The situation has become so bad for Australian Muslims that it has forced the Federal Police Commissioner to intervene and speak out against the persecution and alienating of the Muslim community, including racial profiling and victimization.

“As I travel around the country and speak to different Islamic communities, I hear more and more stories of treatment of the Islamic community that really is substandard by members of our own wider community, such as vilification or picking them out of the crowd because they dress or speak differently”, said Mick Keelty. However, Keelty should be more concerned with the government policy — institutionalized racism and the new laws that specifically target Muslims.

Racism has deep roots in Anglo Australia. Its roots are nurtured and propagated by politicians, and the inherently racist media. As the domination of Australia by white Anglo settlers over the native and nonwhites prevailed, racist notions emerged as justification for white privilege and power. The arrival in Australia of Muslim immigrants from the Middle East resulted in racial confrontations with the Anglo settlers, promoting discrimination against Muslims. The violent attacks against Muslim Australians of Middle Eastern origin in the Sydney beachside suburb of Cronulla was one recent example of Australia’s underlying racism.

Viewing Muslims as different and inhumane, Anglo Australians institutionalized racism patronized by the elites in the government, the education system and the justice system, which they feed to the media.

Muslims are vilified and demonized in order to justify greater violence and destruction against Muslims in Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan. The slaughter of hundreds of thousands of innocent Muslim women and children in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine has not shaken anyone’s conscience.

Whether it is the Murdoch press (led by the warmongering, The Australian), the ABC, the mainstream TV Channels, the Sydney Morning Herald or the more jingoist, The West Australian, they are all promoting a racist ideology.

The media has also enlisted native informers to confirm it for Australians that attacks on Muslims and Islam are justified. Tanveer Ahmed, an anti-Arab vulgar from Bangladesh has become a household name in Australian media. His distorted comparison of Islam with communism won him many anti-Muslim fascist friends, including those in the Catholic Church’s hierarchy. Ahmed is telling the media what the media wants to propagate against Muslims. He is blaming the Muslims for their own suffering and frees the government from any responsibility. It is like telling members of the Jewish community that “anti-Semitism” is your problem and you should do something about it.

Likewise Andrew Robb, the parliamentary secretary to the minister for immigration and multicultural affairs, reiterated on Sept, 16, 2006, the government’s official line of holding the Muslim community solely responsible for a set of conditions generated as a consequence of a brutal and oppressive Western ideology. He stated: “And, because it is your faith that is being invoked as justification for these evil acts, it is your problem”, ignoring that the illegal invasion of Iraq was the most violent act of terrorism on a defenseless Muslim nation.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister John Howard always refers to Muslim Australians in the third person as “they” and “them.” Every time Muslims and Islam are attacked, the Australian prime minister barks in support of such racist attacks. Talking on the violently racist talkback Radio like 2GB, Howard uses racism to manipulate the public and divert attention from important domestic issues. He was able to convert his prejudices into political tools and advance his right-wing ideology.

A recent Saulwick Poll found that 55 percent thought the prime minister is a divisive leader. In ten years, the Howard government has succeeded in replacing every progressive step that has been achieved in the last quarter century with two steps backward.

Howard’s attacks on Muslims sit very well with Western hypocrites who are addicted to bias against Muslims. We all know how the US-led occupation forces, including Australians, treat women in Iraq. Anyone with basic education knows how women are treated in Australia. Howard should know better how Dianne Brimble was treated by a gang of Australian men and left dead on cruise liner. Even women with disabilities are not spared the horror, promoted by Howard as “Australian values” and “respect for women”. “When Howard says migrants must be fully prepared to embrace Australian attitudes toward women, that is the dog whistle he is blowing”, said Sen. John Faulkner (Labor, NSW).

Muslims are arrested and charged for minor incidents. Muslim offenders who committed minor crimes were given much harsher penalties than non-Muslim Australians who committed far more serious crimes. The aim is to criminalize Muslims and make it difficult for them to find employment and be part of the community.

As a result of the Howard government’s policy, racial abuses and violent attacks directed against Muslim Australians have increased dramatically.

— Ghali Hassan lives in Perth, Western Australia. He can be contacted at: [email protected]