Muslim Australians - Religion Cultural Diversity Resource Manual

COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS
Muslims have formed a
large number of Islamic
societies, centres and
associations in Australia. Some of
these are ethnically based. In each
state, many of these societies join the
state Islamic council, which becomes
the umbrella organisation for the
societies in that state.
All Islamic councils are members of
the national umbrella organisation
called the Australian Federation of
Islamic Councils (AFIC). Not all
societies in a given state join that
state’s Islamic council because it is
entirely optional, so it is difficult to
say that AFIC represents all Muslims
or even the majority of Muslims in
Australia.
Is there one religious
leadership across Australia?
At the time of writing, there is no
single religious leadership across
Australia, although attempts have
been made recently to develop one.
Both Victoria and New South Wales
have a Board of Imams (representing
all or perhaps most imams of the
state). Officially, the Board of Imams
represents the religious views of the
community. In practice, relatively few
imams are actively involved on the
Board. This means that, even at state
level, there is no unified religious
leadership.
It may take some time before
a unified religious leadership
emerges, if ever, in Australia. One
difficulty is the enormous diversity
among Muslims (ethnic, religious,
theological, legal, spiritual), and it is
often difficult to agree on one person
or body to represent the religious
views of the entire community.
Muslim Australians:THEIR BELIEFS, PRACTICES AND INSTITUTIONS 55