A CASE STUDY BY HASAN MOHAMMAD

Sydney’s Muslim Community

Introduction- Who are the Muslims?

Australia is a multicultural melting pot of 23 million people. A collection of over 300 spoken dialects and languages as well as countless ancestries and international heritages.

Likewise, the Islamic faith is a vast aggregation of people from a range of backgrounds and ethnicities. It is the second largest Abrahamic religion with 1.5 billion adherents of which 70% are non-Arab.

Muslims are monotheistic, meaning they worship one God. They engage in fasting, prayer and occasionally participate in pilgrimage.

The holy text of Islam is the Qur'an, believed to be the literal word of God as revealed to Muhammad, considered by Muslims as his final apostle and messenger.

This is their story…

A Brief History

Contrary to popular belief, the migration of Muslims to the Australian continent predates that of the European settlers. Since the 16th and 17th centuries, the Macassan traders of Indonesia made early contact and engagement with the indigenous of WA, NT and QLD.

From the 1830s onwards, we saw the incoming of Muslim Afghan cameleers, Albanian war refugees, south east Asian students as well as Bosnian and Kosovo immigrants in the 1960s.

In the 1970s and 80s, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils was founded along with Nour Al-Houda, King Khalid and Al-Noori Schools, the first Islamic schools in Australia.

Today, Sydney’s Muslims are among the largest minority groups.

Population and Demographics

According to the Bureau of Statistics, Muslims represent 2% of the national population (around 350,000 people). 40% of which were born in Australia and 50% of which are under the age of 30, making it one of the youngest faiths.

The indigenous Muslim population is just over 1000 strong. And Sydney’s Muslim community is predominantly distributed across the western suburbs.

As of 2006, NSW represented 49.6% of Australia’s Muslim population, followed by Victoria at 32.1%, Western Australia at 7.1%, Queensland at 6%, South Australia with 3.1%, Tasmania with 0.3% and the territories totalling 1.6%.

The top ‘birds eye view’ is that of Sydney while the bottom is Melbourne. Showing Muslim populations as dots in each relevant region. (The larger the dot the higher the density)

Sydney’s Muslims Today

Australian Muslims come from all walks of life. People like writer Randa Abdel Fattah, former footballer Hazem El-Masri and mayor Ned Mannoun are prominent Muslims and all are well known members of the community.

Factors Promoting Change

Change is an ordinary part of any community. With the test of time, politics, social climates and modernisation; change is inevitable. Sydney’s Muslim community is no exception.

The factors catalysing this change are many and especially surround the young and youthful members of the community. Muslim youth frequently indulge in western delights such as the latest fashion, trends and music as well as social media and other outlets.

The elders of the community are promoting change with the establishment of additional centres for Islamic education and the public understanding of religion. Such a change has been ignited by the prevalent negativity towards Muslims.

And above all, recent increases in the Muslim population are being triggered by conflicts abroad such as Syria, Afghanistan and Burma; where refugees seek refuge in government programs and initiatives.

Challenges to Overcome

The main challenges facing the Sydney Muslim community are threefold. (1) The unprecedented rise in extremism,(2) Divisions and denominations and (3) Unemployment.

The rise in extremism is a challenge to overcome given its generation of prejudice and discrimination by non-Muslims towards the tenets of the faith and its adherents. This creates misconceptions that tear deep into the stability and relationships between communities; interfering with dialogue and discussion.

The plethora of denominations and divisions of Islamic schools of thought divides the Sunnis (90% of Muslims) and Shiites (10% of Muslims) as well as minorities like Sufis and Alawites. These theological divisions cause hatred and violence especially regarding political topics such as the Syrian conflict and Islamic jurisprudence.

Unemployment is problematic with just 5% of Muslims earning over $1000 weekly, in comparison to the national average of 11%.

References 1 (Primary Sources)

The following were visited/emailed for information:1. Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jammah (132 Haldon Street, Lakemba, New

South Wales, 2195 ) Phone: 02 9758 34062. Imam Hussein Islamic Centre (Lang Road 

Earlwood NSW 2206) Phone: 02 9558 11143. Al -Rahman Mosque (20 Garema Circuit Kingsgrove,2208)

Phone: 02 9758-99774. Al- Zahra Mosque (9 Martin Ave, Arncliffe NSW 2205) Phone: 02

9597 66905. Al Emaan Muslim Association

http://www.alemaan.net/public/index.php?view=contactus&mid=16&cid=0

References 2 (Secondary Sources)

World Wide Web: http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/multicultural/pdf_doc/au

stralian-journey-muslim-communities.pdf (01/06/13)

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/multicultural/pdf_doc/Muslims_in_Australia_snapshot.pdf (31/05/13)

http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/MuslimAustralians (30/05/13)

http://www.2mfm.org/content/view/123/57/ (02/06/13) http://www.lma.org.au/ (01/06/13) http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/14467374/middle-eas

t-in-the-suburbs/ (30/05/13)

Books/Publications: Muslims in Australia (Studies in Anthropology, Economy and

Society), Nahid Afrose Kabir, Routlege Publishers, 2005 Islam in Australia, Abdullah Saeed, Allen and Unwin Press, 2001