NOTES: Between clerics and terrorists ...

Australian Islam is largely an ethno-religious phenomenon. Theological practice is tied to various cultures. Mosque liturgy is run on a combination of classical Arabic orthodoxy and ethnic and linguistic influences [e.g. Indonesian man who left tarawih at Redfern mosque after missing entire first rakaat before even placing his hands on his stomach and left in disgust].

In the post-7/7 environment, Muslim religious institutions and their leaders have been the subject of greater scrutiny by governments and media. This has led to the development of a mythology built around the generation of a uniform Muslim “community”. This mythology serves the interests of both governments and certain Muslim religious leaders.

Both governments and religious organisations have developed strategies to develop and reinforce Muslim monolith mythology. Certain media organisations whose editors (if not their owners) benefit from stoking the fires of cultural warfare, have also sought to intervene in this process.

Central argument: Projection of Muslim monolith is unhealthy for both Muslims themselves and for the broader Australian community. Why?

• It is dishonest and doesn’t reflect reality.
• It makes demonization easier.
• It tends to reinforce more conservative elements within religious circles and ignores those who regard themselves as Muslims for more cultural or ancestral reasons.
• It stifles debate and much-needed reform in Muslim societies.

Islam can be defined as a combination of four things:

* Religion/theology;
* Values;
* Cultures;
* Institutions.

We need a broader and more encompassing definition of Islam. I prefer to define Islam as the motivation that leads around 300,000 Australians to feel inclined to tick the “Muslim” box on their census forms. Many of these people, including the most observant, have little or no association with a mosque. This is especially the case with women.

My mother prays 5 times a day, yet the only affiliation she has is with membership of the Australian chapter of the Aligarh Muslim University alumni.

When Islam is defined broadly as what Muslims actually are (as opposed to what they perhaps should be), the immediate effect is to create an image of diversity. We are no longer “the Muslim community” but rather a number or cluster of groups who tick the same box.

If this really is Islam, we simply cannot speculate about its future unless we understand its present. But what research has been conducted by those claiming to speak for Muslims?

Given that our mosques are divided largely along ethnic and linguistic lines, what sense does it make in Australia to speak of Islam’s presence in Australia as a set of values or as some uniform theology?

Words © 2008 Irfan Yusuf