Islam in Australia Totally Explained

Everything about Islam In Australia totally explained

Islam is the fourth largest religious grouping in Australia after Christianity, 'No Religion' and Buddhism. According to the 2006 census, approximately 340,392 people or 1.71% of the population identify as Muslim.
While this figure does represent a large numerical increase compared to the 2001 and 1996 census results (281,578 and 200,885 respectively), it should be noted that the rate of increase has slowed considerably (21% in 2001-06 vs 40% for 1996-2001).

History

In the 17th century Macassan traders (possibly Muslim) from Indonesia may have had a harmonious relationship with the Indigenous people of northern Australia. Macassan trepangers from the southwest corner of Sulawesi (formerly Cele bes) visited the coast of northern Australia for hundreds of years to fish for trepang (also known as sea cucumber or "sandfish"), a marine invertebrate prized for its culinary and medicinal values in Chinese markets.
   During the voyages the Macassan's left their mark on the people of northern Australia — in language, art, economy and even genetics in the descendants of both Macassan and Indigenous Australian ancestors that are now found on both sides of the Arafura and Banda Seas.
   The early fleets of settlers also used Muslims, from coastal Africa and the islands and territories under the British Empire, for labour and as navigators.
   There were also a number of convicts who were sent to Australia for the crime of ‘disobedience’. Most of these early Muslims inter-married with the local community and their descendants were assimilated into the society.
   In the 1860s a large number of Afghan cameleers arrived in Australia to work the camel trains which opened up the interior of the continent. They brought with them the first formal establishment of Islam in Australia.
   They also accompanied European explorers and were instrumental in guiding the teams through the hot and arid terrain. They eventually settled in the areas near Alice Springs and in the Northern Territory and many inter-married with the Indigenous population.
   The remains of the oldest mosque in Australia is situated near Maree in South Australia and the Great Mosque of Adelaide was built by the descendants of the cameleers.

Colonial period

During early European settlement, some Muslim sailors and prisoners came to Australia, it has been argued, but very little is known about them as they left no traces behind, except for a few scattered references to their names. It wasn't until the 19th century that a more permanent Islamic presence was recognised.
During the 1870s, Muslim Malay divers were recruited through an agreement with the Dutch to work on Western Australian and Northern Territory pearling grounds. By 1875, there were 1800 Malay divers working in Western Australia. Most returned to their home countries. In the 19th Century many Middle Eastern people came to Australia to work as camel drivers. Camels were imported to Australia from 1837, initially for exploring the dry interior (see Australian camel), and later for the camel trains that were uniquely suited to the demands of Australia's vast deserts. Many of the drivers were Muslims, and while they came from several countries, they were usually known in Australia as 'Afghans'. The Afghans’ knowledge and expertise with camels was vital for exploration, and has been creditted with saving the lives of numerous early European explorers. It is therefore fitting that the Adelaide to Darwin (south-north) railway is named The Ghan (short for The Afghan) in their memory.

20th century

In the early twentieth century, Muslims of non-European descent experienced many difficulties in emigrating to Australia because of a government policy which limited immigration on the basis of links with Great Britain and Ireland. Known as the White Australia Policy, this was used to maintain social homogeneity in the Commonwealth of Australia and to preserve the economic standing of the peoples already settled. However, some Muslims still managed to come to Australia. In the 1920s and 1930s, Albanian Muslims were accepted - it could be argued - because of their European heritage, which was more compatible with the White Australia Policy. Albanian Muslims built the first mosque in Victoria in the town of Shepparton in 1960, and the first mosque in Melbourne in the year 1963.

Post World War II

The perceived need for population growth and economic development in Australia led to the broadening of Australia’s immigration policy in the post-World War II period. This allowed for the acceptance of a number of displaced Muslims who began to arrive from Europe. Moreover, between 1967 and 1971, approximately 10,000 Turks settled in Australia under an agreement between Australia and Turkey. This was the first muslim community of Middle Eastern origin to settle in Australia. Almost all of these people went to Melbourne and Sydney.
From the 1970s onwards, there was a significant shift in the government’s attitude towards immigration. Instead of trying to make new Australians ‘assimilate’ and forgo their unique cultural identities, the government became more accommodating and tolerant of differences by adopting a policy of ‘multiculturalism’. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, Muslims from more than sixty countries had settled in Australia. While a very large number of them come from Turkey and Lebanon, there are Muslims from Indonesia, Bosnia, Iran, Fiji, Albania, Sudan, Egypt, the Palestinian territories, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, among others.

Late 20th century

Large-scale Muslim migration began in 1975 with the migration of Lebanese Muslims, which rapidly increased during the Lebanese Civil War. The Lebanese are still the largest and highest-profile Muslim group in Australia. They form the core of Australia's Muslim Arab population, which also includes many Iraqis, particularly in Australia's largest city, Sydney, where most Arabs in Australia live. Approximately 3.4% of Sydney's population are Muslim, about half of Australia's Islamic population. They are particularly concentrated in the suburb of Lakemba and surrounding areas, such as Punchbowl, Wiley Park, Bankstown and Auburn. There are also Somali populations scattered throughout Australia who have fled their country since the Somali civil war started in 1991. In 2005 tensions between Muslims and white Australians caused the 2005 Cronulla riots.
   Many Muslims living in Australia's second largest city, Melbourne, are of Turkish or Albanian ethnicity. Unlike Sydney and New South Wales, Victoria's Muslims are more likely to be Turkish than Lebanese. Melbourne's Australian Muslims live primarily in the northern suburbs surrounding Broadmeadows (mostly Turkish) and a few in the outer southern suburbs such as Noble Park and Dandenong (mainly Albanian and Bosniak).
   Very few Muslims live in regional areas with the exceptions of the sizeable Turkish and Albanian community in Shepparton, Victoria and Malaysians in Katanning, Western Australia. Men in both communities work in the local meat-packing industries. A sizeable community of Iraqis have settled in Cobram on the Murray River in Victoria, totalling around 10% of the population. Perth also has a sizeable Muslim community. Many live in and around the suburb of Thornlie, which contains both the Thornlie Mosque and the Australian Islamic College (Thornlie Campus). The Australian Islamic College is an Islamic school which is spread across three campuses in the Perth metropolitan area with around 2000 students. Mirrabooka and neighbouring Girrawheen also contain large Muslim communities. There are a relatively large number of Halal restaurants in Perth. The oldest mosque in Perth is the Perth Mosque on William Street in Northbridge. It has undergone many renovations although the original section still remains. On Friday nights people from all over the city gather at the mosque to hear lectures and to make Itikaaf. Other mosques in Perth are located in Rivervale, Mirrabooka and Hepburn.
   There are also sizeable communities of Muslims from Turkey, the Indian subcontinent (Pakistan, India and Bangladesh) and South-East Asia, all of these communities are concentrated in Sydney and Melbourne (the Turkish communities around Auburn, New South Wales and Meadow Heights and Roxburgh Park, Victoria and the South Asian communities around Parramatta and Dandenong. Indonesian Muslims, who are more widely distributed, are a particularly significant element of the population of Darwin. Australia also attracts a large number of Muslim students for studies, from Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and increasingly from the Persian Gulf region.
   There is a deep split within the Australian Muslim community. Most Muslims in New South Wales are Arabs, whereas most Muslims in Victoria are of Turkish or Albanian ethnicity. There are also significant Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslim communities in both cities, numbering roughly 10-12 thousand from each community in the country. Victorian Muslims tend to be generally more secular and indications show they're much more integrated than those in New South Wales.
   There have been arguments between the two communities with the mainly moderate Turkish Australian community refusing to accept the more fundamentalist Taj El-Din Hilaly (an Arab born in Egypt) as Australia's mufti. Victorian Imams don't recognise Hilaly. However, as of 2007, Hilaly is no longer recognised as a mufti.

Present day Islam in Australia

Aboriginal Muslims

The history of Islam among the Aboriginal population may be older than with Christianity. Although, that view is regarded as mere speculation. The view argues that some of the first contacts between Aborigines and Muslims include some of the oldest contacts Aborigines had with the outside world itself. Most of the people neighbouring Australia are Muslim (see Macassan contact with Australia). More contact came with the "Afghan" camel trains, where the two groups found that they shared a similar sense of spirituality and there was some intermarriage.
As of 2003, the growing community of indigenous Aboriginal Muslims, was conservatively estimated as 1000 individuals, or 1 in 400 aborigines. It is reported that the community is rising rapidly. That is due, it seems, to an increasing rate of conversions from their tribal religion. Many do it for spiritual purposes while others see Islam as empowering; they say it gives them strength to face the challenges of being the most disadvantaged group in Australia. Still, others are descendants of Afghan cameleers or, as in the Arnhem land people, have Macassan ancestry. The boxer Anthony Mundine is a member of this community.

Population Statistics

The following is a breakdown of the country of origin of Muslims in Australia from 2001:

Australia: 36%
Lebanon: 10%
Turkey: 8%
Afghanistan: 3.5%
Bosnia-Herzegovina: 3.5%
Pakistan: 3.2%
Indonesia: 2.9%
Iraq: 2.8%
Bangladesh: 2.7%
Iran: 2.3%
Fiji: 2.0%

There were 281,578 Muslims recorded in this survey, in a more recent census the population had grown to 340,392.
The distribution by state of the nation's Islamic followers has New South Wales at first place with 50% of the total followed by Victoria (33%), Western Australia (7%), Queensland (5%), South Australia (3%), ACT (1%) and both Northern Territory and Tasmania sharing 0.3%.

Contribution to Australian society

The Afghans were the pioneers of the Muslim contributions to Australian life. Afghan cameleers were recruited to Australia to assist in the early exploration of the continent, participated in many expeditions to explore Australia. The camel transport industry in the late nineteenth century played a role in the economic development of Australia including the transport of goods and assistance laying overland telegraph and railway lines. With the establishment of the railways and increasing numbers of vehicles, camels were made superfluous.
The cameleers either returned to their native countries or integrated into society. They created a number of legacies that have continued into the present. Their camels were released at the time, later these came became classified as a pest. This was because of the damage the were doing, yet now they're a considerably desired export as this population of camels is disease free. Australian feral camels are the largest population of wild camels in the world. The Ghan passenger rail service that bisects the continent from Adelaide to Darwin is named in honour of the Afghan cameleers.
In contemporary Australian life, Muslims from all over the world have made a contribution to the country in overseas trade. They have developed trade links between Australia and several Muslim countries, particularly Middle Eastern, for instance through the export of halal meat. The meat export industry is regulated in Australia and managed by the Meat and Livestock Association. It could be argued that these Muslims have opened up new channels for trade between Australia and their countries of origin.
Of the thousands of international students studying in Australia, a significant number are Muslims from countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Many have settled in Australia under the "skilled migration program" after completing studies at their own expense. Muslim doctors, engineers, lawyers, scientists, academics, tradespeople and blue-collar workers are participating in Australian life. Some Muslim leaders as with Catholic, Anglican and Uniting Church leaders have promoted interfaith religious dialogue in order to encourage greater mutual understanding between peoples. Integration of the Muslim community has been the subject of debate in Australian society as with the interests of minority groups.
In May 2008, a delegation of young Muslim leaders from Australia went to Jakarta to explore Islam in Indonesia. The Australian ambassador to Indonesia said: "It`s important for young Australians to gain a better understanding of the role of religion in Indonesia and to share their views on how Islam contributes to diverse, democratic societies like Australia and Indonesia."

The 'Muslim problem' in Australia

Since the Bali bombings and World trade center attacks, Islam and its place in Australian society has been the subject of much public debate. In October of 2006, statements by the then top Muslim Cleric sheik Taj Din al-Hilali sparked widespread outrage when he was reported making statements comparing women who don't wear the Islamic veil to "uncovered meat" and implying that Lebanese serial gang rapists involved in a set of vicious attacks were unfairly sentenced because "the uncovered meat is the problem" .. "If the meat was covered, the cats wouldn't roam around it". Hiali's comments echoed earlier comments placing the blame on women for rape made by Sheik Faiz Mohamad. Angry responses to the comments were made from Islamic women as well as non-Islamic figures.
As part of the broader issue of women's rights under Islam (particularly in light of the misogynistic statements by Islamic leaders) the perceived or real gender inequality in Islam often been the focal point of criticism in Australia via comparisons to the situation of women in Islamic nations. Muslim women face hurdles both from within the Muslim community and from the wider community.
Unemployment rates amongst Muslims born overseas are higher than those born in Australia. Average wages of Muslims are much lower than those of the national average, with just 5% of Muslims earning over $1000 a week compared to the average of 11%.

Islamic schools

AlKauthar Institute, Victoria, New South Wales

Al-Hidayah Islamic School, Western Australia

Al Faizal College, New South Wales

Al Noori Muslim Primary School, New South Wales

Al Qiblah College, New South Wales

Al Zahrah College, New South Wales

Arkana College, New South Wales

Australian International Academy (formerly King Khalid Islamic College of Victoria), Victoria

Australian International Islamic College, Queensland

Australian Islamic College, Western Australia

Australian Islamic College of Sydney New South Wales

East Preston Islamic College, Victoria

Ilim College, Victoria

Isik College, Victoria

Islamic College of Brisbane, Queensland

Islamic College of South Australia, South Australia

King Abdul Aziz School, New South Wales

Langford Islamic College, Western Australia

Malek Fahd Islamic School, New South Wales

Minaret College, Victoria

Noor Al Houda Islamic College, New South Wales

Sule College, New South Wales

Rissalah College, New South Wales

Werribee Islamic College, VictoriaFurther Information

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