The battle for the hearts and minds of Australia’s Muslim youth – March 9, 2006 – Source
Mainstream role models, not conservative religious leaders, can show the way forward, writes Saeed Khan.
IN MANY ways, the problems faced by Australian Muslims are no different from those faced by earlier migrants to this country. But the heightened focus on issues affecting them emerging in the backwash of the fall of One Nation has put the Muslim community under acute pressure amid allegation and counter-allegation of “dog-whistle” politics among senior politicians.
Although One Nation, which gave public expression to racism, xenophobia and marginalisation, is no longer around, Hansonism lives on and, in fact, has considerable sway over mainstream politics, from the handling of the Tampa issue to the anti-terrorism laws and the Cronulla riots. Both the Coalition and the ALP consider that the 7 per cent of the vote identified by One Nation as an electoral silver bullet.
A recent survey on racism conducted by Sydney academics Professor Kevin Dunn and Dr Jim Forrest found that about 80 per cent of respondents believe racism is a problem. However, about the same percentage believe they themselves are not racist.
Now consider that about 12 per cent of respondents see themselves as racists, not too far off the same percentage of the vote identified by One Nation. So, in a sense, it is this small number of swinging racists who have managed to hijack the political agenda.
After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Muslims have faced a growing climate of fear and hatred. The Bali and London bombings have only made things worse for Australian Muslims. One positive from this adversity is that it presents an opportunity to rethink our integration, representation, and cultural and social infrastructure.
Yet the way Muslims are organised – around mosques which operate largely along ethnic lines – has presented an obvious trap for the Federal Government, which has selected a reference group to advise it on Muslim affairs from these religious groupings; this group is the centrepiece for the Government’s community consultations. This is a nonsense, since these people do not represent the community.
Some mosques act as de facto community centres but most are dominated by conservative religious factions who often resist using mosques for anything but religion.
First-generation migrants from Muslim backgrounds did not really get involved in mainstream politics so that even though there are more than 300,000 Muslims in Australia, there is only one Muslim member of Parliament, Adem Somyurek, who is in the Victorian upper house. In Sydney, there are 13 councillors in five local councils.
This may change, but turning to conservative religious leaders for advice will not help resolve the fracturing evident in parts of the Islamic community presented by disaffected Muslim youth. Migrant parents, however well integrated, often want their children to subscribe to their religious and cultural values, giving rise to generational conflict.
Young Muslims are misunderstood by their parents and many live two lives – one inside their community and another outside. They need a moderate mainstream role model to help smooth their difficulties, yet the Government and media are bent on promoting religious leadership. Since there is already a generational gap, this could make things worse for Islamic youth.
If the Federal Government wants to do the right thing, it should be engaging mainstream community representatives and organisations to provide appropriate role models. The issues of representation and perception are inter-related. There are no easy answers and long-term commitment is required.
In the aftermath of the Cronulla riots, what approach the NSW Government will take in setting up a group of representatives for community consultation, if any, is keenly awaited.
At the same time, it is important that the Islamic community and all Australians do not lose sight of the bigger picture.
It is easy for marginalised communities to fall into a cycle of negativity and self-pity. To avoid this will require a lot of positive thinking and hard work, with leadership from both sides.
Politicians at all levels of government will need to resist dog whistling, the kind of cheap political capital that always leads to uglier things. There are no silver bullets.
Saeed Khan is a Marrickville councillor and is a vice-chairman of the Ethnic Communities Council of NSW.
