|
Australian Muslims Stress Anti-terror Stance
 |
|
"It's
a question of we have to be proactive in trying to do something to
prevent any occurrences that's happened in London, in this country
also," Ali said.
|
SYDNEY,
July 27, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Australia's
Muslim minority has launched a campaign to unite stance on condemning
terrorist attacks and clearing misconceptions and stereotypes
associating Islam and Muslims with violence and hatred.
The
campaign, launched Tuesday, July 26, by the Australian Federation of
Islamic Councils, includes sending a "gentle" letter to more
than 200 Muslim imams, asking them to do everything possible to tell
the Australian youth that Islam is against violence, according to the
Australian broadcasting corporation (ABC).
"It's
a gentle letter which tells all the imams, please do more in your
preaching, in your teachings about Islam, its message and also tell
the youth that Islam is against violence and terrorism," the
federation's president Dr. Ameer Ali said.
"In
fact they are doing already, but we are encouraging them to put more
effort into this so that we can take a united stand in the community
to stand against all the criticism that's leveled at the
community."
Hearts
& Minds
The
aim of the letter is to help ensure Australia's safety as well as
protecting interests of the Muslim minority in the country, said Amjad
Mehboob, the federation's chief executive.
"We
are writing to the imams to do everything in their power to address
the situation. We want to win the hearts and minds of our members,
especially the youth, and not allow them to go down the radical
path," he told the Herald.
"We
are saying the suicide bombings and the London bombings are not
endorsed by Islam. We are reminding people not to do those things and
there will be accountability before God if anyone engages in that sort
of activity."
Mehboob
stressed that the decision to send the letters had come after a
"very disturbing and very distressing" day when talkback
radio callers in Sydney launched a "free-for-all" call,
attacking the Muslim minority.
"It
was a pretty bad day from our perspective." he said.
"There
was talk about getting all the Muslims packing from this country and
closing down mosques."
Australian
Prime Minster John Howard had criticized some Muslim leaders in the
European country for what he termed as "failure to denounce
terrorism".
Muslim
organizations in Australia estimate the number of Muslims in the
country at 350,000.
"Advice"
The
federation has also offered to give advice to the federal government
on Muslim imams who might have "controversial views".
The
step includes making any and all information that the Muslim
federation has collected on Muslim imams available for the Australian
authorities.
"It's
a question of we have to be proactive in trying to do something to
prevent any occurrences that's happened in London, in this country
also."
Australian
Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison proposed on July 24, changing
laws to enable security authorities to prosecute Muslim imams involved
in religious preaching and writing "inciting violence".
Following
talks with his British counterpart Tony Blair, the Australian Premier
proposed beefing up anti-terrorism laws in Australia.
His
plans include laws to make it illegal to attend Islamic schools
overseas as well as increased use of closed circuit television at
transport hubs and in major cities like Sydney and Melbourne.
The
mooted measures drew immediate rebuke from civil liberty groups
concerned that innocent people might be caught up by laws that were
ill-defined and hard to enforce.
|
