Conversation: ‘Give Muslims a fair go’ – plea to media - Faruk Chowdhury and Amjad Ali Mehboob of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils

Sydney
11 November 2001

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Conversation: ‘Give Muslims a fair go’ – plea to media - Faruk Chowdhury and Amjad Ali Mehboob of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils

How have recent events affected the mainstream Islamic community? Faruk Chowdhury and Amjad Ali Mehboob of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils offer Chris Hook some insight.

Mosques have been fire-bombed and churches vandalised. But for many people the past few months have felt like a siege.

First there were accusations that gangs of Lebanese-Australian youths were targeting Anglo-Australian women in sexual assaults; then came the Tampa saga, and now the operation against al-Queda, Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban regime.

Australian Muslims are being targeted by fellow Australians – verbally, on talkback radio and, according to the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, in abuse of Muslim women wearing traditional garb.

“It has been unabated,” says Faruk Chowdhury (pictured left), editor of Australian Muslim News, a monthly paper published by the federation.

“I don’t recall John Howard or Philip Ruddock saying anything against Muslims, but the stance they have taken is arousing emotions. What is happening is that Muslims are being targeted by the media and others.”

In the public mind, he says, these issues have been condensed into one proposition – Muslims are the problem.

And the federation hasn’t been immune, receiving many abusive telephone calls. It has had supportive calls, too. Faruk recalls a country high school teacher calling for information on Islam, to help dispel local prejudices.

Lack of information and clarification are confusing the issues in the public mind.

Amjad Ali Mehboob (pictured right), executive director of the federation, says political language surrounding operations in Afghanistan is especially confusing.

“The term ‘war’ is used in the media very frequently, which means to the person in the street that there is some kind of war against a country. When you attack an individual (Bin Laden), or group of individuals (al Queda, the Taliban), I don’t think you could call it a war as such,” he says.

“On the one hand they are trying to appease the Muslim populations and countries by saying this is a limited operation against terrorists and the next thing they are using very clear terminology that it is a war. Not many people know about the world situation – where Afghanistan is, what the Taliban is – they think it is Muslims versus the rest.”

Australia’s leaders have failed to explain the connections between events to our north and events in the Middle East.

“They are not telling the truth to the people and that’s one of the reasons that a large percentage of the population is supporting the stance the Government is taking,” Amjad says.

Amjad and Faruk are worried that the West will leave Afghanistan before it is politically stable. “The West has a responsibility to be there and help solve the problems, because the problems have been created by the West. When the Russians were kicked out (of Afghanistan in 1989) the US left (Mujaheddin factions armed and trained by the CIA) to go on fighting with each other.

“What we are facing now is the result of that. The West cannot take its hands off now; it has to be there to find a solution.”

British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed similar sentiments when he addressed the British Labour Party conference soon after the September 11 attacks.

“To the Afghan people we make this commitment. The conflict will not be the end. We will not walk away as the outside world has done so many times before,” he said.

Blair also had a message for those who point to the Palestinian problem as a significant factor in the growth of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism: “The state of Israel must be given recognition by all; freed from terror; know that it is accepted as part of the future of the Middle East, not its very existence under threat. The Palestinians must have justice, the chance to prosper and in their own land, as equal partners with Israel in that future.”

Amjad and Faruk agree. Amjad says: “All countries must stand up and look at the problems genuinely, look at solving them, and do so with justice. If you don’t do that you haven’t solved the problem, you have created another.

“If you try to solve the problem of Palestine, you must do it with justice, meaning that the Palestinian people must get what is their due right. But, at the same time, if you do not give the Jewish people what is their due right, obviously you have not solved the problem. All parties must be satisfied that justice has been done.”

Faruk says it “cannot be resolved through force, it must be done with dialogue”.

Amjad says: “I think when this kind of determination is there, only then will we see all countries genuinely going forward, you won’t be increasing anger. Anything that you do, if you’re creating anger around the world, it is defeating your purpose. We’re trying to defeat terrorism – and terrorism is a form of action based on anger, frustration and hatred.”

Although the pair commend Mr Howard for his restrained language they return to the point that there have been consequences for local Muslims from the current action against terrorism in Afghanistan.

“Every time a bullet is fired over there we feel the repercussions here … the world has become so small that it doesn’t matter where you live; you feel the repercussions of any shake-up anywhere ,” Amjad says.

Faruk adds: “Some are talking about a clash of civilisations, hatred among Muslims directed at the West, against democracy. These are lies. We are for democracy. We have nothing against Christianity or Judaism. The problems are in the politics.

“Thousands of people have come here to live, including myself. We are very, very happy here. But we are unhappy when we are attacked for things that are happening beyond our control or things we have no participation in.”

Amjad says the Islamic community has had support from the Christian Churches and from non-Christian religious groups, but wants to see condemnation of the vilification of Muslims in the media.

“We don’t see widespread moves against this kind of behaviour. On talkback shows, on the radio, people are not attacking this kind of behaviour,” Amjad says.

Instead, some media are fanning the flames of intolerance. They cite the recent Today Show interview between Richard Wilkins and boxer Anthony Mundine in which Mundine was asked for his opinion on the events of September 11.

Amjad says Mundine’s comments were injudicious and in poor taste, but that the question was inappropriate.

“Anthony Mundine was asked that question because of his faith,” he says. “Why ask him that question? He’s not a leader of the Muslim community in Australia or anywhere and has not purported to be so.”

Amjad has had a lot of media experience in the past few months.

“The media, when speaking to Muslims, do raise very controversial questions and try to get you to say things you don’t want to say or don’t mean,” he says.

Calm waters seem a long way off.