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November 12, 2005
Australia: Muslim Representative Says Imams Cannot Be Policed
Dr Ameer Ali has been sending some contradictory messages of late. As the head of Australia's Federation of Islamic Councils, he has an important position in Muslim Australian society. We reported earlier that he had been opposing the terror legislation currently being implemented by John Howard.
In September he said that charging anyone who incited violence against Australian troops in Iraq could be used to muzzle anyone who opposed the Iraqi "war", and that anyone should be able to support Iraqi insurgents without fearing criminal charges.
Then at the start of October, shortly after the Bali bombing, Ameer Ali announced that he had had a meeting with John Howard, and had been reassured that the proposed anti-terror laws were balanced and necessary. He was speaking as part of the Muslim Reference Group, a consultative body set up by the government to mediate between the Islamic communities and Parliament House.
A week after making that statement, Ali backtracked, under pressure from other groups included under the umbrella of the Muslim Reference Group, according to the Australian. These groups, including the Muslim Women's National Network and Islamic Council of Victoria criticised Ali's comments made after a meeting with Philip Ruddock, Australia's Attorney General.
He had said after the briefing, which had also been attended by 13 other Muslim representatives, that the issue of the proposed terror laws had been accepted by all present. "It was all unanimous, not one single disappointed person." His critics said the meeting had been about information, not about acceptance or to pass judgement on the laws.
One day after the mass-arrests of suspected terrorists on Tuesday November 7, Dr Ali requested a meeting with Philip Ruddock to request that they stop arresting terror suspects. He also spoke of a fear of a "redneck backlash" among the Muslim community. After the meeting on Wednesday, Attorney-General Ruddock and Prime Minister John Howard made statements to reassure the Muslim communities that the laws would still go ahead, but that the Muslim community was not being targeted as a group, only those who were potential terrorists.
According to the Turkish Weekly, Ameer Ali stated at that time: "The law enforcers (should) give some extra protection to the places of worship, the Muslim schools and areas where the Muslims are living in concentration so there will be more police patrols taking place so these elements can be kept out."
Now Dr Ali has announced that it will be difficult for the Muslim community to hand over names of extremists and potential terrorists to the authorities, as requested by Prime Minister John Howard on Saturday 12th. abc.net.au quotes Ali as saying:
"A community organisation like mine is not a police force. We don't monitor the behaviour of each individual and on the other hand also, Islam is not for example like Christianity where there is a Pope and an Archbishop, and so when the Pope says something others carry it out. The Imams are not a structurally organised community."smh.com.au says Ameer Ali has claimed that the fanatical element in the Muslim community is small, but admitted that there are some leaders with an extremist view of Islam who use their fanaticism to recruit terrorists.
"That's why we are appealing to imam to be clear in what you're saying because Arabic is a rich language, you use one word, it's got 10 meanings, so when you talk to the youngsters be clear in what you're saying," he said.
Ameer Ali wants to be seen as a moderate, and indeed he is not a supporter of terrorism. But his requests for no further arrests to be made, directly after extreme fanatics were arrested, only shows that he is trying to be all things to all people. Like many moderate leaders, once they try to reconcile the desire to look "straight" to governments with also trying to retain credibility with all sections of the Muslim communities they claim to represent, the message becomes blurred. He is becoming of little use to either side, judging by his current record.
The threat of radical Islam in Australia is real, and that threat comes from the young idealists who support foreign insurgencies as much as preachers of jihad such as Algerian-born Sheikh Benbrika, who was arrested on Tuesday.
Last week, shortly after Prime Minister John Howard warned that he had intelligence concerning an imminent terror threat upon the nation, The Australian carried a report on young radicals who were attending the sermons of Sheikh Mohammed Omran in Melbourne. These young hardline Muslims looked, in their jeans and streetwear, like home-grown Australians. Many are born in Australia, with as many Caucasian converts as there are "Arabic" Muslims. ASIO believes that Australia's first suicide bomber will come from home-grown young jihadists.
One of those arrested on Tuesday is a young Australian who was formerly a minor actor in a TV soap popular with young people. Yet he drew a gun and fired at police officers. With his attempts to ingratiate himself with the Howard government, and his obvious lack of youth, it seems that no matter how sincerely Dr Ameer Ali tries to square the circle, he will never be able to reach out to this young generation of radical Islamic idealists.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 12, 2005 9:23 PM
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