|
10
times Pauline Hanson got the
facts wrong in her maiden
speech
By Ben Winsor, Alyssa Braithwaite,
Amy Stockwell, Shami Sivasubramanian
Pauline Hanson's maiden
speech in the Australian
Senate this week harked back
to her original explosive
debut in the House of
Representatives in 1996.
This time, the danger wasn't
a country at risk of being
"swamped by Asians" but the
threat of Muslims taking
over.
We fact checked 19 claims in
Hanson's half hour speech:
Australia is being
swamped by Muslims
We are in danger of being
swamped by Muslims, who bear
a culture and ideology that
is incompatible with our
own.
False
According to the 2011 census
there were 476,291 Muslims
in Australia, just 2.2 per
cent of the total
population.
Islam is the fourth largest
religious group in
Australia, after
Christianity (61.1 per
cent), Atheism (22.9 per
cent) and Buddhism (2.5 per
cent).
The total annual immigration
intake across all religions
is 190,000 (0.8% of the
total population).
Crime has increased in
Australia
Indiscriminate
immigration and aggressive
multiculturalism have caused
crime to escalate and trust
and social cohesion to
decline. Too many
Australians are afraid to
walk alone at night in their
neighbourhoods. Too many of
us live in fear of
terrorism.
False
According to the Australian
Institute of Criminology
there has been no noticeable
increase in overall crime
rates.
Australia has accepted
large numbers of migrants
Tolerance has to be shown
by those who come to this
country for a new way of
life. [...] Australia has
embraced migrants from all
different races, making us
one of the most multiracial
nations on earth.
True
Since 1945 7.5 million
immigrants have settled in
Australia, and that number
doesn't count the initial
waves of migration from the
United Kingdom as the
country was colonised.
Just over a quarter of the
Australias population was
born overseas, a figure
considered high compared
with other developed
countries and comparable
with New Zealand, Canada and
the USA.
The government makes 190,000
places available in
Australias annual migration
program. The majority come
under the skilled migration
scheme. That figure amounts
to 0.8% of the Australian
population each year.
Muslim leaders failed to
condemn terror attacks in
Australia or express
sympathy
Not only is terrorism
seen around the world but it
is now part of our society,
with Muslim refugees
involved in the Lindt Cafe
siege, the Curtis Cheng
murder in Sydney and the
stabbing of the two police
officers in Melbourne. The
Grand Mufti and other Muslim
leaders are deafening with
their silence, or lack of
sympathy.
False
Condemnation of Islamic
radicalism has been widely
reported, as these links
demonstrate:
The Grand Mufti of Australia
joins Muslim community
leaders in condemning Sydney
siege, News.com.au
Muslim leaders urge
community to dig deep for
the family of Curtis Cheng,
Sydney Morning Herald
Melbourne teenager shot dead
after stabbing two police
officers, The Guardian
An informative (but
incomplete) reminder of
Muslim leaders speaking up
clearly, Crikey
There are more Australian
Muslims volunteering for
ISIS than there are in the
Australian Defence Force
Many more Australian
Muslims have volunteered, or
have tried to volunteer, to
fight for ISIS than we have
in our own Defence Force.
ASIO has over 509 terrorist
suspects under surveillance.
Debatable
The ADF told SBS that as of
1 August 2016 there were 106
members of the ADF who
self-identified as Muslim -
29 in the Navy, 55 in the
Army and 22 in the Air
Force.
They said there were an
additional 45 Active
Reservists who identified as
Muslim.
"It is important to note
that it is not mandatory for
ADF members to declare their
religion and therefore these
numbers should be used as a
guide only," a spokesperson
said.
According to
ASIO chief Duncan Lewis
in Senate Estimates in May
2016, there are 110
Australians known to be
serving with Islamic State
in Iraq and Syria. Another
190 Australians are
supporting the group through
funding, recruitment and
rhetorical support, the spy
chief said.
More than 200 Australian
passports have been canceled
or suspended on suspicions
that the individuals planned
to travel to the Middle East
to join Islamic State.
We could find no source for
Hansons claim that 509
terrorist suspects were
under surveillance.
Immigrants have stopped
Christmas carols from being
celebrated in schools
Their tolerance to our
customs has seen Christmas
carols no longer sung at
some schools.
False
This claim may have resulted
from an opinion piece in the
Australian last year
relating to guidelines in
Victoria, which the very
same paper said did not
ban Christmas carols.
Christmas carols are
specifically mentioned
as being appropriate in the
school curriculum.
Political Correctness has
seen bibles removed from
most hospitals
Their tolerance to our
customs has seen [...]
bibles not to be found in
most hospitals.
False
SBS understands that tens of
thousands of bibles continue
to be distributed to
hospitals in Australia by
groups like the Gideons.
A spokesperson from the
health department in the
Senator's home state of
Queensland told SBS that
bibles are available on
request in most public
hospitals in the state.
Public pools have 'Muslim
women only' times
Some public swimming
baths have times set aside
for Muslim women only
True
Some swimming pools in
Australia have set aside a
time for Muslim women to
swim, in some cases with a
curtain to ensure they can
not be observed by the
public.
Other swimming pools have
women-only swimming times,
including the Reservoir
Leisure pool, which notes
that the sessions are
popular with Muslim women,
but all women are welcome.
Fawkner Leisure Centre
in Moreland offers private
swimming sessions for women
and separate sessions for
men, to accommodate people
who seek private swimming
and fitness."
You can wear a burqa or
niqab when you get a
driver's license
Drivers licences are
obtained by Muslim women
wearing the burqa and niqab
False
In NSW, the requirements
state: Head coverings worn
for religious reasons may be
worn, but must be adjusted
so that your whole face is
visible, from the bottom of
your chin to the top of your
forehead, and both edges of
your face.
Similar requirements apply
in other states. The burqa
and the niqab both cover the
full face, making them
impermissible in driver's
license photos.
There are prayer rooms in
public areas for Muslims
Prayer rooms are now
provided in universities,
hospitals, schools, airports
and shopping centres to
accommodate Muslims.
True
Multi-faith rooms are
available in universities,
hospitals, schools, airports
and shopping centres to
allow for observance of the
Islamic faith, and other
faiths.
Sharia law is harsh and
incompatible with Australian
law
Muslims want to see
sharia law introduced in
Australia. This law is a
totalitarian civil code
which prescribes harsh
feudal rules imposed on
everything, firstly for
Muslims, later for everyone.
As long as Islam is
considered a religion,
sharia conflicts with our
secular state.
False
Sharia law explicitly states
that Muslims are obligated
to abide by the law of the
land.
University of Sydney legal
academic, Dr Ghena Krayem
told SBS the assumption
that Muslims want a separate
legal system that is called
Sharia - thats simply not
true.
What might surprise most
Australians is that most
Muslims live according to
Sharia every day of their
lives. They live
harmoniously. Theyre not
living in defiance of the
Australian law. They're not
seeking to set up a parallel
legal system, Dr Krayem
said.
It is true that some Muslim
leaders have called for
Australia to embrace legal
pluralism in order to allow
Muslims to marry, divorce
and conduct financial
transactions under the
principles of sharia.
In 2010, the president of
the Australian Islamic
Mission, Zachariah Matthews,
said elements of sharia law
- such as elements of family
law and inheritance law -
could function as a parallel
system in the same way that
some traditional Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander
law was recognised in the
Northern Territory
Two former Prime Ministers
have said they find the
burqa confronting
Burqas are not a
religious requirement. Most
Australians find them
confronting, as did two of
our former prime ministers.
True
In 2014, Prime Minister Tony
Abbott said, I find it a
fairly confronting form of
attire and frankly I wish it
werent worn." He added, We
are a free country, we are a
free society and its not
the business of government
to tell people what they
should and shouldnt wear.
In 2006 Prime Minister John
Howard said, I just think
its confronting, its
confronting to a lot of
people. He added, "Im not
saying it should be banned.
You dont ban what people
wear and you dont pass laws
on what people can and cant
do with their clothing.
SBS
Assoc Prof. Halim Rane's
response to Pauline Hansons
Senate Speech
It wasnt a polished
delivery, she sounded
nervous and stumbled on many
of her words. But it had
some appeal. There was a bit
of humour and the bits about
big corporations having an
adverse influence on
Australian politics
resonated with me. However,
almost all of what Senator
Hanson had to say about
Islam and Muslims, I found
disagreeable, ill-informed
and disingenuous.
Lets begin with Senator
Hansons remarks about being
swamped by Asians. This is
racist and offensive. Whats
wrong with Asians? Said in
the context is was, conveys
a sentiment that Asians are
unwelcome and undesirable. I
quite like the contributions
Asians have made to
Australia. Theyre generally
nice, hardworking, friendly
people. Theyve established
some excellent cuisine and
enriched the cultural
diversity of Australian
society. Asian Australians
have contributed to building
strong, cohesive communities
through their voluntary and
charitable work, businesses
and their many other
contributions to Australian
civic, cultural and social
life. I know there is some
criminality, even organised
crime, among some people of
Asian descent in Australia.
But people of all races,
ethnicities and religions
can be criminals. Its one
of the flaws of human
beings
we commit crimes.
Criminality is not
particular to any race,
ethnicity or religion.
Furthermore, this is planet
Earth, on which over 60
percent of its human
inhabitants are Asians. The
region in which Australia is
located is south of
Southeast Asia. That there
are not more Asians in
Australia would seem odd to
an outside observer.
As for now being in danger
of being swamped by
Muslims, again the
statement is racist,
offensive and wrong. Muslims
are between 2 and 3 percent
of the Australian
population. To someone not
of a settler background,
Australia would more likely
appear to be swamped by
people from the United
Kingdom. Given that Muslims
are 25 percent of the
worlds population and that
60 percent of the worlds
Muslims live in the
Asia-Pacific region, Muslims
are way under-represented in
Australia. The reason why
one might assume we are
being swamped by Muslims is
not based on facts but
because of the intense and
sustained focus on Islam and
Muslims by mass media
corporations for the past 15
years. There have been very
few days this century when
we have been able to watch
the television news, listen
to the radio, read a
newspaper or scroll through
our newsfeed without
reference being made to
Islam or Muslims. In regards
to Islam and Muslims, what
we are being swamped by is a
relentless media obsession
and fearmongering for
political expediency.
Senator Hanson then tells us
that Muslims bear a culture
and an ideology which is
incompatible with our own.
Take Muslims out of the
equation and Australia is
still a country comprised of
people with different and
competing cultures and
ideologies. Muslims
themselves are very diverse,
culturally and
ideologically. Various
groupings of Muslims in
Australia are more
culturally and ideologically
different from each other
than they are from some of
those within the rest of
Australian society. Surveys
consistently show that the
overwhelming majority of
Muslims self-identity as
Australians (84 percent
according to a recent study
by Dunn et. al. (2016); 92
percent according to a study
by Akbarzadeh et. al.
(2009)). In the same section
of her speech, Senator
Hanson speaks of the good
old days before federation
when Australias identity
had nothing to do with
diversity and everything to
do with belonging. The
result of that thinking was
genocide born of an
unwillingness to respect,
let alone accept, the rights
of Australias indigenous
population.
In the next part of her
speech, Senator Hanson asks
why Islam has had such an
impact on Australia like no
other religion. Really?
What impact have Muslims who
migrated to Australia for
over a century actually had
on the country? Not much
beyond the emergence of new
fashion that involves
wearing a head scarf (or
less popular face veil).
Muslims cant even claim the
credit for the re-emergence
of facial hair thanks to the
hipster trend. However,
Muslims could be onto
something with the burkini
its
sunsmart and we have a
problem with the sun giving
us skin cancer. We also have
many more restaurants to
choose from and, yes, many
goods we buy have a halal
label. Sure, a lot of this
is unnecessary as far as
most Muslims Australians are
concerned and many shake
their heads at the
individuals and
organisations that profit
from halal certification.
However, this label has
given Australian industries
and business access to
highly profitable global
markets. The benefits for
our economy far exceed any
associated costs. As for
Senator Hansons blaming of
Muslims for a diminishing of
Christmas celebrations and
the availability of Bibles
in certain public places,
what evidence is there that
Muslims are responsible?
Most Muslims I know in
Australia and around the
world dont celebrate
Christmas but they dont
begrudge other from doing so
nor reading a text Muslims
also consider sacred.
What exactly has been
Islams impact? Yes, we have
had quite a bit of new
policy and legislation to
keep refugees out of the
country and to strengthen
the powers of intelligence
agencies, police forces and
the judiciary to spy,
investigate, arrest,
prosecute and punish people
in Australia respectively.
But this was not done by
Islam. This legislation was
passed by our government
with the help of the
above-mentioned media
coverage and a compliant
political opposition. We
have a population amongst
which many have developed a
sense of fear and insecurity
in relation to Islam not
based on personal
experience, objective study
or even listening to what
the overwhelming majority of
Muslims globally (and in
Australia) say about their
religion as they understand
and practice it. No. The
Islam that is in the minds
of many Australians is based
on the dominant discourses
about the religion espoused
by politicians, journalists
and commentators, among whom
are some who are racist,
xenophobic and/or
islamophobic. The answer to
Senator Hansons question is
that there has been a
widespread adoption of a
particular interpretation or
version of Islam
the one
espoused by extremists,
terrorists and criminals,
rather than the far more
pervasive interpretations
and versions associated with
the vast majority of
Muslims. Why choose to
endorse the views of the
minority over those of the
majority?
In the main section on
Islam, Senator Hanson
states:
Islam
sees itself as a
theocracy. Islam does
not believe in
democracy, freedom of
speech, freedom of the
press, or freedom of
assembly. It does not
separate religion and
politics. It is partly a
religion but much more
than that. It has a
political agenda that
goes far outside the
realm of religion. It
regulates Muslim social
and domestic life, their
legal system and
politics, their total
life.
Islam is a
religion based on a belief
in god and acknowledgement
of Muhammad as a prophet,
daily prayers, almsgiving,
fasting and pilgrimage. It
is one of the Abrahamic
religions along with Judaism
and Christianity. Most
Muslims understand Islam to
be a way of life that guides
one in relation to the
worship of god and
coexistence with fellow
human beings. While the
former incorporates ideas
about creation,
accountability and the
afterlife, the latter
advocates such principles
and values as benevolence,
coexistence, compassion,
dignity, harmony, honesty,
justice, security and
wellbeing. The role that
Islam plays in the lives of
Muslim people varies widely,
although, prayer, charity
and fasting are practiced by
large majorities of Muslims
globally and represent the
essence of Islam as they
understand and practice the
faith (Pew Research Centre
2012).
Since the second half of the
20th century, the ideas of
several Muslim leaders,
including Pakistans Abul
Ala Maududi (d. 1979),
Egypts Sayyid Qutb (d.
1966) and Irans Ruhollah
Khomeini (d. 1989) led
global movements to
amalgamate Islam and
politics in modern Islamist
thought and action. However,
neither the Quran nor the
narrations attributed to the
Prophet Muhammad (Hadith)
offer, let alone endorse,
any political system. The
political systems of the
pre-modern Muslim world
developed after the death of
Muhammad according to the
conditions and realities of
the time not on the basis of
Islams teachings. While
democracy has not been a
feature of Muslim politics,
this has had little to do
with Islams teachings or
Muslim public opinion. Polls
conducted around the Muslim
world have shown a strong
demand for democratisation.
This phenomenon is not
occurring as an alternative
to Islam or a compromise of
Islamic principles, but
represents a widely-held
view among Muslims that
Islam and democracy are
compatible. The Arab Spring
of 2010-2012, was a clear
and profound expression of
support for freedom and
democracy. A Pew Research
Centre poll conducted in
2012 concluded that more
than a year after the first
stirrings of the Arab
Spring, there continues to
be a strong desire for
democracy in Arab and other
predominantly Muslim
nations. The study found
solid majorities in Egypt
(67%), Jordan (61%), Lebanon
(84%), Tunisia (63%) and
Turkey (71%) believe
democracy is the best form
of government (Pew Research
Centre 2012). However, a
more recent poll has found
that support for democracy
has weakened in the wake of
political instability and
economic decline.
Declining confidence in
democracy is a phenomenon
not exclusive to
Muslim-majority countries,
however. In Australia, for
instance, the Lowy Institute
found that only 60 percent
of the population believe
that democracy is preferable
to any other kind of
government. More striking
is that this figure drops to
42 percent among young
Australians between 18 and
29 years of age. Moreover,
given a choice between a
good democracy and a strong
economy, only a slight
majority of 53 percent
choose a good democracy.
Their reasons were that
democracy is not working
because there is no real
difference between the
policies of the major
parties, and that
democracy only serves the
interests of a few and not
the majority (Oliver 2014).
Such sentiments are
reflected in a study of
democracy in the United
States which found:
economic
elites and organized
groups representing
business interests have
substantial independent
impacts on U.S.
government policy, while
average citizens and
mass-based interest
groups have little or no
independent influence.
The results provide
substantial support for
theories of Economic
Elite Domination and for
theories of Biased
Pluralism, but not for
theories of Majoritarian
Electoral Democracy or
Majoritarian Pluralism
(Gilens and Page 2014,
p. 564).
Senator
Hansons above-quoted
statements regarding Islam
demonstrate a lack of
understanding of and
appreciation for the
diversity of Muslims and
Islamic thought, past and
present. The Muslim world
has always featured multiple
schools of thought in
respect to theology,
philosophy and
jurisprudence. Muslim
fundamentalists and
extremist groups, like the
Taliban, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and
Boko Haram, want to convince
the world that their
Islamist agenda is the only
legitimate Islam. Inspired
and educated by the
Wahhabist ideology of the
Saudi Arabian regime, such
groups advocate a monolithic
interpretation and actively
destroy evidence of Islams
historic intellectual and
cultural pluralism and
manifestations of cultural
diversity and
interpretations of Islam
with which they disagree.
Unfortunately, Senator
Hanson is unwittingly
serving this agenda. We have
a problem with ignorance and
extremism, which is
especially troubling when
our elected representatives
are in agreement with
religious fundamentalists.
Toowoomba Muslims hit
back at 'extremist' Pauline
Hanson
AN Islamic
religious leader in
Toowoomba has hit back at
controversial Queensland
Senator Paul Hanson's claims
that Australia risks being
"swamped" by Muslims,
calling her an extremist.
Ms Hanson made the claims in
her maiden speech and also
echoed her infamous speech
20 years ago in which she
said the country was in
danger of being swamped by
Asians.
Professor Shahjahan Khan,
the founding president of
the Islamic Society of
Toowoomba said Ms Hanson was
either either ill or
uninformed on Islam.
He also accused her of
deliberately spreading false
claims to divide Australians
for what he called
"unethical political gain".
Prof Khan, who was also the
vice president of the
Islamic Council Queensland,
said he had invited her to
the Garden City Mosque just
after the Federal election
to sit together and discuss
her false claims about
Islam.
"I am yet to hear from her,"
he said.
Prof Khan said Muslims in
Toowoomba were very open.
"Our mosque is open to
anyone, and she is welcome
to have an open discussion
over a morning or afternoon
tea or lunch or dinner as
she prefers.
"It seems that she is a
great helper of the
extremist and violent groups
in recruiting their
supporters by dividing
Australians and promoting
hate and creating
environment of Australians
fight Australians.
"This is what the extremists
want, and she is playing
into their hands."
Prof Khan said Ms Hanson's
"politics of hate" had not
only unleashed attacks on
Muslims and Asians but now
extended to demanding
Australia exit from the
United Nations.
"People may wonder if she
would suggest non-indigenous
Australians exit Australia?"
he said.
"Where is the end of it?
"A party without any
credible policy or plan to
tackle the most important
issues of our nation -
recognition of the right of
the first people, national
security, health, education,
environment, economy,
regional and foreign
relations etc - lacks
credibility to be doing any
good for the public.
"If she is a genuine
politician, I request her to
promote unity of all
Australians and engage with
everyone concerned to remove
her ignorance and get her
facts straight from original
sources and people with
authentic knowledge."
Prof Khan said Islam was an
ancient religion and deeply
and widely related to the
many teachings of the Bible.
"It has peacefully
co-existed with many faiths
including Christianity and
Judaism for well over 14
centuries.
"No one needs to re-invent
the wheel, any claim to do
so is only exposing the
hidden gross ignorance or
deliberate hate-mongering.
"I commend Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull and Leader
of the Opposition Bill
Shorten for speaking against
her divisive rhetoric, and I
hope she would stop
spreading Islamophobia and
speak for all Australians
regardless of faith and
ethnicity."
Source:
The Chronicle
PRESS
RELEASE: Muslims
Australia The Australian
Federation of Islamic
Councils commends Prime
Minister Turnbulls
rejection of Hansons crude
divisive ill-informed Islamophobic rhetoric.
Muslims Australia reaches
out to Ms. Hanson.
In her
maiden speech in the Senate,
Pauline Hanson made wild
allegations and grossly
exaggerated generalisations
against Islam and Australian
Muslims. Her words were
ill-informed, hurtful,
divisive and create
tremendous concern for
Muslim Australians and
Australian society. Said
Mr. Keysar Trad, President,
Muslims Australia The
Australian Federation of
Islamic Councils.
Ms. Hansons comments
confound the dictates of the
conscience of every decent
Australian, such comments
are divisive, harmful to
Australian society and
embarrassing to our senate
and our nation. Said Mr.
Trad.
I commend Prime Minister
Turnbull for rejecting Ms.
Hansons comments, the prime
minister is showing
leadership and a positive
direction for Australian
society in rejecting
Hansons divisive rhetoric.
Said Mr. Trad
Whilst profoundly critical
of Ms. Hansons comment, I
stretch my hand with love
and goodwill, offering to
spend as much time as
necessary with Ms. Hanson to
answer her questions about
Islam (with references), no
strings attached, meals and
refreshments will be
provided with my
compliments. Said Mr. Trad.
If you want a response
from the Muslim community,
first understand it
By
Mostafa Rachwani
Pauline Hanson isnt the
first to lament the silence
of the Muslim community. But
why should we participate in
a discussion that reduces us
to a caricature?
In the days and months
following Pauline Hansons
maiden speech in the Senate,
there will be request upon
request made for the
Australian Muslim
community to respond.
From the outside looking in,
such a request seems
harmless, even justified.
Hanson did, after all,
dedicate a large majority of
her address to Muslims and
Islam, so it appears to be
rather logical to seek a
response from said
community.
Unfortunately for them,
journalists and news
presenters are usually met
with a seemingly
inexplicable wall of silence
from the Muslim community.
It may seem frustrating to
some who are seeking a
balanced discussion, but
it disguises much larger
issues.
Firstly, seeking comment
from any representative on
Hansons speech on Wednesday
night ignores the fact that
she doesnt actually make
any sense.
Its one issue to try to
respond to a thin veneer of
logic, veiling a racist
agenda, and another entirely
to respond to an illogical
rant. It would be
challenging just to know
where to start.
Furthermore, in requesting a
Muslim response on Hanson,
there are implications that
one single person can
actually represent the
entire Muslim community.
Very often, comment will be
sought from people like the
Grand Mufti or the Head of
the Australian National
Imams Council (ANIC), as
though representation mimics
a hierarchy.
There is no hierarchy in the
Muslim community, and there
is no peak body or
individual who can
adequately speak on behalf
of the entire community. Our
community is made up of a
complex web of ethnicities,
backgrounds, sects,
cultures, generations and
political groups, with
constant cross-pollination.
There are no clear divides
between these lines, and no
one uniting factor.
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