Stepan Kerkyasharian

 

National Social Cohesion Conference

Challenging Islamophobia: towards social justice and inclusion

 

Room 022, Law School Building

Eastern Avenue, Camperdown Campus,

Sydney University

20 July 2009

 

 

Distinguished participants.

The theme of this conference brings to surface the constant need to reinforce social cohesion, to promote harmony, and address isolation and marginalisation in our communities.

In recent years, both in Australia and globally, there have emerged a number of threats to social cohesion. In particular, Muslims are at risk of feeling threats to their inclusion and the term Islamophobia has increasingly found resonance in the last decade or so. It is easy to identify some of the reasons why the world feels so fractured, but more difficult to offer solutions.

This conference presents us with an opportunity to mindfully assess the current challenges we face, and to explore together those steps we must take to inch closer to achieving a harmonious and accepting environment for all.

As Chairman of the Community Relations Commission and President of the Anti discrimination Board, I see on a daily basis the great success of our culturally diverse society, and the potential of the devastating impact of cultural disharmony. I can also confidently say that the NSW Government is responding to these challenges in a number of ways which aim at fostering community harmony, and encouraging dialogue between and amongst Australian-Muslims and other community groups.

In New South Wales, we can find mosques, churches, synagogues, mandirs, and many other temples.  In some suburbs these places of religious worship may be found just a short distance from one another. In fact, all the worlds major religions are professed here.  In the suburb of Bonnyrigg they are all on the one  block.

Australia is one of the most culturally diverse nations on earth and NSW is the most diverse state in the nation.  Continuous efforts have been made in New South Wales for cultural and religious differences to be acknowledged and respected. This is an ongoing responsibility, and one which should not only be borne by those in authority, but also by the media, and by those who have influence within their own communities.

The Community Relation Commission has a role not as a defender of any particular religion but to promote and underline the right of us all to express ourselves through religion, culture and language in a safe and secure environment.

The Commission was established as the statutory authority to oversee the implementation of the Principles of Multiculturalism.

In 2000 those Principles of Multiculturalism were enshrined in legislation as the policy of the State which provide for the existence and acceptance of, inter alia, religious diversity within the context of a set of shared values for citizens, and a commitment to Australia and its future.

Muslims, like adherents of all other religions, have the right to foster their own identity, practice their faith and maintain their cultural heritage within the protection and the boundaries of Australian laws. This is a right to be included in the larger society, not marginalised.

But all rights come with responsibilities. If we expect our own rights to be promoted and upheld then we must extend that to and uphold them for others. To put it clearly, we must promote and uphold the rights of our neighbours to also freely practice their cultures and beliefs without interference or persecution - all within Australian law.

Disputes the world over, often have this disrespect for the rights of others at their core. We must collectively ensure that such divisive international disputes do not fight their destructive path to Australia.  

In fact, Muslims have a long and peaceful history of settlement in New South Wales. Id like to quickly point out a few significant elements:

The first Muslims settled in NSW only 13 years after the colony was formed. Between 1867 and 1910, a second wave of Muslim Afghans immigrated to Australia. Around 3,000 performed a critical nation-building service to Australia, working as camel drivers, carting water and goods in the difficult terrain.

In 1887, the New South Wales railways reached Broken Hill and Bourke, and towns at various railheads became gathering points for the Afghans.  These townships often included mosques. In fact, the first mosque in New South Wales was built in Broken Hill in 1891 and survives today.

With the end of the camel transport industry in the 1920s and the restrictive effects of the White Australia immigration policy, the number of Afghans diminished. It was not until the late 1960s that Muslim immigration resumed, with the dismantling of the White Australia Policy which had restricted the immigration of so many non-Europeans who now call Australia home.

The 1970s and 80s saw the arrival of large numbers of Turkish and Lebanese immigrants to New South Wales, who today comprise the majority of overseas-born Australian Muslims.

The New South Wales Government has a proud history of helping people from diverse cultural, religious and language backgrounds settle and contribute to the life of the State.

One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by hosting and supporting major cultural events, and making positive statements about the contribution of a cultural or religious group.

Whether in politics or government, or in ones role as a community or religious leader, it is critical to ensure that there is a balance between constructive commentary and promotion of successes.

It is disheartening for me, as Chair of the Community Relations Commission, to see irrelevant international politics damaging the perceptions of a community because of the careless statements of a vocal minority.

It is easy to blame the local Australian media for promoting an anti-Muslim agenda… and we must maintain our vigilance against that…. but we must also reflect upon the impression that any community whether religious or cultural - gives of itself.

We need to shift the broader perception of Muslims away from international politics and conflicts, and emphasise some of the smaller, but no less important contributions of our fellow Australians of the Muslim faith.

I believe that at a personal level we do not associate the Muslims we interact with on a daily basis, like neighbours or fellow parents at the local school, with international terrorism or threats to overthrow democratic western style governments. Yet when we see or hear the fanatical utterances of people like the Bali bombers we tend to tar the whole Muslim community with those attitudes.

This is, I know, a matter of extreme embarrassment and anger for, what I might call, normal Australian Muslims.

So why do we want our fellow Australians who practice Islam to take the blame and the insult for the actions of extremists who commit acts of political violence in the name of Islam? That should not be the Australian way!

I would be failing in my responsibilities if I did not broach the treatment of Islamic issues by the media in Australia in a fair and balanced manner.

Undoubtedly there are some in the media who would use any opportunity to denigrate Islam and its followers in Australia- to tar them all with the same brush.

Lets analyse certain factors.

A cursory glance at census figures from 1996, 2001 and 2006 show that the fastest growing religion in Australia is Buddhism, not Islam. Yet one hardly reads in the media, about the rise of Buddhism in Australia as an issue and neither should one have to. So why Islam? Why do we read about Islam?

I want to share with you my observations. They are not the result of extensive and expensive research, but a personal reflection based on my perusal of historical developments.

From the beginning of the Federation until 1966 there was effectively no major Muslim presence in Australia. One would wonder why even though from the mid 1950s on we had a significant migration intake from Egypt a predominantly Islamic country.  Yet the immigrants from there were, by some inexplicable selection process, Christians, Copts, Italians, Maltese and Armenians. I will leave it to academics to sort that one out.

It was not until 1966, following Australias agreement with Turkey, that migrants of the Islamic faith began to migrate here in any significant numbers.

Within a decade we also started having Buddhists and Hindus migrating to Australia in large numbers.

Initially mainly Vietnamese, then Chinese and Indians.

I would submit that the settlement of Muslims would have followed the same pattern as previous waves of migrants were it not for international events.

The first Gulf War in the early 1990s for the liberation of Kuwait.

This in itself is a phenomenon I have often referred to.

An infamous video surfaced at the time showing some members of the Australian Navy mocking Muslims at prayer. Australia was at war with Iraq to defend the territorial integrity of Kuwait. In other words, we were allies with a Muslim country fighting against the country of a dictator named Saddam Hussein who could hardly be regarded as the defender of Islam. Our allies were Muslims yet some members of our armed forces saw the enemy as being Muslim and the enemy in the Gulf War as the Muslims.

The point of all this is that perceptions form and guide peoples behaviours.

The Gulf War was followed by various acts of terrorism perpetrated in the name of Islam.

Australia continued to be involved in armed conflict and then we had Nine-eleven, we had Bali and the bombing of the Australian embassy. We had some Muslim clerics making silly comments.

One has to be aware of how the media operates at all times. It is fallacy to say there is no such thing as bad publicity.

It is very difficult to resist the lure of the media - to appear or to be quoted. The overwhelming majority of people seek the media out because they genuinely want to be heard. However it has a price. One cannot control how the media will react to an issue. I firmly believe that the media, by and large, reflects the interests of the people. It gives them what they are interested in.

In the context of this conference it will be fair to say that the media spends a disproportionately long time and devotes large spaces every time there is an issue with an Islamic angle to it.

How does it fuel it? How does it maintain the momentum for keeping the story alive? Does it do so by finding local people who will comment on issues as representatives of a community? How do community people react? And so on. One has to search for the answers to those questions before one concludes bias in the media.

It is not unusual for a crime story to be linked to Islam, just as it is not unusual for an international story to be linked to Islam.

The reality is that there are people who are using religion to pursue political agendas. And there is nothing unnatural in that. It has been done for centuries. But this time there is violence which is at our doorstep. That does make a difference.

People do feel uneasy and need to be reassured. Australia as a democracy is involved in armed conflict there needs to seek public support. That does contribute to the nature of messages that are communicated through the media. Given the characteristics of current international conflict religion invariably drifts into the discourse.

It requires great discipline on the part of community leaders not to be drawn into commenting on issues which do not directly affect their community.

Let me give you an example. There has been ongoing conflict between the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus for the last forty-six years. At no stage has that been portrayed as a conflict between Christians and Muslims.

Yet I was disturbed recently when I heard commentary in Sydney from a person who is not ethnically connected to the island of Cyprus. His comments reflected on the conflict as having a religious nature involving Muslims. He was responding to the media. The question is what did that contribute to the debate on the conflict in Cyprus? I would suggest virtually nothing.

Did it contribute to anything else? The answer is yes! It connected the Islamic faith and the Islamic community of Australia to yet another international conflict.

Similarly acts of geopolitical conflict elsewhere in the world have no place being discussed in Australia along religious lines. (I say this even if Australians are involved as in the case of the latest acts of terrorism in Jakarta on Friday.) How much less focus would there be in the Australian media on the Islamic community if community members refused to comment on events happening on the other side of the world? Just because a Muslim has been involved in an act of terrorism somewhere else on the globe why should an Australian Muslim be required to make comment? What has an act of terrorism in another part of the world got to do with an Australian community leader? The answer is nothing.

The reality is, however that comment is sought and it is forthcoming - always on negative issues related to international conflict.

We must treat our fellow Australians as we find them, not as members of a particular faith or as people from another part of the world.

There are Muslim Australians who have found a way. They are the ones whom community leaders commenting to the media should highlight. We should recognise great achievements by Australian Muslims which have nothing to do with the practice of their religion.

For example  a young Sydney woman, Samah Hadid, who this year won the Community Relations Commission Youth Award for Volunteering. Samah was recognised for her passion for improving services for young people at a local, national and international level.  This young Muslim woman has been recognised as a powerful speaker, being asked to address the Red Cross National Conference 2008 and to speak at the Alfred Deakin Innovations Lectures, the National Youth Roundtable, the International Metropolis Conference and the Prime Ministers 20-20 Summit.

Dr Jamal Rifi was declared the 2009 Australia Day Local Hero of New South Wales  and recipient of the 2007 Human Rights Community Award.   Dr Rifi moves very comfortably and very effectively in the broader community as a doctor, a sports club president and within the political processes. At the same time he is a pillar of his own Muslim community and a voice for moderation.  He served on the Community Relations Commission with distinction for a number of years.

Samah Hadid and Jamal Rifi are role models for all Australians.

The CRC does take measures to give the Islamic community a sense of acceptance within our society. Organisations of Muslim Australians apply for and receive financial assistance for projects that assist their members to participate more deeply in Australian society.

Every year since 2004, the New South Wales Premier, starting with Bob Carr, then Morris Iemma and now Nathan Rees, has hosted an Iftar dinner, in honour of the States Islamic communities during Ramadan. Religious leaders of many faiths and Muslim community leaders of all Islamic sects are invited to attend. This is a message of acceptance from the highest office in the State the Premier.

Community harmony is enhanced by drawing various faiths together in celebration and reflection of the virtues of faith.

It also makes a strong statement to the broader community that the Government and the religious communities of New South Wales accept the right of the Muslim community to publicly observe its faith and traditions - in other words, that Islam is as mainstream in Australia as any other religion.

Two months ago, in May, the Minister for Citizenship, through the Community Relations Commission hosted the Australian tour of Imam Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, an internationally respected Islamic leader who delivered a lecture on The Ethics of Governance and Islam.

Also a multi- faith event, this experience was a clear illumination of the Muslim perspective of governance. It also underscored the power of religious virtue (whatever the faith), and the universality of the human search for goodness, peace and harmony.

It is imperative that the broader Australian population understand about the ideals of Islam, and the practices of its devotees. For, the Muslim population in Australia is still relatively small, but it is growing.

The 2006 Census showed that the Muslim population in Australia was 340,401; an overall increase of 20.9% compared with the total of 281,578 in the 2001 Census. In NSW, in 2006, the Muslim population was recorded as 168,788, or 2.6% of the overall NSW population.

It is unquestioned that the media plays a powerful role in influencing our understanding of our world. The media has a social and cultural impact on society, shaping the way we think about how our communities contribute and participate in the life of the State. The media provides us with our understanding of global events, but also portrays daily events occurring in our own state.

The public relies on the media for information, and the media rely on the public for information.

A major source of information for the media is the people who present themselves as cultural and religious spokespersons. We know that those who speak the loudest are not always the ones who represent the broadest interests of their community.

If we want the Australian media to reflect on the reality of Islam within our society, then we all have a responsibility to present a balanced view of what it means to be a member of a sizeable and growing faith of Australians.

Australia is a great democracy and we have a right to express our views - to be critical of Government, if need be, in a peaceful way. However it has to be in an Australian context.

We have the right to comment on injustices or express support for human rights aspirations of peoples in other parts of the world. However, overseas conflicts must never impact on the harmonious co-existence of Australians of different faiths or different political persuasions. We must redouble our efforts to work together and demonstrate unity of purpose and commitment to this land.

In the face of international conflict and adversity, we must also redouble our efforts in dialogue and joint action working hand in hand with those of our fellow Australians, whose ethnic or religious kin might be involved in conflict in another part of the world.

In many ways, it is the unexpected, the unpredictable actions that do not fit the stereotype, which challenge the media and attract their attention.

This conference will provide an opportunity to highlight the values of our culturally diverse society, of which we are all so proud if we decide to persevere with constructive work in the face of perceived adversary. For I have great faith in the Australian peoples acceptance of diversity and its inalienable commitment to the Fair Go principle which is embedded in its psyche.

This conference can play a critical role in finding ways to work with our religious and cultural differences and, ultimately, in creating a harmonious community.

The success of this conference will be attributed to you, and I commend you all for your contribution. We can all benefit so much by a harmonious, multi-cultural, multi-faith community. It is easy to do.

We simply accept and respect our differences within the boundaries of Australian Law.  

 

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