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Shameful xenophobia

October 30, 2006 on 7:04 am | In Uncategorized |

Religious leaders often say things that are out of step with the mainstream views of the community. They regard it as part of their job to articulate moral standards that us ordinary folk have trouble living up to. From time to time one religious leader or another says something that many people find completely outrageous, but politicians and journalists don’t normally start screeching hysterically for them to be sacked, deported, disowned by their congregations or whatever. We usually regard that as the province of sleazy talk-back radio hacks like Stan Zemanek.
However, the outcry over the comments made by Muslim Sheik al-Hilali has been staggeringly over-the-top. Here’s the front page of today’s online Australian newspaper:

Sheik Hilali praises Iraq jihadists

TAJ Din al-Hilali has praised militant jihadists in Iraq and Afghanistan, calling them men of the highest order for fighting against coalition forces - which include Australian soldiers - to “liberate” their homelands.

Editorial: Immigration advice ignored

Tanveer Ahmed: Islam can modernise

Canberra ignored secret agent’s warning

Islamic body to get rid of mufti role

We’re not fresh meat: women hit back

Shake off Hilali, PM urges Muslims

Enemies demonise Islam, say leaflets

It’s impossible to imagine such a reaction being caused by comments from a leader of any other religious faith. Well at least not since the days almost a century ago when Archbishop Mannix was widely regarded as the agent of the devil, aka the pope of Rome, undermining decent society with his suggestions that young Australians shouldn’t be conscripted to go and fight in Europe for the British Empire. The Mannix saga was of course part of the wider agenda to demonise Irish Roman Catholic Australians, just as this vicious attack on al-Hilali is part of the agenda to demonise Muslim Australians.
The Australian’s editorial staff would do well to take notice of this story they ran last Friday:

AUSTRALIAN Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty today warned the media against turning society so against Islam that it created a terrorist backlash.

Mr Keelty called for moderation in media coverage of issues including controversial comments by a senior Islamic cleric.

Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilaly compared skimpily-dressed women to “uncovered meat” and suggested they were “the problem” that caused sexual attacks, The Australian reported today.

Mr Keelty said that if true, the comments were inflammatory.

“Obviously what was said is going to be offensive to many of us in the community,” Mr Keelty said in Adelaide today.

“But I would also point out that there are many other people in the community who say offensive things from time to time as well, and many of them are … caucasian Australians.

This isn’t the first time the Commissioner has implicitly criticised the way politicians foment hatred of Muslims. Perhaps that’s because he’s trying to protect the whole community, whereas the politicians are only interested in pandering to hatred and prejudice. And lest I be called one-eyed, let me say that Kim Beazley and Bob Brown have been just as quick to pander to the lynch-mob mentality in this instance as our contemptible Prime Minister.

I disagree with what al-Hilali said. But I disagree much more with political opportunists who cynically make use of what he said to create even more hatred and prejudice in the community, purely to advance their own narrow political interests.