Islamic clerics in Australia will have to register their credentials and adhere to a strict code of conduct under proposals put forward by a government-backed group of moderate Muslims to curb extremists.
The Muslim Advisory Council, created by Prime Minister John Howard in the wake of July's London bombings, said a registration system would allow Muslims and the wider community to distinguish between responsible clerics and "mavericks" on the fringes of society.
"Unlike Christianity, we don't have a hierarchy of Muslim clerics in Australia. Anyone can get up in the mosque and say they are an imam and give a sermon," council chairman Ameer Ali told AFP.
"Then if they say something irresponsible or rash, it gets picked up in the media and the whole community is tarnished and we all get portrayed as extremists or terrorists or whatnot.
"The number of mavericks is tiny but they have created an image problem for the Muslim community in Australia."
Ali, who is also president of the Federation of Islamic Councils, said under the proposal, Muslim clerics would form a self-governing body to register imams and administer a voluntary code of conduct.
"No one has the power to enforce any of this, it would have to be voluntary," he said. "But if clerics refuse to cooperate then the Muslim community and the wider community will know that they are extremists who do not represent mainstream Muslim beliefs."
Ali said the council could offer clerics guidance on what was acceptable in Australia's multicultural society and help foreign-born clerics who struggle with the English language.
He said this month's racial attacks on youths of Lebanese origin in the Sydney beachside suburb of Cronulla showed the pressure being felt by the country's 300,000 Muslims, despite around half of the Lebanese community in Australia being Christian.
The Muslim community has also complained of being singled out by recent anti-terrorism laws.
Security forces arrested 18 Muslims led by a radical cleric in a series of raids in Sydney and Melbourne last month for allegedly plotting a major bombing in the country's largest city.
Prime Minister John Howard convened the Muslim Advisory Council in August after the London bombings that killed more than 50 people, saying he was concerned at the prospect of Australia producing similar "home-grown" extremists.
Howard has previously criticised Muslim leaders for not doing enough to isolate radical preachers but council member Yasser Soliman said the community was taking action.
"The guidelines are in response to suggestions by the community and clerics as well, that there are people who are pointing themselves as clerics when theyre really just backyard clerics, and unqualified," Soliman told ABC radio this week.
Ali said it was particularly important to reach Muslim youths, many of whom felt alienated from both their own community and the wider Australian society, making them more susceptible to extremism.
"We've got to get out there and say 'this is not what Islam is about, we're a religion of peace'," Ali said. "We need to bring the youth into the main fold and teach them the proper ways so they will not resort to hooliganism."
He said the council planned to hold a conference next year on ways to promote the moderate message.
Comments
Comments are closed.