Prepared by: Kais Al‐Momani Nour Dados Marion Maddox Amanda Wise C
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INCLUSIVITY VERSUS EXCLUSIVITYParticipants held mixed views about whether programs focusing exclusively on Muslim communities were effective. We found a strong sense that programs which targeted Muslims exclusively could further stigmatise Muslim communities and isolate them from the wider community. Many of our interviewees strongly supported programs which do not specifically target Muslims, as long as they took into account the need for things like halal food and facilities for prayer to enable Muslims to engage actively. However, these participants also expressed concerns that programs intended to be inclusive at a national level did not always sufficiently cater for the needs of Muslim participants and therefore unintentionally discouraged their involvement. This point is taken up in the next section (‘The Needs of Diverse Communities within Mainstream Initiatives’). Many interviewees argued that levels of political participation in the community at large may be affected by different factors at different times, and, since this is not a Muslim‐specific problem, its solution should not focus on Muslims. Some who declined to participate in our research attributed their reluctance to the National Action Plan’s focus on the category ‘Muslim’ and its association with the anti‐terrorism strategy. Others, both participants and those who declined, were concerned that the focus on ‘Muslim’ Australians further maligned this group in the public arena. Some participants stressed that the community had been ‘over‐consulted’ and that there was now a malaise and general reluctance to be involved in initiatives targeting them. Our attempt to organise focus groups in a local government area with a large Muslim population received an overwhelmingly negative response from Muslim members of the community, because they did not wish to be singled out. A Muslim respondent of African origin who did not wish to participate told us that people were scared to talk about politics and to complain about government. Meanwhile, some non‐Muslim community members took the focus group invitation as an opportunity to voice anti‐ Muslim views. One non‐Muslim resident said, ‘I do not want any Muslim to share in the Australian political life at all because they will destroy the country.’ Jamila Hussain stressed that in organising programs to encourage political participation, it was important that these were seen as coming not from the government but from the community. Grassroots programs not only better serve the needs of their communities, but are also able to generate the confidence and trust required for their success. While governments can fund such programs and provide resources, said Hussain, it is ultimately more effective to allow the community to decide how these are run. Nayef Hajaj, a settlement services officer at the Australian Arabic Community Welfare Centre, ran weekly information and discussion sessions for Arabic‐speaking senior citizens. These sessions, which received little or no government funding, were very successful with older Arabic‐speaking members of the Muslim community. Participants were encouraged to voice their views on a variety of issues from local council concerns to health matters, worries about the media and anything in between. The discussions were open to all participants, who were encouraged to ask questions or raise their own concerns. However, despite the freedom with which participants expressed their views within the group, they did not feel comfortable participating in our research. Part of the problem that these weekly sessions addressed, Nayef Hajaj told us, was the fear people have about speaking on political and social issues in public. Many of the participants came from regimes where expressing one’s opinion freely was not permitted and it was difficult to speak without fear of repercussions. Such fears were exacerbated by frequent government‐funded research on Muslim communities. On the other hand, one of the successes of this group was in bringing together Muslim and non‐Muslim Arabic‐ speakers. This fostered friendly relations between the two groups. It also countered the concentration on the Muslim community and the negative media attention that Muslim members of the group strongly decried. This group demonstrated how an open, shared forum for debate helped those involved to participate in community concerns and express their views. THE NEEDS OF DIVERSE COMMUNITIES WITHIN MAINSTREAM INITIATIVESOne of the participants involved in co‐ordinating a contingent of youth from diverse backgrounds to take part in the National Youth Council spoke about the multiple problems that these young people encountered in in the program. They were primarily from refugee and migrant backgrounds, many went to disadvantaged schools and few had had opportunities to develop public speaking and debating skills. This placed them at a significant disadvantage in what they could contribute, and necessitated an additional program to prepare them for the mainstream program. Most of the young people I work with are at schools that don’t offer too many things. So it’s [the Ethnic Youth Council] kind of playing the role of the advantaged school, in that sense. In that regard, that’s been great ... but‐ the young people that we send to these programs do need a lot of support, because the programs aren’t ... culturally sensitive ... You know, me being a support worker, I’m on the phone with them the entire time they’re at the camp, because something keeps coming up. ‘Oh hello, they don’t understand this’ or ‘they won’t let me go and pray’. You know, they say ‘I have to do this activity, I can’t go and pray’. Things like that, and then liaising with the organisers, and it’s been an extremely slow process. The support worker estimated that members of the first cohort: Kind of have to suffer—these are the groups that are kind of getting the worse end of it, so that this program does become more diversified. And over time, it will be well set up to deal with other groups. And, indeed, co‐ordinators ensured that subsequent cohorts were adequately catered for: The program’s becoming more diversified, ... the environment is made safe for them, and people want to learn about them, that’s very empowering. Rather than the first group, who suffered because it was more treated like a nuisance. The concern that Muslim community members lack the necessary skills to participate in mainstream programs was widespread. Leila Alloush, director of Victorian Arab Social Services, notes that many of her organisation’s programs, and those of similar community organisations are designed to help young people acquire skills to participate in mainstream programs. Youth parliament has been really difficult, in engaging Arabic kids, because ... VASS is recruiting from the Arabic areas, and then they [participants] ... compete and debate bills, with very high, prestigious private school students. ... We want funding to prepare our kids for one year before they can go into that and survive it. Despite the lack of funding, organisations such as Victorian Arabic Social Services continue to develop and support such programs, sometimes on an entirely voluntary basis, believing that these programs’ disappearance would be disastrous for the young people involved. In VASS, we have accredited leadership training, in connection with the TAFE colleges here. ... We don’t dictate the topics‐ the young people do. So if they want to talk about peace in the Middle East, or they want to talk about peace in their school or educational outcomes, we will allow for any of that. None of the young people’s ideas are censored, as long as they’re not of any harm to anybody, anywhere in the world. ... Lawyers will volunteer their time ... but it’s limited capacity. I’d like to see funding. We usually have to raise money for those courses ... those kids can’t even pay the enrolment fees. 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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