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Peter Dutton and our Lebanese Community

23/11/2016

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The recent comments by Peter Dutton about the Lebanese community in Australia is unfortunate to say the least. It reflects and increasingly intolerant attitude towards the successful diversification of Australian society, and the rich heritage that Australia has acquired through welcoming and integrating so many cultures in our vast land.
 
Every migrant community has faced difficulty at various stages in its integration and these difficulties are less related to their ancestry than to the particular factors affecting their community – often related to government policy and community attitudes. The earliest migrants were convicts, transported often for petty crimes due to the terrible poverty that afflicted England. Despite many problems in this largely Irish community, who faced discrimination at all levels, the Irish community have provided great leadership and capacity to this country. The same can be said for the Afghans, the Chinese working in the goldfields, the Germans in South Australia, Vietnamese boat people and many other communities including the Lebanese, who each had unique factors – often to do with events that were happening overseas - that affected how they were treated by government and by the community.
 
The most successful integration occurred between the Macassans and the Aboriginies in Northern Australia centuries before the arrival of Europeans. They are an example of compassionate understanding and respect. Our leaders would do well to look back in time to such examples of success, not to our current post-Brexit, post-Trump and hard Right tendencies. 
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Analysis Following Sydney Shooting October 2015

5/10/2015

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This piece has been authored by Silma Ihram - President of the Australian Muslim Women's Association

It is with horror that once again we witness the name of Islam associated with senseless murder. 

Investigations are to continue and the Australian community is more hopeful of a fair and just investigation than perhaps it has been in the recent past. A new Prime Minister who speaks of unity and co-operation, preceded by the Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and the Premier Mike Baird, encourages the Muslim community with leadership that discourages the inevitable discrimination and isolation of a whole community due to the actions of a few.

Whatever the root cause of a 15 year old teenager - too young to have a license, barely old enough to be employed - that is behind such a senseless killing, this is a tragedy for everyone involved. While mental illness is most frequently cited as behind such actions, that there is a problem globally with the hijacking of Islam for political purposes and by those who deny it's inherently just and peaceful source is acknowledged by most - either within or outside of the Muslim community. How to deal with it is a different matter altogether. There are any programs running around the country, however their success rate has not been researched, and their reach is tiny considering the funding allocated. Naming and shaming those with hateful speech only encourages their claim of persecution and increases the divide within the community. 

AMWA is actively researching what has worked and what has not. Our belief is that education is one of the best sources of counteracting the twisted teachings that result in the atrocities we witness regularly around the world. Unfortunately education is not a short term solution, and it requires solid research and the support of recognised scholars - many of whom have been uprooted due to the conflict in countries that previously had institutions of learning that have been established for generations. It has been claimed that many notable scholars whose  lineage trace back to the time of the Prophet, and whose teachers are legendary, have been killed through the carnage sweeping across the Middle East. 

Certainly change is needed. In Australia we need new leadership in the Muslim community, and a generation of young people who can believe in the leadership that is provided. The years of a Liberal government that made a mockery of consultation, and engaged in constant finger pointing and questioning appears to have been replaced with a wiser, more consultative voice. This is welcomed. Australian Muslims have a lot to offer the wider Australian community if only it can unite more and act decisively to recognise and respond to its challenges. 
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March 09th, 2015

9/3/2015

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From Pol Pot to ISIS by John Pilger (from Online Opinion)

15/10/2014

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In transmitting President Richard Nixon's orders for a "massive" bombing of Cambodia in 1969, Henry Kissinger said, "Anything that flies on everything that moves". As Barack Obama ignites his seventh war against the Muslim world since he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the orchestrated hysteria and lies make one almost nostalgic for Kissinger's murderous honesty.

As a witness to the human consequences of aerial savagery – including the beheading of victims, their parts festooning trees and fields – I am not surprised by the disregard of memory and history, yet again. A telling example is the rise to power of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge, who had much in common with  today's Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).


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ISIS - Very far from Islam, the religion of Peace

13/8/2014

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ISIS may see itself as acting on behalf of the Muslim community and establishing a Caliphate - a memory and a hope that lingers in the hearts of all Muslims. 
However, they are indeed far from any concept of what a Caliph or a Caliphate represents. The concept of Caliph is based on the great responsibility of succeeding the Prophet s.a.w. and representing the magnificence of Allah's Attributes in managing the community and the environment. 


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How could 2 Australian boys join ISIS and commit atrocities?

11/8/2014

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Australians today are in shock that two boys who were in the local public schools only a few years ago, could today be engaged in some of the most barbarous actions of the modern century. We tend to think that Boko Haram, the Lords Army, Al Qaeda and its off-shoots all exist in another country with intractable problems that we have no connection to. Unfortunately that is not the case anymore.

Radical extremists have a history – a journey that influenced them. And this journey nearly always starts in childhood. Educators and leaders need to look closely at those young men who have been radicalized recently and track down some of the potential causes. This article will look at just some that may need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.


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Halal Food - Can we trust it?

6/4/2013

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Today I went to one of the most Muslim centric shopping centres in Australia - Bankstown. Like thousands of other Muslims there for the day I looked for some halal food. Most food shops display a halal certificate, but some shop owners complain that having a Muslim Halal certificate can discourage other clients who think the food is somehow tainted. 
So I asked the shop Manager - is your chicken halal? He assured me it was. Encouraged I started to order a chicken schnitzel sandwich. Then I thought - "why wouldn't he display a Certificate if his food is Halal?" So I asked - "is there any reason why you don't display a Halal Certificate?" The Manager started to get a little agitated and said - "Either you believe me or you don't. We have lots of Muslims who eat here. I don't have to display it - my customers know me and trust me!" Basically he was saying that if I don't trust him, I'm accusing him of being a liar. Fair enough I thought, I should be able to trust someone who is selling to so many Muslims in one of the busiest Muslim areas. My chicken sandwich was almost done and I paid for it.
Then I noticed that the meats were all frying on the same hard surface - "Is that bacon frying next to the chicken there?" I asked. "Oh, we keep them separate, there's a barrier between them, and we clean it regularly" they assured me. "But, the bacon is frying right next to the chicken - that means the chicken is cooking in the bacon fat!" I said. Did they think I was stupid or something? By now I had absolutely no faith in the "believe me" touch and walked up to the manager to tell him - "Listen, if your food is halal, you  wouldn't cook it on the same hot plate with pork! You can keep your sandwich" and walked off. 
This is just one of a number of recent issues in regards to halal food. I only buy my chicken reluctantly now, as so often the poor carcass is bruised - who knows what that poor chicken suffered as it was being killed? Does a Bismillah outweigh cruel and inhumane treatment? Who is overseeing these businesses? How do we know that the certificate on the wall is current? If the business changes hands, is there any oversight of the new owner? How often is the business checked? Only a few months ago I met with some friends in the halal butcher industry. They complained that the government highly regulates the halal export industry, but no one seems to care about the domestic halal industry, which in their opinion is often not halal at all. 
"Unless our Muslim community starts to demand more accountability" they said "you really can't trust anything that claims to be halal". 
Especially those who ask you to "Believe me" without any evidence or proof. 

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The Importance of a Pre-Nuptual Agreement for women

18/4/2012

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Currently AMWA has been conducting research into the barriers that exist - whether perceived or real - for Muslim women to obtain access to careers and employment opportunities. One of the common issues that face Muslim women in accessing work when they have the opportunity or the desire to apply for a position or to become more qualified, is the approval of their husbands. Not all husbands accept that Muslim women have a right to work, or to study and this can often become a cause of disagreement in the marriage. Often there is a concern for the welfare of younger children, a concern that the effective and smooth running of the household will not be maintained or be threatened, and often again there is a concern from husbands that their wife may be subjected to workplace harassment or difficulty due to her practice of the religion.  (click on the Read more button for more on this post)


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Legacy of Great Muslim Women Leaders

2/3/2012

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This is a great article which was published on Muslim Village recently. The link is here
Enjoy the read:Muslim women are steeped in stubborn stereotypes as meek, oppressed and in need of rescue. Recurring images beamed into our homes and phones from abroad of Muslim women being denied access to education, the ability to drive or even the right to cast a vote or run for political office only serve to reinforce such widely held misconceptions; examples of empowered Muslim women (particularly those donning the hijab) living here or overseas seldom enjoy the same quality air time. As such, our views remain skewed on the subject.

Further, such pervasive generalizations about Islam’s inherent oppression of Muslim women are not only offensive but ultimately 


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Watching Muslimah Olympic Athletes, Past and Present

28/2/2012

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This is a very interesting article from Muslimah Media Watch. The original article is from here, and pasted below:

Recently, BBC’s Sporting Witness and NPR’s Tell Me More featured interviews with prominent Muslimah athletes.  Sporting Witness profiled Hassiba Boulmerka— otherwise known as the “Constantine Gazelle”—an Algerian Olympic gold medal winner in the 1500m competition in 1992. In the United States, Tell Me More profiled American fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who’s currently training for the 2012 Summer Olympics in the saber competition (she is currently ranked second in the United States).

What struck me, listening to both of the interviews, were both Boulmerka and Muhammad’s personal reflections of how their clothing choices influenced or affected their athletic participation.  This is something that I know many of my Muslim (and even non-Muslim) sisters and I have grappled with—how do we maintain our own physical activity while dressing in a way that we are personally comfortable with (for both hijabis and non-hijabis alike)?

Boulmerka did not wear hijab and was unable to train for the Olympics in Algeria due to the death threats she received as a result of her decision to compete publicly; she was deemed “anti-Islam” by local clerics following her win at the World Championships in 1991:

It was Friday prayers and the imam said I was not a Muslim. That I did not represent Muslims. And that I was anti-Islam because of the fact that I’d run in shorts and shown my legs and arms. It wasn’t just that I wasn’t a Muslim, it was that I was anti-Islam. That’s how it all began.

The NPR piece focuses on the “Olympic Hopeful: Mixing Faith and Fencing,” highlighting how she might be the first Muslim American woman to compete in an Olympic competition (during Ramadan this year) while wearing hijab.  Muhammad participated in a variety of different athletic activities before settling on fencing:

As a practicing Muslim woman, I knew that I would not only have to find a sport that accommodated my religious beliefs, but also where I could be fully covered and not have to change the uniform.

Ibtihaj Muhammad. Image via Wall Street Journal.

Boulmerka and Muhammad’s interviews illuminate how radically different their training, political contexts, and clothing choices were.  While her clothing choices seemed to have little influence on her running competitively, Boulmerka faced political vitriol and required an armed guard at the Olympics because she wore a traditional track outfit.  Muhammad settled on fencing, in part because the clothing requirements would easily allow her to maintain her own personal comfort and align with her religious beliefs.  Both of the interviews are insightful and allow each woman to voice her beliefs and reasons for competing on her own terms.

In media profiles of Muslim women, there is oftentimes an overemphasis of women’s decision to wear or not wear hijab, with little discussion of women’s own complex, personal beliefs regarding their clothing and the social ramifications they face as a result of their decisions in their own words. Muslim women who do not wear hijab may not receive the same media attention as hijab-wearing sisters, and hijab-wearing women often have to constantly discuss the hijab with little discussion of anything else.

In 2008, MMW analyzed the way Muslimah athletes competing in the Beijing Olympics were portrayed by media outlets.  I’m surprised by the emphasis on Muslim-majority countries who had women competing for the first time in 2008, knowing now about Boulmerka’s win for Algeria in 1992.  I’m not surprised by the media focus on their clothing decisions, and lack of discussion of Muslim women who participate without wearing hijab.

The lack of nuanced discussion and honest reflection of Muslim women athletes—hijabi and non-hijabi alike—in the media leads some commentators to erroneous conclusions regarding women’s ability to participate in athletic events from a religious standpoint. An analysis of Muslim women competing at the Beijing Olympics by Gender Across Borders in 2009 contained the following verdict:

Why are there few Muslim women participating in sports? Physical activity conducted within the framework of the Quran involves three major issues having to do with women participation in sports: sex segregation, modest uniform, and abstinence from vigorous activity during periods of religious fasting. But that does not prohibit all Muslim women from being involved in sports.

Conclusions like these do not allow Muslim women to discuss their beliefs on their own, and blatantly disregard how Muslim women indeed do participate in physical activity for their well-being both here and abroad in a way that they are comfortable with (as opposed to what the commentator is familiar with and bafflingly associates with Islamic religious belief).

Hopefully there will continue to be an increase in Muslim women competing at the Olympics, and serve to inspire girls and woman in their own athletic achievement—and on their own terms—for their well-being. In an interview in the Wall Street Journal from last summer, Muhammad says:

I’d love for other minority women and religious minorities [in the U.S.] to believe they can excel in something outside the norm—not just sports, anything where they’re breaking the barrier…and not be deterred by what the image is just because they fall outside that box.

And Boulmerka says about her win:

It showed that you should fight for things. That you should have courage.

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    Silma Ihram is an educator, trainer, former School Principal and aspiring writer. 

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    The opinions expressed on this page reflect the opinions of the author and not necessarily the opinions of AMWA. 

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