BY ALISON DELLIT
In the wake of the September 11 mass murder in the United States, Australians from Middle Eastern backgrounds and Muslims are suffering escalating verbal and physical abuse. The most serious incident has been the petrol bombing of a Brisbane mosque on September 14.
Islamic and Arab organisations in Australia have condemned the terrorist attacks.
On September 12, a Brisbane bus carrying students to an Islamic school was pelted with rocks. Although nobody was injured, the students were too traumatised to study. In Sydney, later that night there was an attempt to set fire to St Mary's Antiochian Orthodox church — which has a predominantly Lebanese congregation. Another church in Sydney's west had "Lebanese fucks" painted on it.
The racist abuse has followed a commercial media frenzy that has centred on footage of a dozen Palestinians "celebrating" the attack. On September 13, five hours before the mosque was bombed, Channel Nine's A Current Affair interviewed several people who claimed they had seen Lebanese men chanting in "thanksgiving" for the US attack.
A Current Affair did not interview representatives from anti-racist organisations or ethnic community councils. Instead, a young Lebanese-Australian, who had been stopped in the street, attempted to explain the deep anti-US anger in Middle Eastern communities. These comments were intercepted with the Palestinian footage.
According to Queensland Islamic Council chairperson Sultan Deen, verbal abuse against Muslims on the street, and threats to mosques have become more frequent. "It is very disturbing", Deen said. "They are saying things like 'You will be held responsible' and 'we'll get you'."
"There should be absolutely no doubt in peoples' minds that we — as members of the Australian community — strongly denounce this horrendous, premeditated terrorist attack. The effects of such an attack go beyond New York and Washington and have ramifications for all of us", Roland Jabbour, chairperson of the Australian Arabic Council (AAC), said in a press release on September 12.
These sentiments were echoed by Yasser Soliman, chairperson of the Islamic Council of Victoria. "Terrorism is a crime against God and against humanity", he said.
During the 1991 Gulf War, Arab and Muslim Australians suffered unprecedented levels of harassment. Even before the US attacks, the AAC had recorded higher than usual complaints of racist abuse.
"Already suggestions within the media are prematurely pointing the finger at and scapegoating specific communities. Arab and Muslim Australians can not and should not be held responsible for these recent events", Jabbour said.
"The media must act responsibly and professionally and assist
us in protecting our community from harm and vilification from the negative and prejudicial elements of our society by refraining from the use of speculative comments, stereotypes or unsubstantiated claims."