Extreme viewpoints exist only as long as we give them a platform.
As we approach the 10th anniversary of September 11, some uncomfortable questions continue to be asked about Islam and terrorism. For the most part, this is a red herring. Muslims have been living in Australia for over a century. The problem of terrorism has only emerged in the past decade. That in itself should tell us something. No reasonable person can argue that Muslims are terrorists, or that they want to Islamise Australia. That’s just laughable, when we note that Muslim migrants have fled regimes of state suppression, often justified in the name of Islam. In Australia, Muslims find the freedom to be themselves without fear of persecution. That’s why Australian Muslims are among the most loyal citizens of this country.
But unfortunately the issue is muddied by some radical individuals on the fringe whose number is plainly insignificant, but are vocal enough to be interviewed on national television. It seems sensational stories help ratings and sell papers, and radical Islamists are certainly sensational in their views. The most recent story has focused on the adoption of Islamic law (sharia for short) and ”Islamising” Australia.
Islamising Australia is an absurd idea, put forward by a few converts or born-again Muslims who think they have found Allah, while the rest of the Muslim community is still grappling in the darkness of ignorance. This is a marginal view that breaks with the Muslim community. Last month a visiting Islamic scholar at Melbourne University put the case for loyalty to Australia in no uncertain terms: Muslims enjoy every right and every protection for their life, property and beliefs as any other citizen. Muslims can build mosques and schools, have halal meat, perform pilgrimage to Mecca and pay their religious tax as donation. They have every freedom they could imagine to live in accordance with their religion. What could be better? Shaykh ul-Islam Qadri asked. None of the so-called Islamic states provide this level of freedom for Muslims. Qadri, who has practised and taught Islamic law in Pakistan, went on to argue that the Australian system is the closest to an Islamic state that Muslims could hope for. Such endorsement is hard to beat when it is presented by a professor of Islamic jurisprudence, who has published a 400-page edict (fatwa) on the prohibition of terrorism and suicide bombings in Islam. His bold statement was greeted by the applause of more than 400 people in the theatre.
But there was a dissenting view that challenged Qadri. For some young converts or second and third-generation Muslims, the global comparison with other states is irrelevant. For them, Australia needs to be judged by the yardstick of their vision of perfection, the pure and unadulterated ideal of an Islamic system – even though such a thing has never existed throughout history.
These firebrands break with the Islam of the community because for them it carries too much culture. It is influenced by cultural practices and ethnic traditions. Instead they turn to internet sources and personal study to learn about Islam, free of its cultural baggage. And they find comfort in the small and close-knit groups that share their puritanical views and disdain for the rest of Australian Muslims.
We have to acknowledge that fringe radicalism is a fact of life. The new media have actually facilitated the accessibility of such ideas. But their appeal can be curtailed by other Islamic scholars and community leaders. This is a demanding task, emotionally and time-wise. Community leaders did not sign up for this. But the events of the past decade have made it incumbent on them.
The rest of us should help too, by not giving the radical fringe the megaphone, not allowing them to dictate the agenda of public debate, and not branding all Muslims as aliens who cannot cope with the Australian value system, or worse – terrorists.
Professor Shahram Akbarzadeh is deputy director of the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies at Melbourne University, and editor of Challenging Identities: Muslim Women in Australia (MUP 2010).