Laurie Ferguson (Reid, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services) Share this | Hansard source

Last year I had the privilege of participating in the Australia Deliberates project. The goal of the project was to assess the current state of knowledge and attitudes about relations between Muslims and the wider community in Australia. It was undertaken by Issues Deliberation Australia/America. IDA is a not-for-profit, non-partisan political psychology and public policy think tank run by US based Australian Dr Pam Ryan.

The project was financed by the USA based Silverton Partners Philanthropic Foundation and the Myer Foundation. Qantas and the Australian newspaper provided in-kind support. The consultation and research involved more than 1,700 Australians. There was active participation by noted Australians, such as Bob Hawke, Ian Sinclair and Ray Martin, as well as prominent Muslim community members. Most importantly, the research was informed by the opinions of more than 1,000 ordinary Australians from Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds. The proceedings were written up into a valuable document and recorded in a film titled Beyond Belief—Muslim and Non-Muslim Australians Deliberate. I and the honourable member for North Sydney will be hosting a screening of the film at the Parliament House Theatrette next Tuesday night.

The deliberation was a unique project insofar as it examined Muslim settlement in a manner not attempted anywhere else in the world. It sought to engender understanding of the key issues impacting on Muslim settlement in Australia through extensive dialogue. The findings of the deliberation are consistent with my long-term interaction with and understanding of the Muslim community. That community is characterised by high levels of cultural diversity in areas such as heritage, interpretation of religion and daily social mores. One of the most promising aspects of the deliberation is that participants tended to genuinely shift their position in a positive manner after interaction. That was accomplished by a comparison of the views of those participating before and after this interchange. This applied to non-Muslims positively changing their perception of Muslim Australians and Muslim Australians also gaining an enhanced perspective on the key issues affecting the mainstream of the community. The findings of the deliberation are essential reading for policymakers, journalists, community workers and others. I found it a very rewarding experience to have been a personal participant.

Some of the key findings of the deliberation include the following. There has been a proliferation of mutual misunderstanding and lack of knowledge by both Muslims and non-Muslims in Australia. False perceptions and lack of understanding fuels a mutually reinforcing negative spiral—fear of the ‘other’ and aggressive behaviours feed stereotypes on both sides which may work as self-fulfilling prophecies. As we have seen recently at Camden, these kinds of motivations can be manipulated by some for political purposes. Young Australian Muslims, most of whom are born in Australia, are becoming increasingly alienated because of the relentless questioning of their degree of ‘Australian-ness’. Stereotypes and prejudice are fuelling a widening of the divide from both sides, not just in Australia but globally. Australia’s foreign policy in the Middle East—Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon—is very relevant to how Muslims and non-Muslims relate to each other in Australia. The language of political leaders is seen to have a direct impact on the level of racism in the wider Australian community. Negative media coverage that perpetuates misunderstandings and misperceptions of Islam and Muslims to the West affirms stereotypes not true of all Muslims. I note that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship has recently furthered the funding provided by the previous government for some work being undertaken by two universities to try and inform the media in this country as to the degree to which they have discriminatory coverage and ways in which they might improve it. Finally, fear, stereotypes and prejudice break down with learning about the ‘other’ and getting to know the other. There is willingness by the majority in both the mainstream Australian community and the Australian Muslim community to be ‘good neighbours’ and ‘good Australians’. Neither group seems to know how to reach out to the other, but the willingness to do so is there.

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