>
> http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=HAS20051214&articleId...
>
> The Rise of Islamophobia in 'White Australia'
>
> by Ghali Hassan
>
> "A BARE-CHESTED youth in Quiksilver board shorts tore the headscarf off
> the girl's head as she slithered down the Cronulla dune seeking safety on
> the beach from a thousand-strong baying mob". Sydney Morning Herald, 12
> December 2005.
>
> Islamophobia in Australia is not something suddenly appeared over the
> horizon because of the weather. To the contrary, racism against Muslims
> has always been part of Australia's psyche. Whether it is against
> neighbouring Indonesia, Malaysia or Muslim Australians; the pall of racism
> is permanently hovering over Australia. Government policies, including the
> criminal war against Iraq and the introduction of the so-called
> "anti-terrorism" laws have legitimised racism against Arab and Muslim
> Australians.
>
> The Runnymede Trust in Britain defined Islamophobia as: "The unfounded
> hostility towards Islam. It refers also to the practical consequences of
> such hostility in unfair discrimination against Muslim individuals and
> communities, and to the exclusion of Muslims from mainstream political and
> social affairs". Islamophobia is anti-Semitism, which "has fed racist
> hostility against people of Middle Eastern, Arab and South Asian origin
> and has in turn been bolstered by racial prejudice and xenophobia".
>
> Islamophobia is encouraged by the Howard-Bush claims that they are engaged
> in a "war of civilizations" against Muslims. Islamophobia is growing
> rapidly in Australia in that it is now not uncommon to see white male
> Australians abusing Muslim women (wearing the Hijab or headscarf) in
> buses, on beaches and on the streets of Australia's big cities. "Aussie"
> males are real machismos when it comes to women. It should be noted that
> insulting or harassing Muslim women wearing the hijab is not an offence in
> Australia, as this considered part of the Bush-Howard mission of
> "liberating" Muslim women.
> Australia has no Bill of Rights and no federal Religious Freedom Act. Only
> Queensland and Victoria have recently extended the anti-discrimination
> laws to cover religious vilification, and this has strong opposition from
> the Christian parties. In all other Australian states racism is part of
> free speech, but criticising the Government complicity in war crimes in
> Iraq is not. Anti-Muslims hatred and racism are central to the Government
> policies in "multicultural" Australia.
>
> Australia's shallow "multiculturalism" produces 'an ethnicised Muslim
> identity' subjected to racism and discrimination in education, at work and
> in public. It consciously and deliberately enforces the "Others" feeling
> in the general community, and creates a mentality of superiority among
> 'White Australians'. It requires subordination of those who are from
> ethnic minorities. Shallow "multiculturalism" is designed to marginalise
> ethnic groups and isolates them into ghettoised communities. This form of
> institutionalise racism reinforces the disadvantage already experienced by
> members of the Muslim Community, and restrict their integration in the
> wider Australian community. At the same time, Anglo-Saxon values are
> presented as a unique paradigm applicable to the whole community, if not
> the world at large.
>
> Australia projects self-image as a "tolerant", "welcoming", and "Fair Go"
> country. Anglo-Saxon Australians often hallucinate about their images and
> their "easygoing lifestyle". Nothing could be further from the truth.
> Australians work much longer hours than any other member of the OECD
> countries and obesity among Australians is rising at unparalleled rates.
> Violent crimes and violence against women are among the highest in Western
> countries. Racism is widespread, but it is buried in shallow ground. "Deep
> down we have this fear of people who are different from us", said
> Tasmanian Labor MP Harry Quick. Like the French, Australians are living in
> denial of deep-seated racism.
>
> The country is ruled by an elitist Anglo-Saxon dominant class to which
> smaller ethnic groups have to conform. It systematically advantages the
> Anglo-Saxon class and marginalises (subordinates) the non-Anglo-Saxon
> ethnic groups, such as those from Muslim and Arab backgrounds. This
> creates a permanent under the surface racial mentality, which is often
> exploited by politicians, rightwing thugs and other groups within the
> Anglo-Saxon class. Australia's "Fair Go" was meant only for white
> Anglo-Saxon Australians, with a dividing line between the dominant and the
> subordinate classes.
>
> All over Australia the gap between 'the have' and the 'have not' is
> widening steadily, with well-documented racism against ethnic minorities,
> particularly against Muslims. The Anglo-Saxon rich are congregating around
> the beaches and in leafy suburbs, while the poor are pushed further into
> the poorer suburbs - where most of the about 300,000 Muslim Australians
> live - with little prospect of finding decent employment or education.
>
> A recent study on racist attitudes conducted by the University of New
> South Wales (UNSW) in 2003 found one in eight Australians interviewed
> admitted they were prejudiced, particularly towards Muslim Australians.
> The study, conducted by a team led by geography senior lecturer Dr. Kevin
> Dunn, also found some Australians were living in denial of such prejudice
> though 80 per cent of those surveyed recognized racism was a problem. When
> asked if they ever met a Muslim. 'NO', they said.
>
> A report, entitled 'Respect and Racism in Australia', prepared in June
> 2004 by Racism Monitor Group of the University of Technology in Sydney
> (UTS) reveals that; Australian Arabs Muslims community "has been and
> continues to be unfairly targeted" specifically, and that racism is so
> frequent that "it has become almost accepted" and Muslims do not feel
> 'entitled' to make complaints. Racism against Muslims is openly promoted,
> and continues to contribute to decrease in the process of integration. It
> is propagated by politicians as a tool to instil fear in the community and
> justify draconian policies.
>
> As it has been predicted, the "Anti-terrorism Bill", introduced here
> recently has encouraged, if not incited Islamophobia. The new laws
> enforced a pre-existing fear in the Muslim community. Muslims are made to
> feel alienated, and (as if they) do not truly belong in Australia. The
> Bill, as it is called, designed specifically to discriminate against
> Australians from Muslim and Arabic backgrounds. The recent violent attacks
> on members of Australia's Muslim Community were just a few cases.
>
> At least 5000 "White Australians" invaded the south eastern Sydney suburb
> of Cronulla's foreshore and beachside streets on Sunday (11 December 2005)
> chasing two young Muslim Australians of Lebanese origin. Racist thugs and
> Neo-fascist opportunists attacked and assaulted individuals and small
> groups of Muslim Australians. The racially motivated violence, which has
> been boiling for sometimes is misleadingly portrayed in the media as "the
> local boys trying to protect their beach and community". It is also
> alleged that the violence is in retaliation to a rumours that Muslim
> youths assaulted two lifeguards earlier this month.
>
> The media - the most controlled in the Western world - not only play a
> crucial role in inciting and legitimising these criminal acts. They also
> 'perpetuate historically inherited stereotypes and cultural imaginaries
> that form part of the national collective memory bank'. Anti-Muslims
> hatred is a best seller in Australia. TV, radio, the printing press and
> publishing houses are competing for the best available distortion of Islam
> and Muslims. In fact one can become a celebrity overnight in Australia, by
> simply producing a distorted image of Arabs and Muslims. It is a topic
> promoted as much as playing Cricket.
>
> Media grunts led by the right-wing columnist Andrew Bolt of the Melbourne
> Herald Sun, Janet Albrechtsen of Murdoch's The Australian newspaper, and
> Alan Jones of Sydney Radio 2GB and others are fuelling racism and
> influencing community's attitudes. Indeed, Alan Jones is encouraging
> racially-motivated violence against Muslims on his popular redneck talk.
> Anti-Muslims hatred is rising because of media bashing of Muslims and
> Government policy of incarcerating of the mainly Muslim refugees.
> "Sections of the media took [the attack on Cronulla beach] far too far and
> one can only surmise that the way this issues was dealt with on talkback
> radio amounts to incitement", said Mr. Keysar Trad, president of Islamic
> Friendship Association of Australia.
>
> Many flawed reasons have been provided to justifying the violent attacks
> against Muslims and to cover up racism as central to the violence. The
> racially motivated attack in Cronulla "is revenge for the Bali bombings
> and the September 11 attacks", declared Bruce Baird, a Federal Liberal
> backbencher in Canberra. It seems that the destruction of the Iraqi
> society and the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi
> women, children and men by the Anglo-American armies is not a sufficient
> holocaust to satisfy Mr. Cook violent revenge. Whatever the reason was,
> "it shows that there is underlying racism running deeply in the Australian
> psyche", said Huranda Seyit, director of the Forum on Australian-Islamic
> Relations. It is remarkable that Muslims are the first to call on Muslim
> youth in the Community to "calm down, and refrain from any further
> violence". Why shouldn't "White Australians" do the same?
>
> Opportunist politicians have been the only beneficiaries of violence and
> racism against Australians from non-Anglo-Saxon backgrounds. "This is a
> great day" for Australia, said John Moffitt, leader of the Australia First
> Party, a rightwing collection of thugs. Others want to go back to the old
> days of "White Australia Policy". Defunct racist politicians such as John
> Stone of the National Party are attacking Islam, and advocating the
> banning of Muslim immigrants and abolishing "multiculturalism".
>
> Liberal MPs Bronwyn Bishop and Sophie Panopoulos have repeatedly attacked
> Islam, using Muslim women dresses as the pretext to incite Australians to
> stand up against the Muslim hijab in schools. The purpose of this old
> "colonial feminism" is not to defend Muslim women rights, but to promote
> racism, denying Muslim women education, and their rights to wear whatever
> suites them. What have these two MPs said about the abuses and torture of
> Iraqi women by the occupying forces and their leaders? Instead of
> rejecting their views, the Government has encouraged this kind of racism,
> and allows Nazis-like groups such as the Australia First Party and the
> Patriotic Youth League to flourish.
>
> Australian Muslim women were always the immediate targets of the
> racially-motivated violence. The daily Melbourne, The Age reported on
> November 13, 2005 that; "'Fatimah' [a Muslim woman] was punched, kicked,
> spat on and abused, told to 'go home to her own country and left with an
> injury to her right eye'. Her sister, she said, had a knife thrust
> towards' her face". The West Australian Sunday Times (13 November 2005) is
> labelling every Muslim a "terrorist", and the victims are always,
> Australian women of Muslim backgrounds. "I think families are staying home
> and avoiding going out, particularly women who wear the hijab, because we
> have seen that they are particularly targeted", said
> Australian Arabic Council deputy chairman, Mr. Taimor Hazou.
>
> Islamophobia is a serious threat to the Australian society. It is
> reminiscent to that of anti-Jews hatred in Europe in recent history.
> "Racism in Australia is rooted in every area of Australian society, from
> government to schools to courts to churches.. Racism is an endemic and
> chronic problem that must be addressed and solved", writes the Australian
> author, Anne Pattel-Gray. "Racism is embedded in Australian culture and
> federal politicians should not ignore it", added MP Harry Quick.
>
> Sydney Police alleged to have evidence that Neo-Nazis and "white
> supremacist" groups, including right-wing politicians were among the crowd
> attacking Muslims at Cronulla beach. Meanwhile those who are promoting and
> selling racism are sitting and laughing in their party rooms, radio and TV
> stations, and editorial news rooms around Australia. In order for
> tolerance to establish its roots deep in society, the head of racism must
> be cut off and buried.
>
> A tolerant non-racial society is an egalitarian society free of racial
> categories. "As Australia increasingly globalizes it must shed the
> ignorant roots of intolerance and embrace the multiplicity of
> nationalities already within its borders. If the North Cronulla riots are
> not incentive enough for change, then Australia risks a future plagued by
> disunity and disgruntled reaction to the faux ideals of egalitarianism",
> writes Bede A. Moore, editor of The Harvard Crimson, a publication of
> Harvard University.
>
> The racist "White Australia Policy" is not dead; it is still here hovering
> over Australia. What is needed is an anti-racism bill to protect
> marginalised Australians from the threat of racially-motivated violence,
> and to counter the rise of Islamophobia.
>
> PeterT
>