Shallow Report vs Deep Problem

Stereotypes no substitute for understanding
March 20, 2006

Only one in six Australians has a good understanding of Islam, writes Kevin Dunn.

IGNORANCE, stereotyping, curiosity and tolerance: that's the richly varied mix of attitudes Muslims face in their everyday dealings with other Australians.

My research shows that the level of understanding - and misunderstanding - they encounter varies according to the age, gender and level of education of the people they meet. So there is no simple answer to the question of how best to improve understanding of a faith group that constitutes one in every 28 Sydneysiders.

The levels of ignorance are clear: when a survey by Roy Morgan Research in 2003 asked a representative selection of Australians to summarise their knowledge of Islamic beliefs, 40 per cent could give no answer at all. Half knew a little bit about Islam.

Survey comments were sprinkled with self-deprecation and honesty: "Are they the people who can't eat cows? No. They have a God." Among the more ludicrous answers: "They make peace rings and place them on the streets - not too sure if it's true."

Ignorance is fertile soil for virtually any idea to take root.

My research suggests that only one in six Australians has a good understanding of Islam and its followers. Some of what passes for knowledge of Islam is of concern. It is a mix of critical comments, as well as perceptions of core beliefs and key religious practices.

The critical comments are dominated by stereotypes: that Muslims are intolerant of other faiths and that they are fundamentalists, along with references to fanaticism, militancy and misogyny. Overall, about one-quarter of the population resorts to stereotypes as their stated knowledge of Islam. This is a poor form of "knowledge" and certainly does not promote better community relations.

The small proportion who claim a reasonable or better knowledge are able to cite key aspects of Islamic faith. Ten per cent knew enough Islamic theology to make reference to Allah, Muhammad or the Koran. Among this segment there is an impressive depth of knowledge.

Younger people are more ignorant about Islam yet, paradoxically, they report higher levels of contact with Muslims and are less likely to perceive Islam as a threat. Older people claim stronger knowledge, have less contact and are more fearful. The same is true for those without tertiary education and for women.

An Indonesian Muslim living in Victoria told Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission researchers that workmates had shown more interest in Islam since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and the Bali bombings. "Because of this I have been asked a lot about Islam." Campaigns to improve community knowledge of Islam should capitalise on this heightened interest.

Awareness needs to be raised through popular culture and the media. Stronger and more positive cross-cultural contact is also important. These are the means by which Islamic Australia can be publicly normalised.

Normalisation does not mean assimilation or dissipation. The prayer routines, dietary regulations and core beliefs of Islam need to be demystified.

Nor should normalisation generate a homogenous idea of Australian Islam. One-third of Muslims were born in Australia but the rest come from elsewhere.

Australian Muslims also have varying approaches to religious performance. To unsettle stereotypes and other fixed ideas, a stronger sense of this diversity needs to be aired.

Ignorance has its negative manifestation in Islamophobia. Fifty-six per cent of my survey respondents perceive Islam as a threat.

Yet ignorance and fear are tempered by strong strains of tolerance. Research with a colleague, Jim Forrest of Macquarie University, found that 85 per cent of Australians agree it is a good thing for our society to be made up of different cultures. In other research, we found that 81 per cent of Australians are not bothered by Muslim women wearing headscarves, and only 4 per cent think they should be banned. Australian tolerance, on these measures, is far greater than in much of western Europe.

Research on the Australian bases of tolerance shows the importance the community attaches to religious freedom, individual freedom of expression, democratic freedom and an emerging commitment to multiculturalism.

These are solid foundations for religious tolerance. Understanding generates a sense of shared humanity and citizenship, to which these bases of tolerance can then apply.

Ignorance locks out sections of our community. We should remember that a sense of alienation can also be fertile ground for antisocial ideas.

Kevin Dunn is a senior lecturer in geography in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences in the Faculty of Science at the University of NSW.


Comment: This report, commissioned by the a Committee promoting Indonesia in Australia, gives its owner a good return for its investment. It quickly runs across the surface of the Islam Problem, asks motherhood questions and gets the sort of answers that will please the 'everything is just fine in Islam' school of cheerleaders.

Why are there stereotypes? What is a stereotype?

According to Kevin Dunn, it is a stereotype to describe muslims as violent after watching months of riots and arson perpetrated by muslims around the world, in response to their complaints. Apparently unless 100% of all the muslims around the world are rioting it is a stereotype to mention violence and Islam.

Sadly for Mr. Dunn, his report was issued on a day when it is reported from Islamic Afghanistan that some poor fellow is about to be killed because he has apostasised from Islam and converted to Christianity. Violence in Islam? No way!!

This kind of purchased report is going to be a bane in Australia. It will strenghten the whiney Australian 'she'll be right' school of problem solving. This kind of report never tackles the ingrained problems faced by Muslims in Australia. The problem is not how many australians can wax lyrical about Sunni or Shia schools of jurisprudence, or how many australians know about Mohammed's last wife (age 9 at consummation of the marriage). The problem is the impediments from within the local Islamic communities thrown up at local muslims to prevent their proper integration into Australia.

Proper integration means accepting the reality of Australia as a Western country with Western standards of civil rights, legal equality, and social openness. There are actually serious problems in Australia within the muslim communities in getting these basic norms accepted. The core principles of Western society are categorically rejected by every imam in Australia. Opposition to these Australian norms and Western principles comes from the Wahhabi fascist 'lecturers', from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who are readily given visas to enter Australia on propaganda tours.

Dunn-like, 'she'll be right' approaches are perfect for running a barbeque...the same approach will be fatal for public policy.

Is anyone awake in Canberra?