Prepared by: Kais Al‐Momani Nour Dados Marion Maddox Amanda Wise C
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OPINI ON MAK ERSSome individuals have achieved a public voice through the media. A number of media commentators published political and social opinion pieces in major capital city papers. Some are academics, others are journalists or professionals in other fields. Influential media commentators and journalists include Irfan Yusuf, Waleed Aly, Tanveer Ahmed, Nadia Jamal and Farah Farouque. Other influential voices belong to writers like Hanifa Dean and Rand Abdel‐Fattah and cultural producers like the team behind the television series Salam Café. (See Appendix One for biographies of some of the key media commentators). As well as writing for major newspapers, they regularly appear as panellists on influential programs such as ABC’s Q&A and SBS’s Insight. While much of their commentary revolves around issues of Islam and Muslims in Australian society, a number of notables (such as Waleed Aly) write much more broadly. Indeed, Aly sees this as a marker of successful political influence, as well as a sign of integration and national belonging. Following in the footsteps of ‘Wogs out of Work’, comedy with a political edge has been a key way for a number of Muslims to deal with some of the more sensitive aspects of Islam in public debate. Prominent users of politically tinged comedy include Irfan Yusuf, author of Once Were Radicals: My Years as a Teenage Islamo‐ Fascist and stand‐up comedians Nazeem Hussain and Aamer Rahman, whose ‘Fear of a Brown Planet’ won the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Best Newcomer Award in 2008. Perhaps best known nationally was the Salam Café program. Originating on Channel 31 community television, then aired nationally on SBS TV in 2009, Salam Café had a team of about eleven Muslim panellists and writers. Regular panellists included Waleed Aly, Ahmed Imam, Susan Carland, Toltu Tufa, Dakhylina Madkhul, Nazeem Hussain and Aamer Rahman. 
Figure 3: Salam Café poster Australia also has numerous successful Muslim academics like Alia Imtoual, Waleed Aly, Shakira Hussein, Jamila Hussain, Samina Yasmeen, Shahram Akbarzadeh and Abdullah Saeed. Many have achieved some influence in academic, political and media circles and a number actively participate in political and social commentary as opinion makers. A number of these are prominent Muslim feminist academics and have contributed thoughtful and influential pieces on matters such as the burqa ban in France and the hijab debates in Australia. When there is public discourse on Muslims or in the media, whatever—too often I feel that Muslims aren’t part of the discussion, or if they are its one or two individuals that aren’t really that representative, or worse, there’s discussions on Muslim women I find often exist without Muslim women at all. Or if it’s like discussions about the hijab they don’t bother to ask a woman who covers her hair. (Susan Carland) Directory: sites -> default -> files -> documents -> 01 2014 documents -> Ace abi catair customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements documents -> Mobile audio/video recording systems documents -> The south australian government gazette documents -> All public acts appearing in this gazette are to be considered official, and obeyed as such documents -> Union interparlementaire inter-parliamentary union 01 2014 -> Voices Shaping the 01 2014 -> Muslim Voices – Hopes and aspirations of Muslim Australians Centre for Muslim Minorities & Islam Policy Studies 01 2014 -> Editors: Kerry Download 16.24 Mb. Share with your friends:
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