COMMENT: Show us your (average) face!

There's been alot of talk in the Herald Sun lately about that nasty thing called multiculturalism. I guess it's been a slow news period, and many tabloid readers perhaps believe Egypt is still ruled by pharaohs.

Conventional wisdom on planet Murdoch tells us that when wogs come to town, they have to adopt our ways. They need to be just like us.

Meanwhile, back here on planet Earth, The Age reports of a South African photographer who came up with a composite morphed Aussie face after a visit to Sydney University.

Mike notes that Sydney boasts one of the most multicultural populations in the world and this was reflected in the faces he photographed. 35 per cent of Sydney's population were born outside of Australia and this rises to 70 per cent in downtown Sydney, Mike claims.


"The city's population is primarily of European extraction (British, Irish, Italian, Greek and Maltese) with about 15 per cent being of Asian origin (Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Thai and Indian)," he says.


"There are also sizeable communities of Pacific Islanders, New Zealanders, Lebanese, Turks and South Africans."


Mike described his visit to Sydney University as a "veritable United Nations", saying out of about one hundred people he photographed there were 30 nationalities represented.

But heck, you don't have to like multiculturalism as a government policy. You just have to accept it as a social reality. Australia no longer has just a white face. It's a fact only the white trash appear to be worried about.

Now here's some word of wisdom from a bunch of allegedly real Australians.



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OPINION: What do Aussies really know about Indonesia?

Indonesia is our closest neighbour. It also happens to be the largest Muslim-majority state in the world. Yet just how much do Australians know about Indonesia? At one time Indonesian was almost as commonly taught in high schools as French and German. My Grade 5 Social Studies exam in 1980 included a question on Pancasila, the 5 principles of Indonesian civic life. But today, for many Australians, Indonesia is represented not by its shadow puppetry or its batik artistry. Instead, we view Indonesians as smiling replicas of Amrozi, the convicted Bali bomber facing execution.

But what do ordinary Indonesians think of groups like Jemaah Islamiyah? Estimates of JI’s membership vary from just under 100 to several thousand. Compare this to Nahdhatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim religious organisation, whose youth wing alone has over 10 million members.

I personally never realised just how much ordinary Indonesians hated the Bali bombers until I actually went there in January 2006. I was part of a delegation on an exchange program organised by the Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII) and funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade.

Before leaving for Indonesia, our delegation was given a briefing by AII experts about Indonesia, its history, politics and its unique approach to religiosity. Once we reached Jakarta, we visited the Australian Embassy where we were advised by embassy staff to tome down our Aussie-style brashness when meeting with ordinary Indonesians, who rarely engage in blunt or deliberately controversial discourse even when the strongly disagree with each other.

Our AII tour was no sheltered workshop with visits limited to groups on friendly terms with the Australian embassy. We were politely grilled by Indonesian journalists, many of whom saw Australia as being defined by Pauline Hanson and the Cronulla riots. We were also exposed to every kind of Indonesian Islam you could imagine – from firebrand charismatic Salafis to ecumenical interfaith activists of Interfidei to youth reps of Muhammadiyah and Nahdhatul Ulama (Indonesia’s largest Islamic organisations) to students at a traditional pesantren or religious boarding school.

At a university in Jogjakarta, I met a Balinese student researching the impact of the Bali bombings on the economy of not just Bali but also nearby islands and even eastern and central Java, Indonesia’s economic and cultural heartland. A year later in Sydney, I met another Balinese chap in Australia visiting on an AII exchange program. This fellow requested me to take him to Cronulla Beach. I assumed it was to see the scene of the 2005 race riots. It was only when I saw him reciting traditional Muslim prayers reserved for one’s deceased relatives at the memorial for Bali victims that I realised why he really wanted to be there.

Many Australians died in the Bali bombings, but so did many Indonesians. Thousands of Indonesian families and communities had suffered loss of livelihood and severe poverty thanks to the terrorist attacks in Bali. Mentioning Amrozi and other Bali bombers exhibits the kind of uncharacteristically brutal response we was told Indonesians only rarely exhibit. If more Australians understood just how unpopular the Bali bombers are in their own country and just how many ordinary Indonesians’ livelihoods have been destroyed, we would understand exactly why Amrozi smiles so much.

When Indonesians smile or chuckle, it’s often out of embarrassment or shame. It’s possible Amrozi’s smile is of this kind. His words may be defiant but Amrozi knows millions of Indonesians are looking forward to his execution.

Most Indonesians are Muslim, but their Islam doesn’t fit popular stereotypes. My AII delegation stayed in the hostel of a popular Muslim televangelist known to his followers as Aa Gym and who once had millions of young urban Indonesian followers. His message of Manajemen Qulbu (literally "heart management") has proven far more popular than the rants of Abu Bakar Bashir.
Aa Gym’s sex scandal spoiled his popularity. Admittedly, this was no ordinary televangelist sex scandal. With the permission of his existing wife, Aa Gym took on a second wife. Almost overnight, he went from being religious rockstar to social outcast. His followers were seen tearing up his posters on national TV.

Indonesians may have little tolerance for polygamy, but they have even less tolerance for extremist violence. The bombs of Amrozi and Imam Samudra don’t discriminate on the basis of religion, even if their sick demented political theology does.

Irfan Yusuf is a lawyer and research associate at the Australian Homeland Security Research Centre. An edited version of this article appeared in the Herald Sun on Monday 6 October 2008.

Words © 2008 Irfan Yusuf

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CRIKEY: Shame - the secret behind Amrozi's smile ...

I never realised just how much ordinary Indonesians hated the Bali bombers until I actually went there. It was January 2006, and I was on an exchange program organised by the Australia-Indonesia Institute. Before going, the AII gave is a briefing about Indonesia, its history, politics and its unique approach to religiosity. Indonesians are gentle, polite and quiet-spoken people.

Our delegation was further briefed in Jakarta by an awesome professional at the Embassy. We were advised to tome down our Aussie-style polemic. Apart from the odd dingo cartoon, Indonesians rarely engage in blunt or deliberately controversial discourse, let alone the sort of crass moronic ad hominem nonsense we've become accustomed to in this country.

During our trip, we were exposed to every kind of Indonesian Islam you could imagine -- from firebrand charismatic Salafis to ecumenical interfaith activists of Interfidei to youth reps of Muhammadiyah and Nahdhatul Ulama (Indonesia’s largest Islamic organisations) to students at a traditional pesantren (the kind of religious boarding school Barack Obama never attended outside Jakarta.

At the Gadjah Mada University in Jogjakarta, I met a Balinese postgrad doing his thesis on the impact of the Bali bombings on the economy of not just Bali but also nearby islands and even eastern and central Java, the island that forms Indonesia’s economic and cultural powerhouse. A year later in Sydney, I met another Balinese chap in Australia visiting on an AII exchange program. Both told me about how their families and communities had suffered thanks to the terrorist attacks in Bali, not to mention how so many locals as well as foreigners were killed and wounded.

(This fellow requested me to take him to Cronulla Beach. I assumed it was to see the scene of the 2005 race riots. It was only when I saw him reciting traditional Muslim prayers reserved for one’s deceased relatives at the memorial for Bali victims that I realised why he really wanted to be there.)

Mentioning Amrozi and other Bali bombers exhibits the kind of uncharacteristically brutal response I was told Indonesians only rarely exhibit. If more Australians understood just how unpopular the Bali bombers are in their own country and just how many ordinary Indonesians’ livelihoods have been destroyed, we would understand exactly why Amrozi smiles so much.

When Indonesians smile or chuckle, it’s often because they are embarrassed or ashamed about something they’ve said or done. Amrozi’s smile, referred to in today’s Age, is more likely one of shame or embarrassment. Notwithstanding his defiant words, Amrozi knows millions of Indonesians are looking forward to his execution. The bombs of Amrozi and Imam Samudra don’t discriminate on the basis of religion, even if their sick demented political theology does.

First published in the Crikey daily alert for 2 October 2008.

Words © 2008 Irfan Yusuf

OPINION: Australians shrug off inflammatory racism

The phrase "only in America" is often used Downunder to scoff at the eccentricity of Americans. But sometimes American media and politicians show more good sense than eccentricity.

In one incident involving racism and sexism of a major media personality, the Yanks have certainly shown more good sense than the Aussies.

In the United States, popular talkback host Don Imus soon discovered the cost of making racist and sexist slurs. After describing the mostly black women's basketball team at Rutgers University as "nappy-headed hos", civil rights and anti-racism campaigners immediately went into action. They could tell a slur when they heard one. They knew that the term "nappy" was used to describe the tightly-curled natural hair texture of many African-Americans.

Rallies and protests were organised, one led by African-American civil rights leader Al Sharpton outside the NBC offices. Sharpton told protesters ...

None of us has the right to use the public airways in the way that Mr Imus has done.

Later, in an interview with Imus, Sharpton expressed the views of many Americans:

You have anchormen from network news, you have senators, you have presidential candidates that come on your show. Are we saying that it is acceptable in the middle of these kinds of candidates and anchormen for you to call my daughter a ho?

Major corporations withdrew millions of dollars in advertising, and big names Procter & Gamble and General Motors pulled advertisements from Imus' show.

Imus was no small-time talkback host - politicians have used his programme to announce their presidential nominations.

Imus has been dropped from radio and other programmes.

Let's compare the treatment of Imus with his Sydney equivalent, shock-jock Channel 9 Today Show editorial commentator Alan Jones.

In the lead-up to the December 2005 race riots in the southern Sydney suburb of Cronulla, Jones and his colleagues on Sydney talkback radio station 2GB made a series of broadcasts which contributed to the worst race riots experienced in Sydney.

The Cronulla riots were brought about by rumours that Middle East youths from outside the area had assaulted two lifeguards.

In the days leading up to the riots, Jones and his colleagues read out inflammatory and racist e-mails and fielded racist phone calls.

Jones didn't use his delay switch to stop the broadcast of racist slurs and threats of violence. He seemed oblivious to the racism inherent in the emails he read out, sometimes even endorsing their contents.

In one broadcast, Jones endorsed the view that ...

... biker gangs be present at Cronulla railway station when these Lebanese thugs arrive ... it would be worth the price of admission to watch these cowards scurry back on to the train for the return trip to their lairs ...

and that ...

... we don't have Anglo-Saxon kids out there raping women in western Sydney.

One letter Jones read on air said ...

These Middle Eastern people must be treated with a big stick. It's the only thing they fear. They don't fear fines and they laugh at the courts.

One of Jones' colleagues described Lebanese as being "inbred" and having low IQs.

Unlike Imus, Jones' remarks have been commented on by an official law enforcement report and an independent commercial radio watchdog. The Australian Communications and Media Authority found that Alan Jones, on the eve of the Cronulla riots, made comments "likely to encourage violence or brutality" or "vilify" people of Middle East background.

Imus was apologetic about his on-air slurs, but Jones chose to pass judgment on the authority. He made a series of deeply offensive personal on-air attacks on authority chairman Chris Chapman, saying he "had more jobs than I've had feeds". It takes a high level of hubris to do this before the authority had even issued its punishment.

But then why should Jones feel threatened? Unlike their American counterparts' responses to Imus, Australian politicians are rushing to Jones' defence.

Labor Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd said there was nothing in the authority's decision that would cause him to stop appearing on the Jones show.

And Communications Minister Helen Coonan, after praising Jones, called for commercial radio to suggest changes to the code so that it ...

... best reflects community standards.

Prime Minister John Howard suggested that Jones ...

... represents the views of a lot of people on a lot of issues.

That suggests that the Government considers that a broadcasting code should allow broadcasters to incite violence and brutality against certain undesirable ethnic groups as this reflects community standards and is in accord with what a lot of Australians think.

No major Australian companies have even threatened to withdraw advertising or sponsorship from Jones' programme or from his radio station.

Yes, yes. I can hear from my Sydney office what you are all saying in New Zealand: "Only in Australia."

Irfan Yusuf is a Sydney lawyer and writer. First published in the NZ Herald on 10 May 2007.
Words © 2007 Irfan Yusuf


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POLITICS/COMMENT: Why Debnam's ethnic crime ploy makes little sense ...

On Thursday 12 January 2006, the Member for Vaucluse and NSW Opposition Leader Peter Debnam accused police of effectively behaving corruptly.

He said police had not been consistent in their patters of arrest during and following the Cronulla riots. He said they had not arrested a single person for the reprisal attacks, allegedly carried out by Middle Eastern youths from the Canterbury and Bankstown area, in the days following the Cronulla riots.

Mr Debnam suggested that various ALP MP’s, including the Premier himself, were telling police to go soft on Middle Eastern gangs. He even went so far as to state that the ALP was letting ethnic branch stacking of the late 1990’s to affect law enforcement.

Further, Mr Debnam suggested that certain ethnic communities pressured police and politicians to go soft on criminals. He said ...

The Labor Party seems to be indebted to certain ethnic groups ...

... without specifying which groups these were.

Basically, Mr Debnam was suggesting that police and politicians were allowing criminals to get away with all sorts of activities. He suggested some ethnic communities themselves were involved.

If Mr Debnam’s claims are correct, they should provide ICAC with enough work for it to take up another 5 floors of CBD office space. If Mr Debnam’s claims are untrue, he should do the decent thing and resign.

Debnam has decided to play ethno-religious wedge politics. He realises he has little chance of winning the next state election without some high-risk strategy that he hopes will yield high electoral return. Frankly, I think the whole thing will blow up in his face. For the sake of the people of NSW, I hope it does,

Before Mr Debnam starts playing the race card, he should consider having a few words with the former and current Federal Members for the Federal seat of Cook. This seat takes in Cronulla. He should take advantage of the combined wisdom of Bruce Baird and Stephen Mutch, both of whom have a string understanding of the area and are exceptionally astute in state and federal politics.

Bruce Baird’s assessment of the situation in Cronulla was one in which race was but one of a range of factors. ALP branch stacking is perhaps among the least relevant of these factors, presuming it appears at all on Mr Baird’s list.

Further, Mr Debnam’s comments show a complete ignorance of the various factions that make up the Lebanese communities. Lebanese Australians are not one monolithic community, and religion is not the only dividing line amongst this ethnic group. Further, most crime gangs include members from a range of ethnic and religious groups.

And why on earth would members of any ethnic community want thugs and gangs operating in their backyard? The prevalence of crime affects the quality of life of all people living in the Canterbury Bankstown region. The suggestion is almost as absurd as suggesting that the Vietnamese community benefits from criminal activities of criminals such as those involved in the murder of the former ALP State Member for Cabramatta.

When crime goes up in an area, property prices go down. I am no expert in real estate, but as far as I know, it’s impossible for any ethnic group to influence the property market so as to avoid such trends.

On Saturday January 14, Sydney Morning Herald columnist Paul Sheehan attempted to show links between the ALP and even terror suspects, including the very non-Lebanese Willie Brigitte.

Sheehan and Debnam are trying to paint a picture of some deep dark Lebanese and/or Middle Eastern and/or Muslim conspiracy to protect criminal gangs. In doing so, they display both ignorance and hypocrisy.

Mr Debnam is quoted as saying he visited Auburn and saw a church burnt down. Which part of Auburn is he talking about? I lived in Auburn for a number of years and having even run as an endorsed Liberal candidate for a federal seat that takes in Auburn. I am in Auburn at least twice a week visiting friends and clients. I feel qualified to comment on the area.

As far as I know (and I have had this confirmed by locals), no church in Auburn was burnt down. Rather, a hall adjacent to a local church frequented by an Islander community was torched. Whether this attack was aimed at the adjacent church or the equally adjacent Islamic independent school is hard to say.

And it’s a bit rich for Debnam to talk about ethnic and religious branch stacking. Debnam knows the long history of links between the NSW Liberals and fringe ethno-religious groups. These groups include some of the most extreme elements in the Lebanese communities, both Christian and Muslim.

During my 10 years of involvement in Liberal branches in the seats of Canterbury, Bankstown, Auburn and East Hills, I was frequently approached by power brokers in the Right Wing of the NSW Liberal Party. At the time, some of these people were on State Executive. One is now in State Parliament. All form the backbone of Mr Debnam’s support base in the NSW Parliamentary Liberal Party.

I was often encouraged to use my personal contacts to recruit local Lebanese Muslims to branches, including those known to have been recruited to ALP branches during the preselection battle between Morris Iemma and Tony Stewart. Some of these people showed me their ALP membership cards. I mentioned this to the Right Wing power brokers. They said it didn’t matter so long as the State Director or the “Group” didn’t find out.

I was even told to use the line that we conservatives hated Jews, homosexuals and others. On one occasion, a right wing power broker (now a State MP) told me to use this reason to recruit members into the Auburn branch. He gave me this instruction following a meeting he arranged between myself and Auburn branch officials following my nomination to be the Liberal Candidate in the September 2001 Auburn by-election. The meeting took place at the Mado Turkish Restaurant in Auburn.

Thankfully, anti-Semitism was not the source of membership growth in our local branches. Rather, it was our consistent array of high profile guests such as the Mayor of Sarajevo and former Pakistan test cricket captain Imran Khan which led to most new members joining.

Of course, we all know about the ethno-religious wedge politics and stacking that Mr Debnam’s supporters tried to pull off at the Croatian Club in May 2004. That meeting was designed to revive the Bankstown Young Liberals.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on May 7 2004 of substantial violence at the meeting, resulting in police being called. Around 230 people attended the meeting, which erupted into an all-out brawl in which even a pregnant woman was attacked.

Eyewitnesses reported racial and religious taunts being made at certain persons applying to join the branch. One NSW Right supporter complained to the Herald that their factional opponents ...

... brought people along who have written articles against the government, a lot of people who are Muslims.

In the aftermath of the brawl, the Party’s head office promised a full investigation. The then State Director Scott Morrison told the Herald:

Anyone found to have engaged in misbehaviour through police inquiries can expect swift and sharp action from the party.

To this day, no such swift and sharp action has been taken.

The attempted reformation of the branch was undertaken at the request of then Young Liberal President Alex Hawke. It was widely seen as an attempt by the Religious Right to undermine the pre-selection chances of moderate Liberal Upper House member John Ryan. Ironically, Mr Ryan is himself a committed Christian.

The NSW Liberals seem prepared to do anything, including play racial and religious wedge politics. In doing so, they do themselves, their supporters and the people of NSW a grave disservice.

Words © 2005 Irfan Yusuf