Pip Hinman, Sydney
Keysar Trad from the Muslim Friendship Society told an 80-strong Stop the War Coalition meeting here on February 27 that the "backlash" against the Muslim community is a direct result of "politicians and radio shock jocks trying to sell the 'clash of cultures' image".
Trad criticised all attempts to portray the Muslim community as misogynist and backward, but added that it didn't just start recently. "[Minister for the aged] Bronwyn Bishop has been saying for some time that Muslim women are oppressed by having to wear the scarf."
But Trad did say that the attacks on Muslims have reached new heights recently and that "Islamaphobic politicians are upset that there has been no violent reaction to the publication of the racist, anti-Muslim cartoons". He described Treasurer Peter Costello's suggestion that Muslims want to impose sharia law on Australians as "absurd", as well as his threat to revoke people's citizenship rights if they don't agree with "Australian values".
Former One Nation MP Pauline Hanson was quoted on the ABC news website on February 24 as saying that she was happy that Costello had "woken up" to her views. "I was crucified, I was ridiculed, I was called racist ... I could foresee what was happening to our country", she said.
In her 1996 inaugural speech to federal parliament, Hanson warned that Australia was in danger of being swamped by Asians and called for a radical rethink of immigration policy. "If Peter Costello is wanting to be a future prime minister of this country, he needs to take a tough stand on this, he needs to deal with it harshly, he needs to throw these people out of the country who do not embrace Australia."
"Neither the treasurer nor the prime minister are new to dog-whistling, xenophobia or Islamophobia", Trad told Green Left Weekly. "The PM masterfully used xenophobia to convince people of the lie about the children being thrown overboard, and used the terrible plight of the Tampa refugees to win an election. Their comments are nothing more than opportunistic, populist point scoring. Their 2007 election campaign seems to be based on Islamophobia."
Trad said he was "disappointed" that the federal ALP and NSW Labor Premier Morris Iemma were quick to support the government's anti-Muslim comments.
These racist and ignorant remarks from senior government officials have had a devastating effect on ordinary Muslims, Trad said. But, he concluded, "Muslim-kicking has always been an easy distraction and right now they need something to limit the impact of the Australian Wheat Board scandal".
From Green Left Weekly, March 8, 2006.
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