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September 17, 2006

Australia: Muslim Imams Told To Preach In English

Earlier today, a conference of Australian imams which has lasted two days, wound up. During the conference in Sydney, attended by more than 100 clerics, the Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Andrew Robb (pictured) addressed the floor.

As reported in the Sunday Telegraph, DNA India, the Melbourne Age, Nine MSN Deitsche Presse-Agentur via The Raw Story, ABC and in the Sydney Morning Herald, Robb stated that Muslims should do more to denounce terrorism, and should preach in English.

He said: "For imams to present Islam in a truly Australian context, especially to second- and third-generation young Australian Muslims, it would seem essential that imams be able to preach effectively in English."

"The fact that I have needed to have my comments translated into several different languages so that many of you could understand my address here this morning very clearly highlights my concern."

With half of Australia's 360,000 Muslims under the age of 25, it was seen by Robb as essential that the language issue be addressed.

On the subject of terrorism and extremism, Robb said that Muslims had to declare these to be against Islam "Because it's your faith that's being invoked it is your problem. You cannot wish it away or ignore it just because it has been caused by others. It's an obscenity for terrorists to invoke Islam as the justification of their evil ways. There is much you can and must do to condemn their words, their actions and their blasphemy."

"I say to you, speak up and condemn terrorism. I know many in your community are doing this...but too many are silent or simply protest that they are being branded unfairly."

He said that young people's "view of Islam should come from the Mosque, not from the internet."

Sadly, Robb does not seem to understand how terrorism and violence have been a part of Islam since the days of its war-mongering and terrorising founder, Mohammed. The current reactions to the Pope's speech show just how wedded to the notion of violent "jihad" many international Muslim leaders are.

Health Minister Tony Abbott echoed Robb's statement, saying: "It's obvious that there is no shortage of Western critics of the West, but...there sometimes seems to be a serious shortage of Muslim critics of Islam. It would be easier for Australians to appreciate Islam if more Islamic leaders seemed readier to condemn terrorism rather than explain how the West might in some way have contributed to that, important though that debate may be."

Last week, the Australian government proposed raising the duration of time that immigrants must spend in Australia before citizenship can be granted from three years to four. The government also recommended an English language test for would be citizens and an inquiry into their understandings of liberal and democratic values.

But one speaker at the conference, Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra from the terrorist-supporting Muslim Council for Britain, claimed that imams already denounced extremism. He said: "We as imams and Muslim leaders have to shout out loud as loudly as we can that terrorism has no room in Islam, it is the exact opposite of what Islam stands for. At the same time the politicians should hear our voice. I have been very, very disappointed...when the acknowledgment is not there that we are condemning the violence. It's as if we are not being heard."

Mogra said of his speech to delegates: "I called on them to proactively engage the government, not to be cynical all the time but to pat the government's back when they get it right and to help them when they get it wrong."

Of course the comments of Andrew Robb have been condemned by some in the Muslim community. Keysar Trad, the Lebanese spokesperson for Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilaly called the statements a "dig at the mufti by Andrew Robb."

The so-called "Mufti" who preaches at the Lakemba mosque in Sydney preaches in his native language, and even gives press interviews in his language. The "mufti" has made several speeches and sermons in which he openly supports terrorism, and acts of terrorism such as 9/11. Then he complains loudly that his comments have been mistranslated.

The Australian carries a long and moaning article by Waleed Aly, a lawyer from Melbourne who is on the board of the Islamic Council of Victoria. Most of the article is a diatribe against Peter Costello John Howard and the comments they made a fortnight ago. He also criticised Ameer Ali, who formerly headed AFIC, the body which includes all Islamic Councils, including Victoria's Islamic Council.

He said of Ameer Ali at the time of the comments from Howard and Costello: "The first round of nonsense, sadly, came from Muslim spokespeople, some of whom responded with knee-jerk anger of the most senseless variety. Ameer Ali, who heads the Government's Muslim Community Reference Group, couldn't decide what he thought. Initially he slammed the Prime Minister, saying his inflammatory comments could incite another Cronulla. Then, speaking of inflammatory divisiveness, he told The West Australian that the "hard core" of Muslims who "are not prepared to accept" Australian values "have to adapt, otherwise they must pack up and go home". Next to these, Howard's comments seem ecumenical."

Today, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the conclusion of the two-day Imam's conference in Sydney has recommended the establishment of a national board to face up to issues of extremism and terrorism, and to give a united voice to Muslims. They also proposed setting up a national "centre of excellence" for people of Muslim or kaffir background who wanted to learn about Islamic studies and culture.

Ameer Ali said the board would be established as soon as possible. Hass Dellal of the Australian Multicultural Foundation said: "The imams conference certainly gave a ringing endorsement in principle that there should be a national board of imams and that there should be a steering committee to look at the process on how that is developed which is inclusive."

Ameer Ali said: "The imams recognise the importance of engaging Muslim youth and women in their institutions and addressing the ongoing needs of their respective communities."

Currently there is much division between the varying Islamic Councils, with at least ten of them recently threatening to remove themselves from their umbrella body AFIC (Australian Federation of Islamic Councils) because they do not like the new management.

Previously, the Islamic Council of Victoria condemned the leadership of AFIC (when Ameer Ali was its chairman) as being "too old, and out of touch with young people and women."

Ameer Ali's enthusiasm for such a body to oversee Islamic decisions could be viewed by cynics as just another attempt to establish his own power-base. He received criticism last year when he spoke as representative of the Muslim Community Reference Group without consulting its members.

Far from creating "one single voice", the establishment of yet another Muslim body in Australia seems to be another chance to have another "representative" group to argue and conflict with the other existing "representative" groups.

And once again, as with AFIC, the funding for this new group may be coming directly from tax-payers' pockets.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at September 17, 2006 9:14 AM

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Posted by: seeteufel at September 17, 2006 3:42 PM

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