice, friendship, generosity and compassion. This will make it much simpler for new Australians to embrace Australianness. Afterall, Africans, Arabs and Asians find it very hard to relate to blonde and blue eyed surf life savers and the beer-bellied, zinc-creamed bloke behind the barbie, with a can of VB in his can holder.<br /><br />I think the Multiculturalism debate will go on for a long time yet, but we have to thank Eddie once again for putting his foot in his mouth or should I say putting the felafel in it.<br /><br />Finally, with all of this sensation, I think its time to go the next step and change the name of the league to the Australian Felafel League and bring the vegetarians back into the fold!<br /><br />Good luck the mighty Giants! I hope you flog Collingwood when you meet. And I'll be at the ground too (you will recognize me, I'll be the one sitting in the A. B. Felafel stand).Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-8681131377343388022009-04-11T04:37:00.000-07:002009-04-11T04:38:13.521-07:00The Old ArabAn old Arab lived close to New York City for more than 40 years. One day he decided that he would love to plant potatoes and herbs in his garden, but he knew he was alone and too old and weak. His son was in college in Paris, so the old man sent him an e-mail explaining the problem: 'Beloved son, I am very sad, because I can't plant potatoes in my garden. I am sure, if only you were here, that you would help me and dig up the garden for me. I love you, your father.'<br /> The following day, the old man received a response e-mail from his son:<br /> 'Beloved father, please don't touch the garden. That is where I have hidden 'the THING.' I love you, too, Ahmed.'At 4pm the FBI and the Rangers visited the house of the old man and took the whole garden apart, searching every inch. But they couldn't find anything.<br /> Disappointed, they left the house. The next day, the old man received another e-mail from his son: 'Beloved father, I hope the garden is dug up by now and you can plant<br /> your potatoes. That is all I could do for you from here. Your loving son, Ahmed'.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-67862732335542289482009-04-11T04:35:00.000-07:002009-04-11T04:37:41.086-07:00Turkish National AnthemFear not! For the crimson flag that proudly ripples in this glorious twilight, shall not fade, <br />Before the last fiery hearth that is ablaze within my nation is extinguished. <br />For That is the star of my nation, and it will forever shine; <br />It is mine; and solely belongs to my valiant nation. <br />Frown not, I beseech you, oh thou coy crescent, <br />But smile upon my heroic race! Why the anger, why the rage? <br />This blood of ours which we shed for you shall not be blessed otherwise; <br />For Freedom is the absolute right of my God-worshiping nation. <br />I have been free since the beginning and forever shall be so.<br />What madman shall put me in chains! I defy the very idea!<br />I'm like the roaring flood; powerful and independent,<br />I'll tear apart mountains, exceed the heavens and still gush out!<br />The lands of the West may be armored with walls of steel,<br />But I have borders guarded by the mighty chest of a believer.<br />Recognize your innate strength, my friend! And think: how can this fiery faith ever be killed,<br />By that battered, single-fanged monster you call "civilization"? <br />My friend! Leave not my homeland to the hands of villainous men!<br />Render your chest as armor and your body as trench! Stop this disgraceful rush!<br />For soon shall come the joyous days of divine promise...<br />Who knows? Perhaps tomorrow? Perhaps even sooner!<br />View not the soil you tread on as mere earth - recognize it!<br />And think about the shroudless thousands who lie so nobly beneath you.<br />You're the noble son of a martyr, take shame, hurt not your ancestor!<br />Unhand not, even when you're promised worlds, this paradise of a homeland.<br />What man would not die for this heavenly piece of land?<br />Martyrs would gush out should one simply squeeze the soil! Martyrs!<br />May God take all my loved ones and possessions from me if He will,<br />But may He not deprive me of my one true homeland for the world.<br />Oh glorious God, the sole wish of my pain-stricken heart is that,<br />No heathen's hand should ever touch the bosom of my sacred Temples.<br />These adhans, whose are the foundations of my religion, <br />May their noble sound last loud and wide over my eternal homeland.<br />For only then, shall my fatigued tombstone, if there is one, prostrate a thousand times in ecstasy,<br />And tears of fiery blood shall flow out of my every wound,<br />And my lifeless body shall gush out from the earth like an eternal spirit,<br />Perhaps only then, shall I peacefully ascend and at long last reach the heavens.<br />So ripple and wave like the bright dawning sky, oh thou glorious crescent,<br />So that our every last drop of blood may finally be blessed and worthy!<br />Neither you nor my race shall ever be extinguished!<br />For freedom is the absolute right of my ever-free flag;<br />For freedom is the absolute right of my God-worshiping nation!Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-40764129361323039262008-10-13T06:53:00.000-07:002008-10-13T07:00:24.441-07:001968-2008 : 40 years of Turkish migration1968-2008 : 40 years of Turkish migration<br /> <br />In 1967 the Holt government signed an historic immigration agreement with the Republic of Turkey which saw the influx of thousands of unskilled migrants to Sydney and Melbourne. My parents were amongst those early arrivals who came to Sydney, starry-eyed and without a word of English. I grew up in world of terrace houses and narrow streets, my friends were named Scott, Chris, Kon, Zoran, Arthur and Andrew and we played cricket in the lane way. Growing up in Newtown was like living in a sanctuary of innocence and idealism. We did not care about where you came from and we felt safe in our little multicultural enclave. It wasn’t until my family moved to Emu Plains that we realised the real world was not so innocent and instantly I became an alien with three eyes and green skin in a sea of white. I was called names like ‘gobbler’ and often got into punch ups.<br /> <br />It didn’t sway my determination though, I excelled in English and was always in the top classes through high school. Eventually I left that place that I called home; but it left our family scarred for life. Not one of the nine children in our household escaped unscathed if it wasn’t trouble at school and expulsions it was identity crises and racism. Sound like any normal Australian family? Through it all we managed to keep it together. I finished my Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies recently and often look back at our tumultuous upbringing and all the arguments and fights and it does make me laugh even if it wasn’t funny at the time. But life is like that, such experiences toughen you and prepare you for more hard knocks. I know that almost all of those families that arrived between 1968 and 1977 have had the same problems.<br /> <br />Call it “adjustment”. Of course the next generation of Turkish-Australians are not experiencing the same dilemmas that we experienced. Their problems are more complex. Instead they are more concerned about parental pressures, peer group influence, social adjustment and identity.<br /> <br />But the Turks like all the others are just one cog in the very sophisticated machinations of a pluralist society. Turks like other cultures have enriched the fabric of this society. They have by and large successfully “integrated”. There’s that word again. We still haven’t defined what integration is so maybe we should use a euphemism like “adjusted” instead. Just to keep it safe. However, the merry-go-round never stops and as each wave experiences “adjustment” a new wave comes along to face new challenges.<br /><br />The Turks are trying to get over the stigma of kebab shop owners and hair-dressers. The new generations are doctors and journalists, economists and futures exchange analysts, lawyers and IT specialists. We still have a long way to go and many of the community are still grappling with English and do not really know much about the political, or judicial or tax systems but then again which Aussie really does?Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-62214864045274360422008-10-13T06:45:00.000-07:002008-10-13T06:50:25.304-07:00Aussie Mossie Review: Get a copyThis Gregorian year is already coming towards the end, which is good because that means summer but where did the year go? Keep in mind, Islamicly iwe just ended the holy month of Ramadhan and for Muslims this is regarded as the pinnacle of the Islamic year. With all this hive of activism, we at FAIR have not stopped doing what we do best and that is improve our way of life, particularly with regards to improving relations between Muslims and the broader society. <br /><br />However, this year has been another very busy year for Muslims. We have been in the midst of a creative project called ARTSLAM 21, a youth project which involved calligraphy classes, hip hop workshops, comedy workshops and poetry workshops (see page ) and all of this culminated in a wonderful showcase of all the work, with fabulous speeches and performances, it was a great day (at the Museum of Sydney). Also this year we started a new program called Faithways- peace walks, our first walk was between Auburn Gallipoli Mosque and Lidcombe St Joachim’s Catholic Church, which was a great way to break down barriers between people in the local area. <br /><br />Aussie Mossie Review is an exciting new resource for the Muslim ummah and will hopefully be a great way to express different issues and ideas in the community. The newspaper will come out four times a year and cover a retrospective analysis of the year’s big issues and all the little issues that we don’t hear about. Aussie Mossie urges you to take part and write your own articles.<br /><br />Personally, I just returned from Malaysia where I conducted a two day youth camp for Muslim youth. This was a very successful camp, focusing on character building, youth and identity issues, ahlaq and adhab, conflict resolution and assertiveness and leadership training. I was also in Jogjakarta (Indonesia) where I was organizing a big conference on leadership aimed at youth in Australia and Indonesia (stay tuned for more on that soon). And only a couple of months ago I ran a four day youth camp near Darwin in the top end, where we re-enacted the Hegira with the young boys. Once again this was designed to promote team building, self-confidence and leadership.<br /><br />To read your favourite news publication (Aussie Mossie Quarterly Review) contact me by emailing fairmedia@fair.org.au and checkout the website (Aussiemossie.com). <br /><br />Have a read and reflect on this year, on the stories like the Islamic school application in Camden which most of you know was rejected by Camden council (unanimously), or the demise of AFIC, Aussie Mossie will also be running the new Aussie Mossie of the year awards night, which will be unlike anything we have seen before. A nationwide search for the most popular Aussie Mossie around.<br /><br />This is your paper and hopefully it will become a source of achievement for our ummah and bring us closer together in making our society more harmonious and more successful.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-50752297120471271812008-10-13T06:44:00.000-07:002008-10-13T06:45:09.092-07:00Book Review: Did You Know?Did You Know? Refuting Rigid Interpretations Concerning the Position of Women in Islam and Muslims’ Interactions with Non-Muslims<br />Author: Aziza Abdel-Halim AM<br />Publisher: Muslim Women’s National Network of Australia Inc. (2008)<br /><br />Did You Know provides easy to read, accessible answers to common questions from Muslims and non-Muslims about the rights of women in Islam and relationships with non-Muslims. It is divided into parts including ‘Islam and its Sources’, ‘Did You Know’ which sets out information under clear headings such as Women and Education, Women and the Mosque, and Violence Against Wives (presenting evidence that violence against wives is unIslamic), ‘Interactions Between Muslims and Non-Muslims’, and ‘Muslims in Australia’. The part on ‘Contemporary Influential Islamic Thinkers’ may be of particular interest to readers who wish to explore these areas further.<br /><br />Readers who know the author, Aziza Abdel-Halim, will sense her presence throughout the book. As well as clear, concise answers to common questions and misconceptions, she has included poetry, anecdotes and observations which reflect her love of Islam.<br /><br />This is a great book for young Muslims who are looking for “back to basics” inspiration and reassurance that Islam truly offers an enlightened and compassionate way of life. It is especially valuable for Muslim women because the carefully documented Quranic passages, sayings and practices of the Prophet (PBUH) clearly show that he practised enlightened attitudes to women in his lifetime. There are accounts of him debating theology with women, defending their rights to education and to attend mosque, and even doing housework. Exactly for these reasons, hopefully men will read the book too. Finally, for non-Muslims like me, it gives a sense of connection that what we have in common is most important. It offers an inspiring vision of Islam and demonstrates practical ways in which we can all lead enriching lives in Australian society.<br /><br />Jan ZwarKuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-9012769720081788932008-10-13T06:29:00.000-07:002008-10-13T06:43:02.386-07:00Ataturk – the alleged destroyer of the CaliphateHe was definitely father of modern Turkey. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was born in Salonica in 1890. One of Turkey’s greatest modern military minds and the saviour of Gallipoli. After the end of the first world war like many of Turkey’s generals he saw their country being carved up like a roast dinner. France got the leg, England the breast, Greece the ribs, The Russians were happy that Istanbul was an international city, the Armenians were praying for the scraps. And in 1919 at the Treaty of Sevres, Turkey was ultimately humiliated and all that remained was inner Anatolia. This was a bitter pill to swallow for 11 million proud Turks. <br /><br />In the meantime elsewhere in the empire there were more deals being made. In Palestine there was an apparent agreement made between Lawrence of Arabia and the Arabs that they would receive their own independent state if they assisted the British in fighting off the Turks. In Arabia an even sinister plot had hatched by the Saud clan. <br /><br />There is a great misconception that Ataturk was the architect behind the abolition of the caliphate. After the war ended in 1918 the Arabs were rewarded for their treachery against the Turks (fellow Muslims) after siding with the British. They were promised Palestine and the Hejaz. Sherif Hussain was made the Emir of the Mecca and Medina. However, Hussain made a hasty error by declaring himself Caliph of the Muslim world. To the chagrin of the British. <br /><br />Sayyid Hussein bin Ali, (1854-1931) was the ruler of the Hejaz and of Mecca from 1908 until 1917, when he proclaimed himself king of Hejaz, which received international recognition. In 1924, he further proclaimed himself Caliph of all Muslims. He ruled Hejaz until 1924, when, defeated by the Abdul Aziz al Saud and he abdicated the kingdom and other secular titles to his eldest son Ali.<br /><br />The British were not expecting Hussein to announce himself as Caliphate after all the plan had been from the start to destroy it forever. They had partially succeeded by partitioning the Ottoman empire and placing the Middle East under British and French control. When the Turks had finally announced that the Caliph in Turkey was no more Hussein saw this as an opportunity to proclaim the title. He controlled both Mecca and Medina and in effect was the new caliph. <br /><br />The problem with this is that the Caliph should be an elected position. Nonetheless, the British had no intention to tolerate such a brash move, especially after they had installed Hussein into power in the first place. They then pushed the Abdul Aziz Al-Saud to lead a campaign, reinforced with british weapons to oust Hussein and take control. The only condition was that Abdul-Aziz was not to proclaim himself Caliph nor were any of his descendants. To this day, we have never ever heard of a Saudi King declaring himself Caliph. <br /><br />In the meantime, the nasty Palestinians placed all the blame on Mustafa Kemal. They said that he hated the Arabs and he abolished the Arabic script, he secularised Turkey and abolished the caliphate. <br /><br />What Ataturk did was remove the Caliph as an obstacle his grab for power, having already lost the Hejaz which was a fundamental requirement for holding the title of Caliphate. Officially the Caliphate was declared over in Turkey as the last known Caliph was actually Sultan Mehmet Vahdettin who abdicated in 1922 and was exiled to Malta. His successor Abdul Mecid II was briefly Caliph until 1924 when it was formerly abolished by parliament. <br /><br />However, the real architects of the end of the caliphate were the Saudis. They had already made a deal with the British to fight the Turks in return for their military aid. The Saudis came near to extinction until they were saved by the British. In 1924 the Saudis made another deal to take over control of the Hejaz and depose of Sherif Hussein. <br /><br />Bearing in mind all along the British were planning to create a new “Jewish Homeland” under the agreement of the Balfour Declaration. The Arabs were tricked into believing that they too would receive their own homeland which would include Jerusalem and most of the Westbank. <br /><br />It was foolish to have trusted the British for in the end not only did Hussein lose all his power, the Arabs were placed under British and French mandates. They lived under colonial rule for almost half a century until one by one they gained independence but only to be ruled by puppet regimes chosen by the British and French. <br /><br />In the end it was the House of Saud that abolished the last Caliph of Islam. In return for taking power the British were promised that they would never claim the caliphate themselves. And to this day it is as so. The Muslims have no leader, and as long as Arabia is called Saudi Arabia we will never see another caliph lead the Muslims out of the depths of darkness.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-9639923718122966052008-10-13T06:27:00.000-07:002008-10-13T06:28:36.083-07:00Uyghurs Celebrate Landmark RulingUyghurs Celebrate Landmark Ruling on the Release of Seventeen Uyghurs from Guantanamo to the United States<br /><br />In a landmark ruling on October 7, U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina paroled the remaining seventeen Uyghurs detained at Guantanamo Bay to the United States. The federal judge ordered that the Uyghurs in Guantanamo be present in Washington, DC on Friday October 10 for a hand over to the Uyghur community in the United States.<br />The Uyghur American Association (UAA) welcomes Judge Urbina’s ruling and views the parole of the seventeen Uyghurs as a damning indictment of the Chinese government’s assertions that Uyghurs are connected to global terror groups. The ruling also reaffirms the inherent justice of the United States legal system.<br /><br />In response to the ruling, Uyghur democracy leader Ms. Rebiya Kadeer said: “On behalf of all oppressed Uyghurs, I want to thank the people of the United States, as well as their legal system and government, for exercising the rule of law, something which Uyghurs have not come to expect in China. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Sabin Willett and his fellow lawyers, who have worked tirelessly on behalf of the Uyghurs in Guantanamo. Justice has finally prevailed in this case, and the United States has once again exemplified the traits that are so deeply admired by Uyghurs around the world.”<br /><br />UAA believes the decision will raise the profile of the Uyghur human rights cause, as well as awareness of the human rights conditions in East Turkestan (also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China) that compelled the Guantanamo Uyghurs to flee to Afghanistan. In addition, the ruling exposes as baseless the Chinese government’s exploitation of the Guantanamo Uyghurs’ case to justify a broader crackdown on Uyghurs in the name of the “war on terror”. Together with recent media reports casting doubt on the Chinese government’s version of a recent violent attack in Kashgar (a major city in East Turkestan), yesterday’s ruling is a major blow to the Chinese government’s claims regarding Uyghurs and terrorism.<br /><br />UAA asserts that the ruling puts to rest any Chinese government claims that the seventeen Uyghurs in Guantanamo would receive fair treatment if returned to China. Ms. Rebiya Kadeer added: “The fact that today’s proceedings did not even consider returning these men to China shows that they would face certain torture and even execution upon their arrival in China. While it took nearly seven years for this ruling to come about, these Uyghurs would have been executed within two months of being returned to China. Uyghurs in East Turkestan and in exile thank the American people for not sending the seventeen Uyghur men to China to a terrible fate. In the United States, the Uyghur community can offer the support these men need to lead productive lives.”<br /><br />None of the twenty-two Uyghurs originally detained in Guantanamo were picked up on a battlefield, and most of them were captured by Pakistani bounty hunters and sold to American forces for $5,000 each. They had fled to Afghanistan from East Turkestan and escaped to Pakistan once coalition bombing began. However, since their detention, the US government has determined that the Uyghurs are non-enemy combatants. Five Uyghurs were released into Albania in 2006, but no third country has expressed willingness to accept the seventeen men remaining in Guantanamo, reportedly due at least in part to Chinese pressure. As early as 2003, most of the Uyghurs in Guantanamo were cleared for release. Earlier this year, U.S. congressional representatives from both sides of the aisle called for the release of the Guantanamo Uyghurs to the United States.<br /><br />In its annual country reports on human rights abuses, the U.S. State Department has highlighted human rights abuses by Chinese government authorities in East Turkestan, including the use of the legal system as a tool of repression against Uyghurs who voice discontent with the government and the fierce suppression of Uyghur religion, a moderate form of Sunni Islam that is a vital part of their ethnic identity. Uyghurs in East Turkestan face a wide spectrum of human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention and execution, torture, and the suppression of their language and culture. In the past year, Uyghurs have been subjected to an increased rate of execution and detention, in addition to forced relocation, police monitoring, passport confiscation, and the destruction of places of worship.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3064939917330556989.post-49341220351622346992008-10-13T06:21:00.000-07:002008-10-13T06:23:58.547-07:00Violence in Islam and the hideous schizophreniaThe Qur’an says: <br /><br />"O ye who believe! Remain steadfast for Allah, bearing witness to justice. Do not allow your hatred for others to make you swerve to wrongdoing and turn you away from justice. Be just; that is closer to true piety." – (The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 5:8)<br /><br />The Qur’an also clearly states: <br /><br /> to take one’s life without justification is as if he has taken the lives of all humanity<br />(The Holy Qur’an chapter 5 : verse 35)<br /><br />Jihad is the notion of striving which is derived from the Arabic word jahada which means “to lift” or to “make an effort”.<br /><br />The concept of jihad is a predominant view in Islam which encompasses every aspect of one’s struggle against the temptations of life, including the battle with the ego and the desires of the soul. <br /><br />The jihad, in the first thirteen years for the Muslims of Mecca (623 - 632 CE) meant strictly practicing non-violence. The Holy Qur’an ordered them to: <br /><br />Restrain your hands and establish regular prayers and pay Zakat. (The Holy Qur’an Chapter 3: Verse 77)<br /><br />In 623 a revelation from the Prophet allowed Muslims to defend themselves from the aggressive and violent acts of the Meccan forces, who had persecuted every Muslim and their families as well as martyring many others. The Muslims mobilised themselves into well - organised militant groups in Medina and as a result took up arms to defend their territorial rights: <br /><br />Permission is given to those against whom war is made, because they are oppressed, and God is able to help them. These are the people who are expelled from their homes without cause because they said, ‘Our Lord is Allah’. <br />(The Holy Qur’an Chapter 22: Verse 39)<br /><br />The Medinan Muslims engaged in a militant struggle to force the Meccans into a treaty which saw almost ten years of peace in which time Islam spread amongst the Arab tribes unhindered and consequently the pagan Meccans submitted to the will of the Muslims without a drop of blood being shed. <br /><br />The revelation came that changed the jihad from a defensive struggle to an offensive one:<br /><br />Fight against those among the people of the book who do not believe in God and the Last day, who do not forbid what God and His messenger have forbidden, and who do not consider the true religion as their religion until they are subdued and pay jizyah. <br />(The Holy Qur’an chapter 9: verse 29)<br /><br />This directly changed the way the new Muslim empire viewed itself. Within a few decades the Arabs had attained newfound wealth never imagined and a civilization that was exemplary and one to emulate in centuries to come. <br /><br />The concept of an “offensive” jihad cannot be any act of aggression, which is clearly forbidden. More importantly, in the minds of the Muslims, theirs was not a material gain but one in which justice and morality were preserved. The common misconception of jihad meaning holy war is still popular today, this concept is alien to Islam and the early conquests were not holy wars. <br />Modern Islamic reformer Khaled Abou Fadl states categorically that:<br /><br />Islamic tradition does not have a notion of holy war. Jihad simply means to strive hard or struggle in pursuit of a just cause. Holy war (Ar. al-harb al-muqaddasah) is not an expression used by the Qur'anic text or Muslim theologians. In Islamic theology war is never holy; it is either justified or not. <br /><br />Egyptian scholar Sayyid Qutb born in 1906 in his essay on jihad advocates that in order to obtain a just society one must be free to choose his faith and to attain such freedom, Islamic states were required to use force. He says: <br />The very purpose of this movement (Islam) is to set human beings free from the yoke of human enslavement and make them serve the One and Only God. <br /><br />It is true that the early Muslims embarked on a Just War in which it saw the liberation of certain areas as an obligation. This was not only to ensure the survival of Islam but to create a lasting and just peace.<br /><br />Majid Khadduri in Islamic Concept of Justice, notes that: <br />The state was the instrument with which Islam sought its ultimate objective; the establishment of God’s will and justice over the world.” <br /><br />Wright in the Nature of Conflict says, “Islam began a career of conquest in the Seventh century with the thesis that it was the only true faith and was necessarily in conflict with all other religions. This was represented by the doctrine of the jihad or the perpetual war of the “world of Islam” (Dar al-Islam) with the “world of war” (Dar al-Harb). <br /> <br />This concept stated that the world was split into two divisions or abodes: the abode of Islam (Dar al Islam) and which may be called pax Islamica consisting of the territory over which Islamic justice ruled supreme and the rest of the world, Dar al-Harb, or the abode of war, over which public orders prevailed. <br /><br />According to Qutb a Muslim must enter a movement and perform jihad to restore the true religion in the world. But Qutb stresses that there is a distinction between a jihad to free the world and the idea of enforcing Islam on the world. Religion was and still is to be carried out by peaceful means as:<br /><br /> there should be no compulsion in the spread of the word of God. <br />(The Holy Qur’an chapter 2: verse 257)<br /><br />He says, “Islam in order to translate this ideal into reality, does not forcibly compel people to accept its faith but provides them with a free atmosphere to exercise their choice of faith.” <br /><br />This view was supported by the great scholar and jurisprudent, Imam al-Shafi who believed that the expansion of the state carried out by jihad, was an entirely different matter. Imam al-Shafi who laid down a framework for Islam’s relationship with non-Muslims and formulated the doctrine that jihad had for its intent for the waging of war on unbelievers; for their disbelief and not only when they entered into conflict with the Islamic state. <br /><br />However, prevailing interpretations based on the notion that Islam is a political community endowed with a public order designed to govern its internal affairs as well as to conduct its relationship with others in accordance with a scale of justice determined by the will and Justice of God, see the doctrine of the jihad as obsolete and in a state of dormancy. <br /><br />In early Islam scholars like Abu Hanifa (founder of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence) and Shaybani made no explicit declarations that the jihad was a war to be waged against non-Muslims. On the contrary they stressed that tolerance should be shown to unbelievers, and prescribed war only when the non-believers came into conflict with Islam. <br /><br />Islam prohibited all kinds of war except in the form of jihad in defence of your faith. Jihad was not necessarily a requirement for all able-bodied Muslims to fight, Jihad could be made in the form of your actions, or your words and even in your heart. The only legitimate war was a just war. All other wars were prohibited. <br /><br />The classical doctrine of the jihad made no distinction between defensive and offensive war, for in the pursuance of the establishment of God’s sovereignty and justice on Earth the difference between defensive and offensive was irrelevant. However, although the duty of the jihad was commanded by God, (Qur’an chapter 61:10-13) it was considered to be binding only when the strength of the believers was theirs. That is when Islam was in the ascendancy.<br /><br />Khadduri says, <br />When Islamic power began to decline, the state could obviously no longer assume a preponderant (greater in number) attitude without impairing its internal unity. <br /><br />The ultimate objective was to establish peace and justice with communities which acknowledged the Islamic public order, Islam regulated its relationship with other states through the branch of law called the Siyar. The Siyar was a set of rules with the same textual sources as the sharia, possessing its own scales of justice based on Islamic principles and its experience with other people. <br /><br /><br />Vryonis, writes in The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor;<br />By 10th C jihad wars had expanded the Muslim empire from Portugal to India. Subsequent Muslim conquests continued in Asia, as well as on Christian eastern European lands. The Christian kingdoms of Armenia, Byzantium, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, and Albania, in addition to parts of Poland and Hungary, were also conquered and Islamized. When the Muslim armies were stopped at the gates of Vienna in 1683, over a millennium of jihad had transpired. <br /><br />This great achievement still bewilders many scholars today. There are many who use this point to illustrate that Islam is a violent religion and that jihad is based on offensive battles of expansion. <br /><br />However, the early expansion of the Muslim Arabs, were not offensive imperialistic manouvres as historians like Vyronis, Lewis, Cook and commentators like Pipes have interpreted. The Arabs were compelled to protect themselves from threatening empires like Egypt, Persia and Byzantine. It was obligatory for Muslims to fight polytheists and to purge the Arabian peninsula of polytheism. The world was seeped in ignorance and practiced barbaric customs. It was incumbent on Muslims to free the oppressed people from the shackles of barbarism and allow people to develop in an environment of spiritual freedom. In the context of the time, this was seen as permissible. Even under latter ruling empires such as the Ottoman’s the expansion of the Islamic state was based on defensive wars or pre-emptive attacks against aggressor states such as Austria-Hungary and Serbia.<br />It is a simple case of just looking at Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Armenia where the Christians retained their faith and their identity more freely than under the Catholic Genoese or Venetians or under the Orthodox Byzantines. The subject people preferred the just rule of the Ottomans than their own Christian counterparts. The saying goes “better the Sultans turban than the Pontiffs cap”.<br /><br />The complex nature of European developments of violence, however, was inevitably exported to Islamic societies in the early 20th century. <br /><br />Berman in his book Terror and Liberalism espouses the view that Europe’s secularization led to a violent pathway. The advent of Liberalism meant total freedom that resulted in murder and suicide. In citing Tariq Ramadan and Albert Camus, he states there are fundamental clashes in view between European and Islamic approaches to violence through totalitarianism: <br /><br />Ramadan observes that in looking for the roots of totalitarianism in mythology and literature, Camus confined himself to the myths and literary classics of the West. Civilisation to Camus meant Western culture and did not mean Islam. <br /><br />However, both philosophers, he claims, “recognized that totalitarianism and terrorism are one and the same. If only we could discover the roots of totalitarianism, we would have discovered the roots of terror.” <br /><br />The Promethean view of life that is prevalent in Western society is based on the rebellious attitude of man. Ramadan explains that the basic difference between Muslim thought and Christian is that “In Islam there is no tendency to rebel. Submission is the road to social justice, to a contented soul, and to harmony with the world.” Islam’s greatest model of submission is exemplified in the compliance of Abraham the father of Islam. There was no rebellion, no questioning, strictly submission to the will of God:<br /><br />Camus invoked the myth of Prometheus the Titan, who goes further than Abraham and in a spirit of radical action, takes that final step into full scale rebellion. Prometheus steals Zeus’ fire and gives it to man. He is punished horribly for his transgression – and yet the Titan’s transgression is man’s benefit. <br /><br />The development of Europe towards the separation of religion from the affairs of the state was the turning point in which Islam and Christian Europe diverged. <br /><br /> “That was the new twisted impulse in Europe- the rebellion that begins with freedom and ends with crime.” <br /><br />Berman believes that once Liberalism took root on the continent great leaps in progress occurred in the West. It “was due to one all-powering principle. It was the recognition that all of life is not governed by one single all-knowing and all-powerful authority - by a divine force.” <br /><br />Modern day Islamic nations have inherited a libertarian view towards violence:<br /><br />Then again during its first 500 years of world domination Europe did export innumerable customs and ideas to every corner of the globe; and having exported everything else, why should Europe have been unable to export its spirit of self destruction, too? <br /><br />In the Twentieth century many European ideologies spread to Islamic societies; Marxism, socialism, fascism and in particular nationalism in the form of pan-Arabism. Whilst many of these ideologies never really made lasting impacts on these societies, modernity’s pressures and the shrinking world placed pressures on the systems that these nations were to operate under. The socialist movements of the early Twentieth century influenced Arab politics for the most part of their existence after independence from colonial rule but a concurrent movement which Berman refers to as Islamist was also developing with greater emphasis on social welfare and religious quality. They remained for the most part apolitical although their influence was great. These movements were inspired by scholars like Afghani, Maududi and Hassan Al Banna who started the Muslim Brotherhood.<br /><br />Sayyid Qutb wrote in Milestones:<br /><br />“In this unfortunate fashion the schizophrenic aspect of Christian thought… spread into the realm of scientific knowledge. Everything that Islam knew to be one the Christian Church divided into two.” This is why secularism would not work in Islamic societies as they could not see the difference between politics and religion, they were inexorably one.<br /><br />He truly believed that Islam, if correctly followed, possessed the answer. Qutb described Islam as: <br /><br />a religion that does not deny man any of his natural tendencies or instincts, or pretend to achieve human purity by suppressing or destroying man’s basic human needs. Rather Islam disciplines, guides and fosters these desires and needs in a manner that reinforces man’s humanity and invigorates his consciousness of, and relationship with God. It further seeks to blend physical and sensual tendencies with human and religious emotions, thus bringing together the transient pleasures and the immutable values of human life into one harmonious and congruent system that will render man worthy of being God’s representative on Earth. <br /><br />He was very critical of the West and Christianity, especially in their dominance of Islamic societies and their resources. <br /><br />Freedom in a liberal society seemed to Qutb no freedom at all: <br /><br />Secularism has largely failed in Islamic societies. This hideous schizophrenia for Muslims has caused instability over the past decades and is a major contributor to the violence that plays out each day. While Muslim societies could theoretically establish peace in a secularized fashion, it is a recipe for conflict. In Iraq and Afghanistan as the war on terror continues we are witnessing this failure today.<br /><br />The world is gradually realizing that it is a war of ERROR. And Australia’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan makes it doubly erroneous. We are complicit in the deaths of nearly a million Iraqis and thousands of Afghanis. The error in terror is fast becoming the dominant paradigm.<br /><br />The War of Error started shortly after the attacks on the WTC buildings and the subsequent deaths of over three thousand of US citizens. In hindsight we may see that taking revenge against poor Afghanistan was a foolish step towards making the world more unsafe and unstable and then the invasion of Iraq totally tipped the scales and has made the region more volatile and unpredictable. Since the declaration by the US president that “you are with us or you are with the terrorists” we have seen bomb attacks in peaceful cities like Madrid, Istanbul, Indonesia, London and foiled attempts in Berlin. The errors have not ceased, we have had accidental bombings of wedding parties and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. And even our own soldiers have been coming home in coffins, now four in the past two years. The AWB scandal highlighted the corruption and the cruel undertaking to which the Australian government has committed our nation.<br /><br />In Iraq there are gross injustices and violation of human rights, there is extreme poverty and the terrifying reality that almost every Iraqi faces on a daily basis; the bombings, shootings, unemployment, no access to education and a bleak future ahead.<br /><br />The war of error is the greatest tragedy of this century and unless sanity prevails we will spiral further into anarchy and bedlam. <br /><br />Islam seeks peace with God, this is not contrary to democracy. <br /><br />In the West we seek peace without God. <br /><br />To force Muslim societies to take the latter path could just be one more error in a chain of errors.Kuranda Seyithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10294295780883018002noreply@blogger.com1