Members of the Australian Muslim community have called for more government actions to tackle discrimination after the special envoy to combat Islamophobia, transferred his “long -awaited” report on Friday.
He said that Islamophobia was never “completely” tackled “in Australia and sometimes” ignored “and” refused “.
The recommendations focus on every important agency within the Australian government and include three important areas: responsibility and responsibility, protection and support, and education and awareness.
Among them are recommendations to grant the “the same rights, protection and legal negligence” as other forms of discrimination, an evaluation of terrorism contraction laws and the creation of a commission of anti-Palestin and anti-Arab racism.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would “carefully consider the recommendations”.
The report comes two months after the special envoy for anti -Semitism, Jillian Segal, released its report to the governmentThat called for more radical measures, such as reducing financing for organizations that were seen as not acting.
Malik wiped all the criticism that his recommendations do not go far enough in the aftermath of bomb threats against mosques and vandalism of Muslime properties.
“My most important influence came from the Muslim community throughout Australia – and what they wanted was recognition, not a retribution,” Malik told SBS World News.
‘A seriously broken relationship’
Sharara Attai of the Islamophobia Register Australia says that there is a “broken relationship” between the Muslim community in Australia and the federal government.
“There is a seriously broken relationship between the Muslim community and the Australian government,” Attai told SBS World News.
‘I think there is widespread distrust [in] The government of the Muslim community and the way in which the suffering and plight situation of our community is not dealt with with the same level of care as other communities.
“It will cost a lot to restore that relationship.”
Attai said that the report was only the first step to treat Islamophobia with the “level of urgency” that it needed, and added that “much more” had to be done.
Gamal Kheir of the Lebanese Muslim association was “very supportive” of the recommendations of the envoy and called on the Albanian government to take action.
“I believe that the government now has an obligation to honor the recommendations and take them seriously,” Kheir told SBS Arabic.
“If we really believe in the process of social cohesion and uniting all communities, then the recommendations of the envoy are currently a long way to cure the differences in our community.”
He illuminated the need for final changes in laws for the fight against terrorism, which he says they have wrongly focused on the Muslim community.
“The entire concept of the definition of terrorism is unfairly linked to the Muslim community, only selectively,” said Kheir.
“We have advocated and supported the government by the envoy, in the fact that the definition of terrorism must be better defined and less focused on someone’s religion and more focused on the deed itself.”
‘An escalation of intensity’
The report comes after a man had performed an alleged bomhoax in a Gold Coast -Mosque and an Islamic school in Brisbane received a bomb threat that forced the evacuation of hundreds of students and staff.
Nora Amath in Queensland in Queensland said that Muslims were focused and afraid of the background of the background of Recent anti-migrant rallies.
“We see an escalation of intensity,” she said Aap.
“For the first time we see back-to-back physical attacks and back-to-back bomb threats, which is all very worrying.”
Australian National Imams Council Senior Advisor Bilal Rauf said that the report strengthened the matter for religious protection, for which the Peak -religious body lobbyed.
He said that the responsibility was on Albanian and his government to take the recommendations seriously, “so it’s not just lip service”.
The Australian Palestinian advocacy says that anti-Palestinian racism and the findings of the report are deep, but this is not recognized.
“The Australian government has failed by limiting its focus to Islamophobia by the envoy of Islamophobia, while intentionally ignores and refuses to quantify the widespread anti-Palestinian racism and discrimination that has risen since 7 October,” said APAN executive member Lama Alqasem.
“That refusal itself is a form of racism because the Palestinians denies recognition, safety and justice.”
Since October 7, 2023, the reported incidents of Islamophobia have risen by 537 percent, according to the Islamophobia Register Australia.
The Australian Muslim Advocacy Network was more critical and said that it had not shared the government’s reasoning for setting up the and self -independent of Islamophobia and anti -Semitism, but welcomed the recommendations.
The network supported new measures to treat hate crimes more seriously without expanding crimes and police powers or to limit freedom of expression.
“The recommendation to set up independent control panels for the way hate crimes are checked is a positive step,” the network said.
“All communities deserve equal protection against hatred and applying different standards creates unfairness in a multicultural society.”
“We have been consistent,” says Albanese
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected claims that anti-Muslim hatred had not received the same attention as hatred aimed at other communities.
“We have strengthened the hate crimes of the Commonwealth to criminalize threats of violence, strength or material damage that focuses on individuals or groups based on race, religion or nationality,” said Albanese in a joint press conference with Malik on Friday.
“That applies across the board. We have been consistent.”
He added that he would “carefully consider the recommendations” and continue to work with Malik “closely”.
“Australians must be able to feel safe and at home in every community. The targeting of Australians based on their religious beliefs is not only an attack on them, but it is an attack on our core values,” said Albanian.
“We have to eradicate hatred, fear and prejudices that drives Islamophobia and division in our society.”
– With additional reporting by Richelle Harrison Persense, Mahnaz Angury and Australian Associated Press.
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