VICTORIA'S MUSLIM COMMUNITIES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MELBOURNE 000092

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER PINR AS
SUBJECT: VICTORIA'S MUSLIM COMMUNITIES

REF: A) Melbourne 90, B) Melbourne 18, C) 08 Melbourne 117, D) 08
Melbourne 66, E) 08 Canberra 90

Summary
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1. (SBU) The Muslim population represents a very small percentage of
the Victorian community, yet it spends a disproportionate amount of
time in the news due to events like the August 4 arrests of six
terror suspects in Melbourne and the 2008-2009 Benbrika terror
trial. In Victoria, it is not fair to speak of one Muslim
community, as national origin often trumps religious affiliation.
Muslims here have generally integrated well, and where problems
persist, the state government and NGOs are active. While more
extreme views sometimes surface, Victoria's Muslim communities have
historically responded by distancing themselves from these ideas and
emphasizing their common Australian identity. End Summary.

Not Just One Community
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2. (SBU) In Victoria, it is not accurate to refer to a single
"Muslim Community." According to Dr. Hass Dellal, Executive
Director of the Australian Multicultural Foundation, Victorian
Muslims share religious beliefs, but they tend to distinguish
themselves primarily on the basis of national origin. Ali Gurdag, a
multicultural liaison officer within the Victoria police, confirmed
that the "primary uniting factor is nationalism." Melbourne's
heavily Muslim suburbs bear out this trend, with shops and
restaurants from specific countries clustered closely together.
Gurdag went on to say that Shi'as, in particular, tend to trade and
worship exclusively in their neighborhoods. However, post noticed
during several visits to Melbourne's suburban mosques that those
praying represented a wide spectrum of ethnic origins. At the
Albanian mosque, for example, those offering prayers were
predominantly immigrants from North African and Gulf countries.


3. (SBU) According to the 2006 (the most recent) Victorian census,
there are at least 110,000 Muslims living in Victoria, making up
around 2.2 percent of the state's population. By contrast, nearly
60 percent of Victorians identify themselves as "Christians." Of
those who considered themselves to be "Muslim," 38.1 percent
identified as "born in Australia." (Note: Nearly 26 percent of
Victorians were born overseas. End note.) Turkish Muslims are the
next largest group, comprising 11 percent. Lebanese, Afghani, and
Pakistani Muslims round out the top five, with 5.8, 4.6, and 3.5
percent respectively. Most of these Muslims identify as Sunnis,
though more Shi'as have come to Australia recently. Ali Gurdag
notes that Victoria is also witnessing an influx of African Muslims,
particularly from Sudan and Somalia who contend with racism in
addition to negative stereotypes of Muslims. The recently
apprehended suspects in the August 4 anti-terror investigation hail
primarily from Somalia (Ref. A).

Community Policing
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4. (SBU) Community policing represents a major component of the
Victorian government's outreach with the state's Muslim communities.
Victoria police's multicultural liaison unit was created just two
days after the September 11 attacks. Liaison officers provide
cross-cultural training to fellow police and engage with Muslim
communities to preempt crime. Many of these officers are assigned
to "high-risk" areas and disenfranchised neighborhoods. Sheikh
Fehmi Naji El Imam, Australia's Mufti and General Secretary of the
Islamic Society of Victoria (ISV),told post that the ISV meets
weekly with the Victoria police department in order to share
information on developments throughout the state.


5. (SBU) A police department program called "Rush Hour" seeks to
"encourage Australian Muslims to join the police force" and is run
in concert with a local Islamic youth association. The Summer Youth
Program run out of Melbourne's Flemington suburb engages with Muslim
youth and seeks to educate them about their "right and
responsibilities" about living in Australia. This program is run
cooperatively with Somali and Eritrean community organizations. The
multicultural unit of the police force even reaches out to churches
and synagogues to provide education on Islam.


6. (SBU) Muslim communities are very involved in this collaborative
approach. In February 2009, seven members of a terrorist cell in
Melbourne were sentenced for terrorist-related offenses, in large
part due to tips provided by Victorian Muslims (Refs. B-E). Sheikh

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Fehmi told post that a few months later, two of the men charged in
the terror trial, but who were subsequently acquitted, played in an
organized soccer game between Muslim communities and the Victoria
police department. Fehmi went on to say that this was intended to
"demonstrate that there were no hard feelings" toward the police.
Dr. Hass Dellal told post that there is a strong sense of belonging
in Muslim communities such that when issues like the Benbrika terror
trial surface, "people push back." Dr. Dellal said that many
Muslims living in Australia have come from troubled places and have
no desire to bring that trouble to Australia.

Other Outreach
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7. (SBU) The multicultural police unit also meets with Joumanah
el-Matrah, Executive Director of the Islamic Women's Welfare Council
(IWWC) to discuss women's issues. (Note: The GOA has funded the
IWWC since 1991. End Note.) The IWWC runs outreach programs such
as teaching non-Muslim school children about Islam. The IWWC also
provides literature to the general public that promotes tolerance
and understanding. Many of these publications are created jointly
with the GOA's Department of Immigration, Multicultural and
Indigenous Affairs.


8. (SBU) Vahid Goga, President of the Albanian-Australian Islamic
Association (AAIA) said that his organization raises charity money
for disasters like the Victorian bushfires of February 2009,
sponsors impoverished children in Africa, and funds water wells in
Bangladesh. Goga said that members of his mosque meet with
non-Muslim neighbors to inform them of upcoming events and holidays.
He said this kind of proactive outreach helps to dispel
misunderstanding and fosters a positive image of Islam.

Importance of Young Muslims
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9. (SBU) Post was told almost uniformly that the youth are making
their presence increasingly felt in the Victorian Muslim
communities. According to Vahid Goga, young people at his mosque
are the most active in organizing and participating in community
events; the youth sparked the mosque's involvement in the wildfire
relief activities in February. At the Islamic Society of Victoria's
Preston Mosque headquarters, Sheikh Fehmi told post that young
Muslims comprise the majority of those who routinely come to the
mosque for morning prayers. (Comment: Ironically, the Muslim youth
are also the most at-risk for being introduced to extremist views.
The men apprehended in the August 4 investigation are predominantly
between the ages of 22 and 26. End Comment.)

Muslim Response to the August 4 Arrests
--------------

10 (SBU) Joumanah el-Matrah noted that there is a growing
realization in Muslim communities that the way to gain acceptance
and understanding is through proactive outreach via publications and
community programs. Immediately following the August 4 police raids
around Melbourne, some of the leading Islamic associations released
statements. The Australian Intercultural Society, an organization
"committed to multi-faith dialogue," released a scathing statement
on behalf of its members criticizing those involved in the
conspiracy and assuring the Australian public that such extremist
views are not permissible within the scope of Islam. The Islamic
Council of Victoria sent a message urging its members to be vigilant
of harassment and Islamophobia that have historically arisen out of
the situations like the arrests.

Issues Persist
--------------


11. (SBU) Victoria's Muslim communities are affected by many of the
same problems impacting other minorities in the state. Joumanah
El-Matrah said that the biggest issues facing Muslims are
homelessness, lack of opportunity and domestic violence against
women. El Matrah also said that racial violence, directed primarily
at women, reached its peak following September 11 but has since
declined. According to El-Matrah, Muslim women do not tend to come
forward when they experience domestic abuse. Women from
Afghanistan, Sudan, and Somalia are withdrawing from society and its
pillars of support. The IWWA provides support and counseling to
victims of crime. It has also attempted to provide outreach to
Muslim men, but eventually abandoned the enterprise due to a lack of
progress. Referring to what she considered to be discrimination,
El-Matrah said that Muslims tend to have higher rates of

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unemployment compared to other communities. Some Muslims, when
filling out job applications, tend to use western names rather than
Islamic ones; they hope that using such a name will increase their
chances of being hired.


12. (SBU) In January 2009, Samir Mohtadi, a Melbourne-based cleric
made public statements condoning rape within marriage. This
provoked a universal condemnation by Australia's Muslim leaders.
Prime Minister Rudd remarked "under no circumstances is sexual
violence acceptable or permissible in Australia. The remarks do not
stand up in modern Australia and he should stand up, repudiate them
and apologize." Melbourne is also home to fundamentalist Sheikh
Mohammed Omran who has been accused of radicalizing youth, including
some from Somalia. Omran has publicly stated that Muslims were not
responsible for the 9/11 attacks or the July 7 London bombings.
According to Ali Gurdag, only in the last ten years have Muslims
made inroads on the economic front. He said that high unemployment
has generated feelings of disenfranchisement and ostracism. Some of
those disenfranchised Muslims may gravitate towards Wahabism.

Comment
--------------


13. (SBU) Events like the August 4 arrests, the Benbrika terror
trial and Imam Mohtadi's comments have engendered a realization that
Muslims must be pro-active in seeking understanding for what Sheikh
Fehmi called the "world's most poorly understood religion." The
members of Victoria's Muslim communities retain a sense of affinity
with the rest of the Australian population; this stems from such a
large percentage of Muslims being Australian-born. There are,
however, veins of the population which share more conservative
viewpoints, and which have difficulty balancing their faith and
their obligations while living in Australia. Post visits to mosques
confirmed this idea. Some fundamentalist Muslim groups do develop
extremist views, particularly in Melbourne's poorer suburbs.
However, the majority of Muslims in Victoria manage easily to be
both devout Muslims and modern Australians.

THURSTON