Muslim Australians - Religion Cultural Diversity Resource Manual

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English Language Proficiency » The overwhelming majority of Australian Muslims are proficient in English. » The age group that is most proficient in English is 21–39 (85% of the group), while the least proficient age group is aged 60+ (43% of the group). Marital Status in Australian Muslim Community » 41% of Australian Muslim women are married by the age of 24, while only 12% of their male counterparts are married by the same age. » 51% of Australian Muslim males are married by the age of 34, while another 26% are married before they are 50. » De facto relationships are uncommon. 3% of males in the age group 24–35 and 3% of females in the age group 21–24 are in de facto relationships. 6 Muslim Australians:THEIR BELIEFS, PRACTICES AND INSTITUTIONS
MUSLIMS IN AUSTRALIA Origins of Islam in Australia Origins of Islam in Australia Long before European settlement, Muslims had contact with Australia and her peoples. Fishing for sea-slugs, the Macassans (an ethnic group from eastern Indonesia) began visiting the northern shores of Australia in the seventeenth century. Evidence of their presence is found in cave drawings of the distinctive Macassan boats and in artefacts found in Aboriginal settlements in the north. Some Muslim sailors and prisoners came to Australia on the convict ships but very little is known about them as they left no traces in the history books, except for a few scattered references to their names. During the 1870s Muslim Malay divers were recruited through an agreement with the Dutch to work on West Australian and Northern Territory pearling grounds. By 1875 there were 1800 Malay divers working in Western Australia. Most returned to their home countries. Afghan cameleers settled in Australia from the 1860s onwards. Camels were imported and used by European explorers to help open up the dry interior and transport goods and services to different parts of the country. Due to the Afghans’ knowledge and expertise with camels, they were credited with saving the lives of numerous early European explorers and were vital for exploration. A Muslim settler Saib Sultan was a Muslim who came to Australia after sailing on the Endeavour. He had eleven and a half acres on Norfolk Island but in 1809 he and his wife sailed as third-class passengers to Tasmania (or Van Dieman’s Land as it was known back then) on the Lady Nelson. His name was changed to Jacob and records show that by 1819 he had twenty-eight acres of pasture and two acres of wheat. 1 In the early twentieth century, Muslims of non-European background must have found it very difficult to come to Australia because of a government policy which limited immigration on the basis of race. Known as the White Australia Policy it was used by the government of the day put in place strict tests designed to keep out people who had dark skin or who were from non-European backgrounds. But some Muslims still managed to come to Australia. In the 1920s and 1930s Albanian Muslims were accepted due to their lighter European complexion, which was more compatible with the White Australia Policy. The 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. 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, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, among others. Despite the occasional outspoken politician who criticises multiculturalism, broad sections of Australians have acknowledged and welcomed the contributions made by recent immigrants. Muslim immigrants have become a part of developing Australia’s culture, economy and religious knowledge. 1 Bilal Cleland, “The History of Muslims in Australia” in Abdullah Saeed and Shahram Akbarzadeh (eds), Muslim Communities in Australia, Sydney, NSW: UNSW Press, 2001, 14. Muslim Australians:THEIR BELIEFS, PRACTICES AND INSTITUTIONS 7
Page 1 and 2: Australians Muslim THEIR BELIEFS, P
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Introduction . . . . . . .
Page 5: Muslim Community in Australia A vie
Page 9 and 10: Muslim doctors, engineers, lawyers,
Page 11 and 12: Muslim population figures » Of the
Page 13 and 14: Prophet Muhammad Prophet Muhammad w
Page 15 and 16: The Golden Age During the Golden Ag
Page 17 and 18: KEY BELIEFS OF A MUSLIM The most fu
Page 19 and 20: Equality of Humankind: A Common Vie
Page 21 and 22: THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM Call to P
Page 23 and 24: Concept of Muslim Worship Muslims b
Page 25 and 26: 5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) At le
Page 27 and 28: In Australia, the majority of Musli
Page 29 and 30: Michael’s story Michael decided t
Page 31 and 32: Divorce Marriage in Islam is highly
Page 33 and 34: Learning about religion From early
Page 35 and 36: MUSLIM WOMEN 22 In most Muslim soci
Page 37 and 38: Between Traditionalists and Liberal
Page 39 and 40: Female circumcision Female circumci
Page 41 and 42: Inheritance One of the criticisms t
Page 43 and 44: SACRED PLACES Mecca The most sacred
Page 45 and 46: SACRED TEXTS The Qur’an The Qur
Page 47 and 48: A Muslim relies on historically rel
Page 49 and 50: Some principles to help Muslims dec
Page 51 and 52: The Qur’an teaches us that life i
Page 53 and 54: MOSQUES AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS There
Page 55 and 56: COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS Muslims hav
Page 57 and 58:
Al Zahra College Al Zahra College i
Page 59 and 60:
ISLAM AND VIOLENCE Many people in t
Page 61 and 62:
Islam prohibits the killing of any
Page 63 and 64:
Jesus and Muslims For Muslims, Jesu
Page 65 and 66:
Cross Cultural Coffee After the tra
Page 67 and 68:
The Qur’an is full of references
Page 69 and 70:
Islam is against democratic values
Page 71 and 72:
Muslims marry only Muslims This is
Page 73 and 74:
ISLAM, STATE AND AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN
Page 75 and 76:
APPENDIX ONE Key Mosques in Austral
Page 77 and 78:
South Australia Adelaide Mosque 20
Page 79 and 80:
APPENDIX THREE Key Muslim Schools 4
Page 81 and 82:
Saeed, Abdullah, “Rethinking Citi
Page 83:
ByFriday DLD 04
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