It is disappointing to see that the president of the Australian Iraqi Muslim Society, Abdul Razak Mohamed has come out today and accused former Prime Minister Tony Abbott of being “engaged in fear mongering and a lack of consultation with the Muslim community.”
The ABC today reported Mr Razak Mohamed stating:
“We have gone through a very tough time in the last year or two and we think it is not fair we have been subject to a lot of Islamaphobia.”
We have gone through a “tough time” because of the increasing radicalisation and prevalence of Islamic terrorism and war at home and abroad. Rather than playing the victim, Islamic leaders including Mr Razak Mohamed need to stop using “Isamophobia” as a slogan to attract sympathy.
Instead of taking the former prime minister’s olive branch of inclusion, and affirm that we in Australia are all on the one team, Islamic leaders used this invitation for unity as an opportunity for division and disharmony.
People are afraid of Islam, not only because of what they see in the Middle East and Europe, but when Australians see Muslims and children protesting in Sydney carrying signs that say “behead those who insult the prophet Mohammed”. People are rightly afraid when they see this, and the onus is on Muslims and Islamic leaders to show some leadership and call their people to accountability.
There is a reason why the word ‘Islamophoia’ exist and words like ‘Buddhistopobia’ and ‘Atheistophobic’ do not.
Islamic leaders would do well to address the aggression within their own communities, and the lack of tolerance and inclusion that exists within the vast majority of Muslim societies and nations.
